Revenue Department to come up with carbon tax plan next year

Ekniti Nitithanprapas, director-general of the department, said clear measures and rates for collecting the so-called carbon tax would be ready by next year.

He said the department is now studying effective measures to slap carbon tax on goods and services that emit high volume of greenhouse gases as several other countries have started collecting the tax.

“Thailand cannot avoid collecting carbon tax because many other countries have already started doing it,” Ekniti said.

He said European Union nations would next year start collecting carbon taxes on five goods whose production processes cause high carbon dioxide emissions. The five goods categories are: cement, steel, aluminium, chemicals and fertilisers, and electricity.

“If Thailand does not collect carbon taxes on these goods, exporters will have to pay the tax at the destination EU nations. If we collect the tax in Thailand, we will negotiate with the EU to exempt the goods from double carbon tax,” Ekniti said.

So far, the department is contemplating two methods – collecting on the goods or collecting tax on the production process at the factories.

For the first option, the tax will vary in accordance with amount of carbon dioxide emitted when the goods are made, Ekniti said.

For the second option, the department will collect carbon tax during the manufacturing process – at the start, the midway and the end of production. He said if the department chooses the second option, it will have to consult the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organisation on the collection method and tax rates.

Ekniti said the carbon tax is being planned in accordance with the department’s goal to promote Environment, Social and Governance among businesses.

The goal is to support the government’s target of having carbon neutrality by 2050 and net zero emission by 2065.