On June 12, 2020, the Myanmar government issued a Union Taxation Law Ordinance to provide tax relief to the crisis-hit private sector as part of the wider “Overcoming as One: COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan.”The new measures will be in effect for the 2020-2021 tax year, alongside the Income Tax Law and the Union Taxation Law 2019.There are four main tax exemptions to be aware of:

Two new notifications pertaining to the Land and Building Tax Act B.E. 2562 (2019) were published in the Government Gazette on May 29, 2020, detailing the criteria for classifying property utilization as residential or agricultural in order to determine the tax rates for these property types.Residential Property

The Royal Decree on Land and Building Tax Reduction B.E. 2563 was published in Thailand’s Government Gazette on June 10, 2020, and took effect the next day. The decree, intended to provide additional relief to the Thai economy as it begins to recover from the COVID-19 crisis, applies a 90% reduction to land and building tax payments for 2020 which are due to be paid by August 31, 2020 (previously extended from April 30, 2020). Owners of land or buildings are therefore only required to pay 10% of the land and building tax owed for 2020.

As the world economy struggles to cope with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies and other creditors are exploring options to manage non-collectible debts. However, the tax costs and consequences of different approaches to settling debts are often overlooked when they should be key considerations, and unwary creditors are at risk of unexpected surprises. This article will analyze some common debt settlement options and their tax consequences.Debt Offset