Thai tax collectors to use blockchain tech to streamline revenues in 2021. Thailand’s tax collection agency will use blockchain technology to make tax payments more effective next year. The Excise Department will use blockchain to boost its revenue collection instead of actually raising taxes as the Thai economy continues to recover gradually.
According to a report by the Bangkok Post, director-general Lavaron Sangsnit underscored that new policies should not affect the domestic economic recovery and that raising taxes could stunt the still fragile situation. The government aims to collect 530 billion baht ($17.5 billion) for the fiscal year 2020, 3.3% less than the 548 billion baht ($18 billion) collected in 2019.
In 2021, the revenue and customs departments will also use blockchain technology in their operations. Sangsnit said that blockchain would help these departments measure tax liabilities, import duties and costs. The three departments would merge blockchain-based data collection into a single database, which is expected to make tax evasion more difficult.
Last year the Excise Department started introducing blockchain technology to calculate tax refunds for oil exporters. The regime would force oil exporters to pay excise taxes and to pay overpaid taxes after the fuel has been delivered. Using a distributed ledger, the claims process for oil exporters is stated to be faster and more transparent.
Oil export revenue makes up a crucial slice of the Thai government’s budget, accounting for around 200 billion baht per year ($6.6 billion), or around two-thirds of all revenues collected annually. Sangsnit said that this new system for oil exporters should be fully operational by the first quarter of 2021.
[image: Florian Wehde]
