Boonlua Chatree
Thailand’s Cabinet raised excise taxes on alcohol and
tobacco, which will immediately raise the price of hard liquor and
cigarettes, but have no effect on beer or wine prices.
The tax on rice whiskey jumps from 120 baht a liter to
150 baht, based on alcohol content. For blended liquor the taxes jumps 50
baht to 350 baht per liter. The tax on brandy jumps slightly from a maximum
of 48 percent to 50 percent.
Beer and wine already sits at the highest allowable tax
rate.
The tax rate on cigarettes jumped two percentage points
to 87 percent based on weight per cigarette. The result could be an increase
in the price of a pack of cigarettes of 6-9 baht. Imported cigarettes could
see increases of up to 20 baht per pack.
Deputy Prime Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong told reporters
the tax hikes were aimed at boosting government revenue and cutting
consumption, while also squeezing out cheaper imported booze and smokes.
Excise Department Director-General Benja Luicharoen said
the increase should boost her department’s revenues by 12 billion baht
annually, with 10 billion baht of that coming from cigarette taxes.
