The Thai Revenue Department has posted a questionnaire regarding the collection of the tax on its website as it seeks to hear public opinion on the departure tax, according to the Bangkok Post .
According to the questionnaire, Thai citizens and foreign permanent residents will have to pay a departure tax of 1,000 baht (nearly 700,000 VND) for air travel , and 500 baht for land and sea travel .
Information accompanying the survey said the tax was intended to generate revenue for the government and prevent Thais from overspending abroad.
Travelers at Suvarnabhumi International Airport Bangkok
The Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA) said the questionnaire caused a stir when it was posted earlier this week. "A thousand baht is too expensive in the current economic climate," said TTAA President.
He said the tax should not be implemented and could have a major impact on the tourism industry, adding that any plan, if it were to be introduced, should be accompanied by transparency to taxpayers about how the government would spend the tax revenue.
Around the world, some countries impose a departure tax, such as Japan which charges 1,000 yen per person, equivalent to about 250 baht.
A departure tax is a fee charged by a country when a person leaves the country. There are many names for this tax, such as exit tax, airport tax... depending on the country.
Many countries only charge departure tax when a person leaves by air, but some also charge for both land and sea travel.
The way the tax is collected varies, in many cases the airline will collect the departure tax at the airport or include it in the airfare. However, many countries require passengers to pay the departure tax at the airport immigration counter or directly to the airline. Sometimes the tax must be paid in local currency – although many countries are increasingly charging departure tax in US dollars, rather than local currency.
However, the way Thailand collects this tax is different, focusing only on domestic tourists going abroad and foreign permanent residents in Thailand. While other countries collect taxes on all people leaving the country.
Source link
Comment (0)