Collections of duties fall
The Customs Department is negotiating a reduction in its revenue target for this fiscal year from Bt120 billion to Bt80 billion, citing the economic slowdown, which has led to lower imports.
The Finance Ministry has already agreed to reduce the target to Bt100 billion but the department wants to cut it further to Bt80 billion, said Sathit Limpongpun, director-general of the department. Sathit attributed the move to lower-than-expected imports and lower tariffs on several items due to free-trade agreements. Moreover, the baht has been stronger than the expected 41.50 to the US dollar. In May, the currency strengthened to 39.90 to the greenback. Sathit added that overall global tax collection had declined as tariff reductions worldwide reduced costs for local operators. The US and UK governments' tax income from customs were 3 and 5 per cent of total income respectively. The Thai government's income from the Customs Department is expected to be about 5 per cent of total tax revenue, he said. Over the first eight months of the fiscal year that started last October, the Customs Department collected tax revenue of Bt64.95 billion, 17.8 per cent lower than its eight-month target. The revision comes amid worries that the country's fiscal position could lead to a budget deficit in the next fiscal year. - The Nation
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