Motorists should pay value-added tax on expressway tolls, says Transport Minister Jarupong Ruangsuwan.
He expects the Expressway Authority of Thailand (Exat), which owns the expressway, to pass the burden on to motorists over a few years.
The minister told Exat's management on a visit to the agency's head office yesterday to study ways to pass the VAT burden on to motorists instead of continuing to bear the costs itself.
"I know it is risky to mention this now but unless the problem is solved, it will only grow.
"Since 1992, every party has tried to forget about this issue rather than address it," Mr Jarupong said.
The minister has told the Exat to come up with a solution in a year.
He recommended the state enterprise phase in the tax gradually, whenever it raises expressway tolls. The Exat should aim to be sharing the tax burden with motorists within a few years, he said.
Mr Jarupong said the Exat has borne the VAT burden since 1992. The tax costs the state enterprise about 700 million baht a year, amounting to more than 12 billion baht so far.
He said that is the equivalent of the construction cost of a 24km-long expressway.
The minister also proposed the Exat cancel the 800 baht deposit for its electronic toll tags.
He said the Exat should encourage more motorists to use toll tags but the deposit was putting them off.
The Exat and its expressway concessionaire, Bangkok Expressway, a co-investor in the electronic toll collection system, should come up with a solution, Mr Jarupong said.