Phuket entertainment venue operations call for delay in excise tax enforcement
Operators of entertainment venues on the holiday island of Phuket have called on the Excise Department to indefinitely delay the levying of 11-per cent excise tax on their businesses, saying the tourism business has become sluggish.
The call was made during a meeting on Thursday evening between representatives of the Excise Area 8 Office and the entertainment venue operators at the Baumanburi Hotel in Patong.
Wasin Sitalarom, chief excise officer of Phuket, and Suree Srisuk, director of the excise office of Area 8, briefed the owners on the excise tax requirement.
The officials said the excise law, which was enacted in 1992, has a new provision that has been enforced since September 2017 that requires the Excise Department to levy excise tax on entertainment places at the rate of 11 per cent per year on their revenue.
The officials said the owners of the entertainment places must register their businesses with the department and pay the excise taxes or face a fine and additional interest of 7.5 per cent per year.
But the operators of pubs and other entertainment venues argued that they are already paying taxes at the rate of 7 per cent on their revenue. They called on the excise tax to be indefinitely delayed, saying that the tourism business in the province has become sluggish.
The meeting ended without any conclusion. The officials will inform their department of the objections before answering the operators.
