Luxury car owners ‘dodge Bt1.8bn in tax’
The Customs Department estimates that the owners of 101 luxury vehicles have failed to pay Bt1.8 billion in tax, an informed source revealed on Monday.
The tax assessment covered 14 Ferraris, 49 Maseratis and 38 Lamborghinis being investigated on suspicion of tax evasion by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI).
On Monday, DSI chief Pol Colonel Paisit Wongmuang confirmed that he had received the tax assessment from the Customs Department, but put the figure at about Bt1 billion.
“So, the next step we will charge the importers of these luxury cars,” he said.
The DSI has also been asked to investigate car dealers who imported luxury cars under the name of Thai students who studied overseas.
Thai laws provide for a significantly lower import tax rate for students who bring back to Thailand the cars they used overseas.
The normal tax rate is 200 per cent, but returning students can pay as little as 30 per cent. These vehicles cannot be resold within three years of being imported.