November 9, 2022
BANGKOK – Revenue collection in fiscal year 2022 — from October 2021 to September 2022 — reached 2.53 trillion baht, exceeding the government’s target by 130 billion baht or 5.4%, the Finance Ministry said on Monday.
The Revenue Department was the biggest contributor, collecting 2.16 trillion baht in the past fiscal year, beating its target by 15.5% or 290 billion baht.
Most of the increased revenue came from value-added tax and import tax, which have been rising in line with the increased domestic consumption amid the continued economic recovery, said Pornchai Theeravet, director of the Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) and the ministry’s spokesperson.
However, the Excise Department collected 503 billion baht, missing its target by 15.7% or 93.5 billion baht. Pornchai said the drop was due to the cut in diesel tax imposed to reduce people’s cost of living amid soaring global energy prices.
The Customs Department collected 110 billion baht, exceeding its target by 10.5% or 10.4 billion.
Revenues contributed by state enterprises in fiscal year 2022 also exceeded the target by 0.6% or 858 billion baht, with 143 billion baht collected.
For fiscal 2023, which began last month, the government has set a revenue target of 2.49 trillion baht, or 13.91% of gross domestic product, while total expenditure is set at 3.18 trillion baht, or 17.79% of GDP.
The FPO estimates that Thailand’s economy will expand 3.4% in 2022 thanks to rising domestic consumption and further recovery of the tourism industry. The office expects the economy to expand 3.8% next year, driven by around 20 million tourist arrivals, about half the number recorded before the Covid-19 pandemic.