Tax collectors under pressure over 'shortfall'

The three departments are Revenue, Excise and Customs.

After a recent meeting with ministry executives, permanent secretary Rungson Sriworasat said it was now feared that fiscal 2014 revenue could be Bt150 billion less than previously estimated. Earlier, the expected shortfall was put at Bt100 billion. The 2014 target was set at Bt2.275 billion.

“In the first 10 months [of this fiscal year], revenue was Bt132 billion lower than targeted. For the Revenue Department alone, the shortfall was Bt183 billion. Tax-collection efficiency has to be reviewed,” Rungson said. 

He also said the newly appointed finance minister might come up with special measures to stimulate consumption and increase spending late this year. Any such plans would have to be in line with the policies of the military’s National Council for Peace and Order, including tax reform. 

According to a source who asked not to be named, the ministry’s Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) has also been preparing stimulus plans, including acceleration of state spending, which would be forwarded to the new finance minister. Currently, a large amount of state money is awaiting disbursement, and the new government plans to see about 30 per cent of the budget disbursed in the first three months of the next fiscal year.

“What the Finance Minister is considering is to unlock procedures for faster disbursement. The FPO has been discussing with the Comptroller-General’s Department [how] to proceed with this issue,” the source said. 

The Revenue Department has also been reviewing tax measures to help prop up tourism. 

The right timing would also be considered for economic stimulus. The FPO saw that accelerating the disbursement of the existing budget, aside from the public investment in infrastructure projects, was proper now that the economy is recovering.