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Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin said he has assigned BMA's Finance Department and Budget Department to conduct a study and find ways to use information technology to collect taxes more effectively.

So far Bangkok is unable to collect taxes on petrol, hotels and cigarettes like other local administrative organisations due to its Rules on Administration of Bangkok Metropolitan Bill B.E. 2528, which does not allow BMA to collect such taxes and fees.

The BMA has submitted proposals to the Interior Ministry to amend the bill, said Preecha Suksontet, director of the Finance Department.

BMA plans to collect a tax of 10 satang from one litre of petrol, 10 satang from cigarettes, and a one per cent fee from hotel room rates.

BMA is expected to generate revenue of Bt2 billion per year from those taxes and fees.

"We haven't arranged a central budget for 2009, but each department has requested for more budget than the provided budget," Apirak said.

He said he would ask all the departments to propose their projects, to consider each project's necessity and assess expenditures of the first quarter of fiscal year 2009 before finalising the budget.

Apirak expects to come up with the 2009 budget by January next year.