Government revenue collection in fiscal 2024 may not exceed the target, unlike last year, says Deputy Finance Minister Krisada Chinavicharana.
Following the Outstanding Revolving Fund Award yesterday, he said the government set an expenditure budget for fiscal 2024 worth 3.48 trillion baht, against a backdrop of 2.73 trillion in projected revenue, resulting in a budget deficit of 693 billion baht.
The revenue projection for this fiscal year is quite high, while GDP growth is expected to be lower than the previous estimate of 3.8%, said Mr Krisada.
Recently the National Economic and Social Development Council downgraded its GDP growth outlook for 2024 to 2.7% from 3.2%.
As a result, he said the government's revenue collection for fiscal 2024 may not exceed the target, unlike the previous fiscal year when collection beat the goal by 174 billion baht.
If revenue collection this year does exceed the target, Mr Krisada said the Finance Ministry is ready to use the excess revenue to help the public through various schemes such as the "Shop Dee Mee Kuen" tax rebate scheme and "Khon La Khrueng (Half-Half)" co-payment subsidy implemented in the past.
"As for the proposal to extend the excise tax cut on diesel fuel by 1 baht per litre, which is due to expire on April 19, the government is ready to provide the subsidy if its revenue exceeds the target," he said.
"This also applies to the expansion of the loan guarantee for the Oil Fuel Fund."
The cabinet previously approved an executive decree that enabled the Finance Ministry to provide loan guarantees of up to 150 billion baht to the Oil Fuel Fund, which needed the loans to subsidise oil prices.
There is still 30-40 billion baht worth of the loan to be guaranteed.
The ministry recently implemented many fiscal measures to increase public consumption and revive the economy, including maintaining a budget deficit, the Easy E-Receipt tax rebate scheme, reductions to the land and building tax and property transaction fees, capping loan interest rates at state-owned financial institutions, and expediting the disbursement of the fiscal 2024 budget by relaxing procurement rules, allowing state agencies to proceed with bidding for investment projects even though the 2024 Budget Expenditure Act has not been approved.
The ministry again proposed to the Bank of Thailand a renewal of softer loan-to-value limits for mortgage lending, allowing homebuyers to take out loans of up to 100% of home prices as the property sector plays a vital role in driving the economy.