FOR THE EXPAT IN ALL OF US! ISSUE 420 10th March 2017
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P A N AMA BAR
Good Times Every Night A DJ To Save Your Life
TAXING TIMES
REVENUE AND EXCISE DEPARTMENTS LOOKING TO RAISE MONEY
•A •drop in tax revenues across both the Thai Revenue and Excise departments has led to announcements THAILAND
from both that is going to have further financial impacts on areas of the economy that can least afford it, most notably bars and entertainment venues, who have already been hard hit by previous tax increases, and a drop in tourist numbers, as well as the restrictions imposed during the mourning period for His Majesty King Bhumibol. The Revenue Department has announced a shortfall in revenue of six billion baht for the period fromOctober last year to February this year, and says it is eyeing online businesses, pubs, discotheques, and restaurants to generate higher tax incomes to make up for this. According to RD Director-general Prasong Poontanet, the shortfall was largely due to the reduction in petroleum tax after global oil prices fell, although it is strange that this has not fed through to lower prices elsewhere as transport costs would have fallen as well. Meanwhile, the Excise Department announced a new excise bill, that ‘restructures’ how tax will be levied, to be based on retail price instead of wholesale price. The announcement has led to confusion among both retailers and public alike, particularly when apparently conflicting statements have emanated from the department, stating that tax revenue would go up, and yet the price consumers pay would not, at least in the short term. As it stands the bill has not yet passed into law, but given the backdrop to the announcement, we expect both tax and retail price of alcohol to go up, but by how much is anybody’s guess right now. However, there is always the chance that the alcohol producers will reduce the wholesale price, and next week we will be reporting on the herd of pigs seen in the skies above Hua Hin.