Mizzima
The junta has told Myanmar migrant workers working abroad that if they do not remit 25 per cent of their salaries to Myanmar through official channels Myanmar embassies will not renew their passports.
The comments were made by the Myanmar Labour Minister Myint Naung whilst he was visiting Myanmar migrant workers working at a seafood processing factory in Suratthani Province.
He said that Myanmar migrant workers have to transfer 25 per cent of their salaries back to their families in Myanmar using Myanmar banks approved by the junta. The payments can be made quarterly or monthly.
He also said that all migrant workers have to pay two per cent of their salaries in tax. The tax payments must be in foreign currency and can be made every quarter or every year.
He explained that migrant workers who do not follow these laws would not be able to get expiring passports renewed at Myanmar embassies.
Similarly, on 9 December, the Myanmar Embassy in South Korea announced plans for the Myanmar Internal Revenue Department to collect taxes from Myanmar migrant workers working in South Korea.
The announcement said that holders of Passports for Work and Passports for Business will have to pay income tax from 11 December when they come to renew their passports at the embassy.
The Myanmar embassy in Singapore made a similar statement saying passports would not be renewed for migrant workers not paying tax.
The junta also announced that migrant workers who had not sent back the necessary 25 per cent of their salaries through official channels or paid their tax would be barred from leaving Myanmar for three years after their return.
