Cabinet greenlights another 3-month extension on diesel tax cut
The Cabinet has agreed to extend the reduction of excise tax for diesel fuel by 1 baht per litre for another three months, Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said. He was speaking after the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
This extension, lasting until April 19, is part of the government’s measures launched last year to alleviate people’s financial burden.
Julapun said this three-month tax cut would cost the government about 6 billion baht in revenue.
He said the Cabinet opted for a three-month extension despite proposals from several parties to extend the cut until August. The minister added that the Cabinet will consider another extension before it expires in April.
“This will ensure that the measure is sustainable and does not add burden to the state budget in the long term,” he said.
Julapan added that the government has not set a target of capping the diesel retail price at no more than 30 baht per litre. Instead, decisions on tax reduction and subsidies will be influenced by factors such as domestic consumption, global oil prices and competitiveness of the private sector.
“The government has no policy of fixing fuel prices,” he added.
