Tax revenue exceeds expectations
The Revenue Department collected 1.9 trillion baht in tax revenue for the first nine months of the fiscal year, 136.6 billion baht higher than the amount targeted.
According to Pornchai Thiraveja, director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office, net government revenue during the first nine months of the 2023 fiscal year (October 2022 - June 2023) amounted to 1.96 trillion baht, 7.5% higher than the budget target and 5.2% above the same period of the previous year.
The main contributing agency and the one that exceeded expectations was the Revenue Department from the collection of corporate income tax, value-added tax, and personal income tax. Other government agencies also had additional revenue that was not included in the budget estimate, such as proceeds from state enterprises, revenue from telecommunication concessions, excess profits from the sale of government bonds to offset the budget deficit, and surplus funds returned from the previous year.
The Customs Department's revenue was also higher than expected due to higher import values, though the weak trend of the Thai baht played a role. Additionally, retroactive customs duties were paid following court decisions.
However, the revenue collection of the Excise Department was still below the estimate, due to the reduction in the diesel excise tax rate at the beginning of the fiscal year to temporarily alleviate the impact on people's cost of living from high global crude oil prices.
Even excluding the additional revenue from other government agencies and the Customs Department, the net government revenue was still higher than the estimate by 80.53 billion baht, and higher than the same period of the previous year by 2.2%.
Total budget disbursement during the first nine months of fiscal 2023 was 2,56 trillion baht while cash flow amounted to 1.96 trillion baht, leading the government to borrow 435.24 billion baht and leaving the Treasury with a balance of 352.81 billion baht at the end of June 2023.
