The long-awaited Myanmar Investment Law is likely to be enacted in the next parliamentary session.
The draft of the new investment law, a consolidation of Myanmar Citizen Investment Law and Foreign Investment Law is approved by the Upper House during the first week of October.
Under the new law, not all investors will get tax exemptions while those who will invest in the country’s crucial sectors will get tax holidays. For instance, if the government said the industrial sector needed more foreign investment, investors in that sector would get exempted from income tax payments. The government has classified three investment zones for income tax exemption for three to seven years based on which zone they invest in.
“Regional governments will get more authority. It aims to reduce the role of the MIC [Myanmar Investment Commission]. Investors will not enjoy incentives shortly after getting the MIC permit. They will have to reapply to the MIC for their tax exemptions,” says Marlar Myo Nyunt, director of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration.
