Virus crisis knocks 11.2% off govt revenue
Net government revenue during the first eight months of the 2020 fiscal year (Oct 2019-May 2020) was Bt1.5 trillion, falling short of the budget target by 11.2 per cent, according to the Fiscal Policy Office.
Office director-general Lavaron Sangsnit attributed the shortfall to the economic impact of the Covid-19 outbreak and the government's massive spending on relief measures.
Among those measures is postponement of tax filing to July-September this year.
Of the total revenue collected in the first eight months, the Revenue Department collected Bt1.08 trillion, 11.3 per cent lower than expected. Revenue from VAT was also lower than expected, due partially to the battering the economy took from the virus.
The Excise Department collected Bt362 billion, 16.4 per cent lower than the estimated, while the Customs Department took Bt64.3 billion, 11.7 per cent lower than expected, due to shrinking imports.
