The General Department of Taxation (GDT) has announced a one-month extension to its traditional Mar 31 deadline for companies to submit their annual corporate tax filings, giving companies until Apr 30 to do so without penalty. In a Facebook posting issued after the annual deadline elapsed on Friday, it said the extension would allow companies to better comply with proper filing procedures. Clint O’Connell, head of Cambodia Tax Practice at foreign investment advisory and tax firm DFD Cambodia, said the reasoning behind the unprecedented move was clear, explaining that the government was now in its first full year since abolishing its poorly regulated and grossly inefficient estimated-tax regime, was enforcing its more-stringent real tax regime on all companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that previously paid little or no taxes. Meanwhile, he speculated that the extension could serve another purpose. He pointed out that in January, the GDT announced a general amnesty for companies that had operated under the estimated regime, allowing them to correct their statements without fear of being slapped with retroactive tax bills, and a delay may help some of them enter the amnesty agreement. However, some legal experts argue the last-minute move could be sending the wrong message to taxpayers. (Source: Phnom Penh Post)