The government's revenue collection in the first seven months of the 2024 fiscal year was nearly 40 billion baht under the 1.4 trillion baht target due to a reduction in fuel taxes and a decrease in vehicle tax collection.
Pornchai Thiraveja, spokesman for the Ministry of Finance, said the government collected 1.38 trillion baht in revenue from October last year to April this year, falling below the target by 2.7%, or 39.1 billion baht.
The Excise Department's revenue was 304.5 billion baht, about 47 billion baht or 13.4% below the set target. However, compared with the same period last year, the revenue collection was 27.5 billion baht higher.
The Revenue Department garnered 1.09 trillion baht in revenue, about 9.5 billion baht or 0.9% above the target. The amount was 19.56 billion baht, or 1.8% higher than the same period last year.
The Customs Department raked in 66.68 billion baht in revenue, about 1.9 billion baht or 3% exceeding the target. The amount, however, was a decrease of 10.7% from the same period last year.
Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said revenue collection fell below the target because the government implemented a raft of measures to mitigate the high cost of living.
A cut on fuel tax took the heaviest toll on the Excise Department, which lost about 20 billion baht per month in income, he said, noting the department would continue improving efficiency in tax collection to help make up for the loss.
However, Mr Julapun expressed confidence the revenue collection for the remaining four months until September was likely to meet the target.
Finance permanent secretary Lavaron Sangsnit said revenue collection fell below the target due to a reduction in fuel tax, which was estimated at 24 billion baht.