Appeal for wider scope of tax perks

Appeal for wider scope of tax perks

Visitors relax on Suk Samran beach, a new attraction in Bung Kan province on the Mekong River opposite the Lao town of Pakxan.  PONGPHAT WONGYALA
Visitors relax on Suk Samran beach, a new attraction in Bung Kan province on the Mekong River opposite the Lao town of Pakxan.  PONGPHAT WONGYALA

Tourism operators have urged the government to broaden the tourism tax break scheme to cover more smaller-scale operators.

Small hoteliers and services such as restaurants and travel agents do not qualify for the tax scheme, deterring them from enjoying the perk, said Phuriwat Limthavornrat, president of the Association of Domestic Travel.

Mr Phuriwat said the association welcomes the government's plan to reinstate the tax rebate for spending on tourism services for another year, though it's a briefer duration of only the second and third quarters.

"Renewing such a tax incentive will definitely stimulate people to travel locally, but we want the scheme to run and truly benefit the community," he said. "The authorities, therefore, should speed up measures to bring these small operators into the tax system."

Under the tax measure, individual travellers who spend on tourism services for either accommodation or dining can use their receipts to claim a tax deduction of up to 15,000 baht.

Last year, the scheme aimed to stimulate travel to 55 less-popular provinces; this year, the government decided to apply the tax perk to all provinces nationwide with additional conditions that operators must register under the tax system or payment from individuals must be made via the electronic system.

Mr Phuriwat said big companies benefit from the scheme, but as it stands it will not meet the government's goal of boosting income in rural communities.

He said the Revenue Department should provide information and statistics on how the tax measure benefited the community last year in order to allow stakeholders to improve their performance.

Meanwhile, Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said the reinstatement of the tax rebate will help promote local tourism to grow continuously, especially during the low season.

"It does not matter that the scheme will be implemented for only two quarters," he said. "More importantly, the system remains in place to help accelerate local tourism."

The Tourism and Sports Ministry forecasts local tourism income in 2019 at 1.12 trillion baht from some 166 million trips made locally, up 5% and 3% from last year.

The ministry predicts 41.1 million international arrivals generating 2.21 trillion baht in tourism revenue this year.

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