Treasury issues measures to support tourism

Bangkok: Drinkers rejoice! The Ministry of Finance issues measures to promote tourism and spending. It is a center for foodies and shoppers, exempt from taxes on imported wine. and local fruit wine, u, Krachae, wort, local liquor. Alcohol no more than 7 degrees allows foreigners to request a VAT refund from the original 5,000 baht increased to 20,000 baht. Mr. Lawan Saengsanit, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, revealed that the Cabinet approved measures to promote Thailand as a tourism and spending center. As proposed by the Ministry of Finance In order to enhance the atmosphere and image of being a tourist destination or a center (Hub) for quality, diverse restaurants and restaurants with strong regional price points. Leading to an increase in spending by foreign tourists and Thais at all levels. and sustainably increasing the proportion of high quality tourists It consists of 2 measures as follows: 1. Improving the structure and rates of excise taxes and other types of taxes. Including impr oving related laws and regulations. To support the tourism sector Improving the excise tax rate on alcoholic beverages and service establishments To support measures to promote Thailand as a tourism center. and upgrading the local liquor industry Create added value for Thai agricultural products Therefore, it has been proposed to improve the tax rate on local steeped liquor, wine, fruit wine, and other types of steeped liquor, such as improving the tax rate on local steeped liquor (U, Krachae, wort, and other local steeped liquor). and liquor that uses rice raw materials with an alcohol strength not exceeding 7 degrees) has an ad valorem tax rate of 0 percent and a volume tax rate of 150 baht per liter of pure alcohol. (Decreased from the ad valorem tax rate of 10 percent and the volume tax rate of 150 baht per liter of pure alcohol) and the tax rate for wine and fruit wine has been improved. By canceling tax collection based on price tiers (Price Tier) and setting tax collection at a single rate (Unitary Ra te) that is simple and consistent with international standards. It is expected that this improvement in the excise tax rate for liquor products will support Thai products to develop products. Support community tourism Stimulate the economy of secondary cities Increase the value of agricultural products Including making such products compete with other countries. and is well known internationally It can also stimulate the per capita travel expenses of tourists to increase. There has also been an improvement in tax rates on other types of liquor. By setting a new tax rate for spirits that are mixed with distilled spirits and have an alcohol strength of more than 7 degrees. To support products that are currently popular For improving service tax rates which engages in entertainment or leisure businesses, from 10 percent of the service center's revenue without deducting expenses to 5 percent of the service location's revenue without deducting expenses. Such measures are short-term measures. It is scheduled for a period of approximately 1 year (ending on December 31, 2024), which will help entrepreneurs affected by COVID recover again. and promote tourism in line with government policy in another way. In addition, it will promote and support increased employment. and entrepreneurs can organize promotional activities or reduce the price of food and services To stimulate increased spending by domestic tourists. Improving the customs tax structure for wine products The Customs Department has improved the customs tax structure for wine products to be consistent with the improvement of the excise tax structure. By exempting import duties on wine products in tariff categories 22.04 and 22.05, a total of 21 items, from the previous duty rates of 54 and 60 percent. It is expected that duty exemption for such product groups will expand the consumption base. and reduce illegal duty evasion Resulting in the collection of tax revenue such as Value Added Tax. Corporate income tax, etc., increased from the expansion of the touri sm sector and spending. 2. Improving the criteria for inspecting products for VAT Refund for Tourists to reduce the number of tourists who have to queue to present products in the refund process. VAT The Revenue Department has improved the criteria for inspecting products for VAT refunds from foreign tourists. To reduce the number of tourists who have to queue to present products in the tourist VAT refund process. which has been effective since December 1, 2023 by (1) increasing the purchase limit for goods that must be presented to customs From the original price of 5,000 baht or more to 20,000 baht or more, which will reduce the number of tourists who must exhibit products from 120,000 per year to approximately 30,000 per year, or a decrease of approximately 75 percent. and (2) increasing the value of 9 items that must be presented to the Revenue Department, including jewelry, gold jewelry, watches, glasses, pens, smartphones, laptops or tablets, bags (not including luggage), belts, from the original val ue. Items worth 10,000 baht or more will be 40,000 baht or more, and items that can be carried on a plane (carry-on) will increase from the value per item from 50,000 baht or more to 100,000 baht or more. This new rule will help reduce the number of tourists who have to Displays decreased from 120,000 tourists per year (or 4.7 percent of the total number of tourists requesting tax refunds) to approximately 30,000 tourists per year (or 1.2 percent of the total number of tourists requesting tax refunds), or decreasing from 333 people per year. Days that must show products are reduced to approximately 84 people per day, or a reduction of more than 75 percent. Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance Added that Improving the excise tax structure and rates and exemption of import duties from the Customs Department It will be accelerated to come into effect as soon as possible by January 2024. Overall, the measures to promote Thailand as a tourism and spending center that the Ministry of Finance has proposed . This will result in the collection of excise tax and customs tax revenue increasing by approximately 401 million baht per year and GDP expanding by 0.0073 percent compared to the case without the measure. In addition, the government sector will also be able to collect additional value added tax and corporate income tax. future From the increase in spending and the increase in income of business operators related to tourism. Both directly and indirectly, such as shops, restaurants, restaurants, service businesses, entertainment venues, hotels, transportation service providers, airlines, etc. and results in further investment in business expansion and increased employment. As a result, the overall Thai economy expanded better.-515 Source: Thai News Agency