Excise tax collection to exceed target

The Thai government is confident excise tax collections will surpass their targeted amount this year, especially from crude oil and petroleum products, according to Deputy Finance Minister Pruttichai Damrongrat. Pruttichai explained that the Department of Excise is expecting to collect the highest amount of tax from oil and petroleum products. Excise tax collection for crude oil and petroleum products was 90 billion baht (US$2.17 billion) in 2009, with Thaioil alone accounting for 20% or 18 billion baht (US$542.82 million) of the total collection. Thaioil is the biggest oil refinery in Thailand, with one of the most advanced and efficient refineries in Asia-Pacific. (February 12, 2010)