'capital City Tax is Not A Strain'

Trans. by M.OYUNGEREL

Ulaanbaatarians are going to start paying city taxes starting October 1. One of the most controversial laws passed at the spring session was the Capital City Tax (CCT) law. Some parliament members viewed this as an unnecessary strain on people's lives. Especially during a recession, many say it's not a good idea to impose taxes. The law's initiators, on the other hand, said, "Foreign capitals all have certain taxes. It's not going to be a strain on the public, since it's a small amount." Another group of people were frustrated that Prime Minister Ch. Saikhanbileg didn't stick to his promise of not adding or reducing taxes, but this law was being discussed way before Ch.Saikhanbileg's government was put into place.

Issues related to imposing a capital city tax, centralizing it into the budget and rendering it, were all included in the law. It states that a person paying for services or products within UB's city limits will have to pay the CCT. "Products" include alcoholic beverage and cigarettes.

Anyone buying products or services from a retailer will be levied with a CCT. Hotels, guesthouses, restaurants and bars will be covered under the CCT. The CCT will be evaluated on the price of services and products sold. If products and services sold or exchanged cost less than the market value, they will also have the CCT applied. The evaluation will be based on up-to-date market values from the associated tax offices.

The amount and percent of the CCT, depending on the density of an area, will be approved on a scale of zero to one percent by the City Council. During the discussion of the law, members who opposed it talked about the tax being zero percent, but they couldn't get a...

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