Fuel subsidies, lower car tax keep Finance Ministry’s earnings below target
The Finance Ministry said its revenue in the first five months of fiscal 2024 was well below the target due to fuel subsidies it has been providing.
Pornchai Teerawet, the ministry’s spokesman, said on Monday that the ministry’s earnings from October 2023 to February this year came in at 981.90 billion baht, which is 2.5% or 25.14 billion baht lower than the estimated target and 0.4% lower than the same period last year.
He said the Excise Department’s earnings had dropped due to fuel subsidies as well as lower car tax collections thanks to promotions on electric cars.
Meanwhile, agencies that earned more than expected included enterprises collecting income from the previous year and the Revenue Department collecting more in value-added tax.
The government’s total income in the first five months of fiscal 2024 was 979.98 trillion baht, while its total expenditure came in at 1,365.67 trillion baht. To cover some of the difference, the government borrowed 55.75 trillion baht from the treasury, whose balance stood at 178.5 trillion baht as of the end of February this year.
