The Burmese military junta has been collecting increasing municipal taxes from residents in Myitkyina Township, the capital of Kachin State in northern Burma but only military officials and not civilians are benefiting from civic services, said local sources.

Civilian shop owners in municipal areas have paid taxes for garbage collection to the Township Municipal Office but the civic authorities are not arranging for the service except in the junta's Northern Command military headquarters in the township, said a local store owner.

According to shop owners in Tatkone (Dapkawng) quarter, the Municipal Office never arranges for the garbage to be collected regularly from their quarter and other quarters in downtown including Yuzana and Kyunpyita.

The Municipal Office collects garbage on a priority basis from the military base in the Northern Command and the areas around the Township Clock Tower, a civic source said.

Complaining about lack of garbage collection to the municipality is useless because it has only three garbage trucks which are working properly at the moment, the source added.

This year, the tax per store is between 20,000 Kyat (US $17) and 90,000 Kyat (US $76) for a year whereas a tea shop owner has to pay over 20,000 Kyat per month, sources said.

The tax is especially collected from the owners of tea shops and stores in the municipal areas in the name of 'municipal and business tax' by the Township Municipal Office, said residents in Myitkyina.

Service or no service, the Municipal Office continues collecting taxes from tea shops and stores in all quarters in the Township municipal areas, said local shop owners.