Thai government revenues fallen from last year but exceeded targets
By Jon Fernquest
Government
revenues for the month of May were about 21.6% lower than they were
last year.More specifically, corporate taxes were down 38.5%, customs revenues were down 31%, but excise tax revenues were up 18%.
Excise tax revenues include money from such taxes as taxes on oil, tobacco, liquor, beer, and cars (See Ministry of Finance Revenue report for May 2009).
Government revenues in May, however, were slightly above target, helped along by rising tax revenues for fuel, alcohol, beer, and tobacco, as well as lowered expectations due to the global economic downturn.
revenues - money
received by a business or government รายได้ของรัฐ
target - the amount you are planning to achieve เป้าหมาย
exceeded targets - received more than they were planning เกินเป้าหมายที่วางไว้
more specifically,.... - the details are ....., in detail...... ตามรายละเอียดดังนี้
corporation (noun) - a large business or company, officially registered as a business with stock shareholders องค์กรใหญ่
corporate (adjective) - having to do with large businesses and companies ที่เกี่ยวกับบริษัท
customs - the government agency that controls goods coming into and going out of the country and collects taxes on them กรมศุลกากร
excise tax - a tax paid on some goods produced and sold within a country like alcohol and cigarettes ภาษีสินค้าซื้อขาย
public finance - the economics of government spending and taxation (See Wikipedia) การจัดการเงินของรัฐ
lowered expectations - when people now expect less then they did in the past
global economic downturn - from 2007 to 2009 the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression that has spread around the world leading to lower income and higher unemployment everywhere (See Wikipedia) ภาวะเศรษฐกิจตกต่ำทั่วโลก
target - the amount you are planning to achieve เป้าหมาย
exceeded targets - received more than they were planning เกินเป้าหมายที่วางไว้
more specifically,.... - the details are ....., in detail...... ตามรายละเอียดดังนี้
corporation (noun) - a large business or company, officially registered as a business with stock shareholders องค์กรใหญ่
corporate (adjective) - having to do with large businesses and companies ที่เกี่ยวกับบริษัท
customs - the government agency that controls goods coming into and going out of the country and collects taxes on them กรมศุลกากร
excise tax - a tax paid on some goods produced and sold within a country like alcohol and cigarettes ภาษีสินค้าซื้อขาย
public finance - the economics of government spending and taxation (See Wikipedia) การจัดการเงินของรัฐ
lowered expectations - when people now expect less then they did in the past
global economic downturn - from 2007 to 2009 the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression that has spread around the world leading to lower income and higher unemployment everywhere (See Wikipedia) ภาวะเศรษฐกิจตกต่ำทั่วโลก
Economics
PUBLIC FINANCE
Tax revenues finally top target in May
By WICHIT CHANTANUSORNSIRI24/06/2009
Tax revenues for May exceeded targets for the first time this fiscal year, thanks in part to tax increases in fuel, alcohol, beer and tobacco, the Finance Ministry said yesterday.
Government revenues in May were 217 billion baht, 3.3% over the target.
Fuel tax revenue jumped 56.8% in May from the year before, with alcoholic beverage revenue up 25.9% year-on-year and beer tax revenues up 10%.
The government estimates that recent tax increases for fuel, spirits, beer and tobacco will generate an extra 70 billion baht in income for the government each year. For the four months remaining in the fiscal year to Sept 30, the tax hikes are projected to lift government revenues by 23.8 billion baht.
In any case, even though government revenues in May met or exceeded targets, inflows were still 21.6% lower than in the same period last year.
For the first eight months of fiscal 2009, from October to May, government revenues totalled 874 billion baht, or 11.1% lower than the target.
Somchai Sujjapongse, the director-general of the ministry's Fiscal Policy Office, noted one promising sign was that value-added tax collections totalled 32 billion baht in May, significantly higher than the 20 billion baht per month collected earlier this year.
"Even though VAT was lower than the 40 billion baht in revenues collected in normal times, the increase from previous months is a good sign that consumption is picking up," he said.
Over the first eight months of the fiscal year, the Revenue Department reported tax collections of 700 billion baht, or 7.7% under the target, with the Excise Department 15.5% under the target to 179 billion and the Customs Department off 20% to 52.7 billion.
State enterprise revenues over the same period totalled 56.5 billion baht, or 16.7% below the target, while other revenues totalled 57.8 billion baht, or 6% above the target.
The government forecasts the budget deficit this year could rise by as much as 280 billion baht over initial targets due to the decline in tax revenues and cost of additional stimulus programmes under the current economic crisis.
Authorities had previously estimated a budget deficit of 350 billion baht for the fiscal year, including the costs of a 116-billion-baht supplementary stimulus programme approved in March.
Parliament this week authorised an executive decree authorising the government to borrow an additional 400 billion baht above limits set under the current budget law to help offset the shortfall in revenues.
top target - are
greater than expected สูงกว่าเป้าหมาย
revenues for May exceeded targets - more profit in May than expected เงินได้ที่รัฐได้มาในเดือนพฤษภาคมสูงกว่าเป้าหมายที่ตั้งไว้
fiscal year - the 12 month period for government accounting, budgeting, and reporting results ปีงบประมาณ
X thanks in part to Y - one of the reasons that X happened was Y ส่วนหนึ่งเป็นเพราะ
tax hikes - tax increases การเพิ่มภาษี
projected to Y - experts expect Y in the future คาดว่า
a target - a planned amount, the amount they plan to achieve เป้าหมาย ยอดที่ประมาณการไว้
met or exceeded targets - equal to or greater than the planned amount ได้ตามเป้าหรือได้มากกว่าเป้าที่ทำไว้
fiscal policy - government spending and taxation policy แผนงบประมาณรายปี
Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) - the Thai government agency that plans and analyzes government spending and taxation สำนักงบประมาณ
promising - likely to be successful มีแนวโน้มที่ดี
a promising sign - something that shows it is likely to be successful
value-added tax (VAT) - a tax paid only on the value added at a stage of the production process (Note: in Thailand also means retail sales tax of 7% paid for some purchases such as electronics) (See Wikipedia) ภาษีมูลค่าเพิ่ม
Revenue Department - the Thai government agency in charge of collecting taxes กรมสรรพากร
tax collections - money that the government gets from people and businesses paying taxes การเก็บภาษี
forecasts - what experts say will happen in the future คาดการณ์
budget deficit - when the government spends more than it receives in taxes, must be financed by borrowing money การขาดดุลงบประมาณ
stimulus programmes - a programme of government spending and tax cuts to get the economy growing again แผนการส่งเสริมพัฒนาเศรษฐกิจ
supplementary - additional เพิ่มเข้ามา
a supplementary stimulus programme - an additional programme of government spending and tax cuts
authorised - activity given official permission to happen ได้สั่งการให้
decree - an official order or decision made by the ruler of a country
executive decree - an order issued by the Prime Minister and his cabinet
shortfall in revenues - amount of money received lower than expected เงินรายได้ของรัฐต่ำกว่ายอด หรือเป้าหมายที่คาดการณ์ไว้
offset the shortfall in revenues - make extra money to replace money they expected but didn't get หารายได้จากส่วนอื่นมาทดแทน
revenues for May exceeded targets - more profit in May than expected เงินได้ที่รัฐได้มาในเดือนพฤษภาคมสูงกว่าเป้าหมายที่ตั้งไว้
fiscal year - the 12 month period for government accounting, budgeting, and reporting results ปีงบประมาณ
X thanks in part to Y - one of the reasons that X happened was Y ส่วนหนึ่งเป็นเพราะ
tax hikes - tax increases การเพิ่มภาษี
projected to Y - experts expect Y in the future คาดว่า
a target - a planned amount, the amount they plan to achieve เป้าหมาย ยอดที่ประมาณการไว้
met or exceeded targets - equal to or greater than the planned amount ได้ตามเป้าหรือได้มากกว่าเป้าที่ทำไว้
fiscal policy - government spending and taxation policy แผนงบประมาณรายปี
Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) - the Thai government agency that plans and analyzes government spending and taxation สำนักงบประมาณ
promising - likely to be successful มีแนวโน้มที่ดี
a promising sign - something that shows it is likely to be successful
value-added tax (VAT) - a tax paid only on the value added at a stage of the production process (Note: in Thailand also means retail sales tax of 7% paid for some purchases such as electronics) (See Wikipedia) ภาษีมูลค่าเพิ่ม
Revenue Department - the Thai government agency in charge of collecting taxes กรมสรรพากร
tax collections - money that the government gets from people and businesses paying taxes การเก็บภาษี
forecasts - what experts say will happen in the future คาดการณ์
budget deficit - when the government spends more than it receives in taxes, must be financed by borrowing money การขาดดุลงบประมาณ
stimulus programmes - a programme of government spending and tax cuts to get the economy growing again แผนการส่งเสริมพัฒนาเศรษฐกิจ
supplementary - additional เพิ่มเข้ามา
a supplementary stimulus programme - an additional programme of government spending and tax cuts
authorised - activity given official permission to happen ได้สั่งการให้
decree - an official order or decision made by the ruler of a country
executive decree - an order issued by the Prime Minister and his cabinet
shortfall in revenues - amount of money received lower than expected เงินรายได้ของรัฐต่ำกว่ายอด หรือเป้าหมายที่คาดการณ์ไว้
offset the shortfall in revenues - make extra money to replace money they expected but didn't get หารายได้จากส่วนอื่นมาทดแทน
(Source: Bangkok Post, business, Tax revenues finally top target in May, WICHIT CHANTANUSORNSIRI, 24/06/2009, link)
