The collection period of the recently implemented property tax has been extended to late November to give homeowners more time to pay the tax, according to a government statement released this week.

The collection period was slated to finish at the end of September, but  confusion and a lack of understanding among taxpayers has led to the postponement of the due date, Mey Vann, director of the Department of Finance Industry in the Ministry of Finance and Economy told the Post yesterday.

“We don’t have any problems. We’ve just given people additional time to pay the tax to make it more convenient for them,” he said.

The ministry had been informed that a number of taxpayers were struggling to understand where and how to pay the tax, and that a number of the collection points were overcrowded, the statement said.

Mey Vann confirmed, however, that since the property tax prakas was released, collection figures had been positive.

“We have had no complaints about the tax – in fact, many obliging people have already paid. We just hope those who haven’t will pay on time,” he said.

Some industry insiders were in accordance with the government’s decision to extend the deadline.

“I think it’s possible that the property tax collection didn’t provide people with enough notice, and there were some misunderstandings regarding payment,” Sung Bonna, president of the National Valuers Association and CEO of the Bonna Realty Group, said yesterday.

He added that the extension would benefit the government, as more home owners would now be able to pay the tax.

Economy and Finance Minister Keat Chhon said at a real-estate workshop in Siem Reap in July that although the government would  gain little profit from the tax, “it instils a tax culture in the Kingdom, curbs unprofessional real-estate development and speculative purchases.”

The tax expected to boost federal coffers by an estimated US$4 million according to estimates from the Ministry of Economy and Finance.