Road tax plea

ELEVEN NGOs sent a letter to Finance Minister Keat Chhon yesterday requesting an extension to the country’s deadline for road tax collection, saying that a large number of people would fail to meet the October 20 deadline due to recent flooding.

“We … would like to request that Deputy Prime Minister (Keat Chhon) please examine our request and decide to extend the deadline for road tax collection until November 5,” wrote San Chey, a representative of the Civic Alliance for Social Accountability in East Asia and the Pacific.

Kong Vibol, a secretary of state at the Finance Ministry, declined to say whether the deadline would be extended, though he said the ministry considered such requests every year.

“We will consider extending the deadline for a few weeks if there is an appropriate reason, but as a policy we want people to fulfill their obligations according to the law,” he said.