Ye – The Township Peace and Development Council are beginning to enforce a property tax collection programme in Plaing Kee village, according to local eyewitnesses.

For the first time in their rural community, every household has been ordered to pay a residential property tax and houses in the village were divided into three categories.  The first class house owners were ordered to pay 50,000 Kyats, second class 30,000 Kyats and third class 20,000 Kyats each.

Most of the 100 or so households in Plaing Kee work in the rubber plantations and salt producing ventures.

The village headmen and local authorities started to impose the new taxes on November 23 when an order was issued by Mawlamyaing District Authorities on October 21, 2008 as the Order Number 300/1-22/Khayaka-Malama (Mon).  As outlined in the order, local headmen had to fill in the information sheet of a population census and make a household list of the types of houses occupied and of those who are absent (on temporary travel).

"With the SPDC one stone kills two birds, so it is reasonable to assume they are preparing for the ensuing general elections in 2010 by taking a census while ranking the types of houses and its value in the rural community like Plaing Kee.  They might levy a new tax based on residential properties in the villages," said a Mon community leader Nai Ong from Ye.

Local villagers already burdened with economic problems from the worldwide recession picture themselves paying more taxes. In the past, villagers in northern Ye township paid taxes for their land and for the products they produced such as rubber and salt. Trying to police the villagers by legal tax often entails corrupt schemes that affect how they produce and compete, but illegal taxes for the Burmese Army and other armed groups for many years have hacked away at their earnings.