Truck owners taxed after administrator borrows significant sums

January 15, 2010

HURFOM, TPP: The chairman of the Land Transportation Association (LTA) in Three Pagoda Pass (TPP) town in Three Pagoda Pass township, has collected an additional tax from all vehicle owners to pay to the Karen National Union (KNU) checkpoint in Three Pagoda areas.

The LTA is a civilian organization that organizes and facilitates the transport of good through local truck owners. All owners of trucks who transport goods are required to join the LTA. The LTA operates under the permission of the Burmese military government State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).

On multiple occasions the SPDC has used the LTA to transport the military food supplies in Three Pagoda town. After a series of confiscations of SPDC supplies from LTA transportation, the LTA’s chairman was informed by the military that he must negotiate with, and agree to pay a price to, the KNU for transporting supplies through territory held by their forces.

One resident with a little political influence in TPP who knew about the case described, “The military does not use their own vehicles to carry their food supplies. They force civilian trucks to carry their food supplies while transporting passengers to Three Pagoda town. Every pick up truck has to carry 5 packages of rice during their trip between Anankwin Tactical Command No. 3 and Three Pagoda town.”

“At the second time, the KNU’s Battalion No. 16 confiscated 20 packages of rice and 5 dozens cans of milk from the passenger truck. But, these were the [Burmese] military’s food supplies. [So] the Military authorities asked the LTA’s Chairman, U Kyaw Min, to negotiate with the KNU Battalion No. 16’s Colonel Tin Hlaing,” explained the villager from TPP. “Tin Hlaing asked for 200,000 Baht to allow the military to transport their food supplies in two vehicles. [To pay] U Kyaw Min borrowed money from Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC)’s chairman U Myo Kyi. But now the TPDC chairman will move to a different post, and wants his money back. U Kyaw Min held a meeting and ordered his secretary U Pan New to [start] collecting the money from vehicle drivers in the areas on Jan 9, 2010.”

According to the HURFOM field reporter, two weeks ago, prior to the recent confiscation of food supplies, KNU forces confiscated 48 packages of rice from a caravan carrying SPDC food supplies. In the area, one package of rice sells for approximately 600 Baht.

The money that is being demanded by the LTA from transport vehicle owners is based on the varied sizes of vehicles owned. Truck owners who drive for conventional pickup trucks are taxed 500 Baht, larger off road pickup trucks owners are charged 1,500 baht, and 10-wheeled truck owners are being charged 3,600 baht.

The HURFOM field reporter in the area estimated that there are about 70 larger off road pick up trucks and 30 of 10-wheeled trucks in the areas. This would mean that truck owners in the LTA are being instructed to pay at least 213,000 bhat in taxes.

According to one of truck owner, who works using his truck to carry stones in the area, “Our trucks cannot make money like the 10 wheel trucks that carry the wood. I don’t want to pay for the tax; at the movement I don’t have the money either. If they went to carry the military food supplies with 2 ten wheels trucks, such as U Kyaw Min’s trucks, they would be able to just carry around 250 to 300 package of rice for one tuck.”

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News