Thailand travel tax must jump hurdles

[webfact]

Thailand travel tax must jump hurdles

By Don Ross

 

  

BANGKOK, 29 May 2019: Within six months Thailand is promising to introduce a travel tax that will fund accident insurance and finance restoration of tourist attractions and the environment.  Sounds good.

 

A talking topic for years, this time round some progress has been achieved. New legislation written in the Tourism Act allows the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to collect and manage the levy and the start-up date is 1 October (start of the government’s fiscal year).

 

The changes to the law came into effect on 20 May. Now, the panic button has been pressed.  A workable package and collection process needs to be hammered out and fast.

 

Full story: https://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2019/05/thailand-travel-tax-must-jump-hurdles/

 

-- TTRweekly  2019-05-29

[from the home of CC]

should kick it up to 200, take care of some of the Thai elderly here..

[worgeordie]

I am sure the Travel tax will be put to good use........

regards Worgeordie

[bluesofa]

14 minutes ago, webfact said:

Sounds good.

That's as far as it will go.

[stanleycoin]

Bummer days ahead, for some incharge. 

 

Edited May 29, 2019 by stanleycoin

[keemapoot]

2 hours ago, from the home of CC said:

should kick it up to 200, take care of some of the Thai elderly here..

If I had to guess, I'd say the split would be 50 for insurance, 50 for restoration, and 100 for ample numbers of these for the right people:

 

[chowny77]

This is BS, everything tourists and long stayers buy is taxed. It's not the foreigner's fault that they can't manage or dig into the trough to suit themselves. They want the cake and also another double helping. Not going to happen! Thailand needs to learn that the years of screwing tourists out of money are over and they need to get their affairs in order.

[Chazar]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

Sounds good

No its doesn't , they've had the income from tourism for  nigh on 50  years and they still haven't  taken care of the tourist attractions.

[wisperone]

24 minutes ago, chowny77 said:

This is BS, everything tourists and long stayers buy is taxed. It's not the foreigner's fault that they can't manage or dig into the trough to suit themselves. They want the cake and also another double helping. Not going to happen! Thailand needs to learn that the years of screwing tourists out of money are over and they need to get their affairs in order.

As long as the tourists keep coming and forking over what ever the new tax du jour is, it will keep on happening. No repercussions and it will be 1,000B before you know it...along with a bunch of new taxes by then.

[gk10002000]

Jesus, this photo almost looks as bad as the Mount Everest climber log jam at the summit, granted with much less dire consequences

[ocddave]

1 minute ago, gk10002000 said:

Jesus, this photo almost looks as bad as the Mount Everest climber log jam at the summit, granted with much less dire consequences

Yes, looks like a quiet and beautiful place away from the crowds????

[Justgrazing]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand travel tax must jump hurdles

Bit misleading that headline .. my first imp' was that's an odd name for a showjumper .. But now I get their drift they need to dressage it up as something other than tax .. 

[Tracyb]

Remember the days when we had to pay 300 Baht departure tax at the airport upon exiting the country?  The fee was then added to airline tickets’ price too make things “easier and quicker for departure.  I wonder where THAT money goes??

[utalkin2me]

use it to even out the pricing at national parks so i do not have to hear another complaint on that. 

[jollyhangmon]

4 minutes ago, Tracyb said:

Remember the days when we had to pay 300 Baht departure tax at the airport upon exiting the country?  The fee was then added to airline tickets’ price too make things “easier and quicker for departure.  I wonder where THAT money goes??

 

... exactly, only this one was up at 700.- at least by the time they started to hide it.

Dedicated for what, oh well ...?!

 

Anyway, that´s history, different name now [same scam, you guessed it] ... 

[CharlieH]

Reported racist remark removed.

[Moti24]

The reported number of tourists will have to drop, otherwise there won't be a trough to get all the noses in.

[GordonP]

All good in theory, however, many of the tourist accidents involve scooters being ridden without a licence. Surely, this will be a get out for the insurance companies., after all there has been a number of headlines over the years (and not just Thailand) reporting insured tourists whose insurance cover has been invalidated by motorcycle riding. 

[VBF]

So here they're referring to it as a "travel tax", elsewhere it's referred to as "insurance" - so which is it?

If the latter, as has been mentioned on other threads, anyone who believes that 100 or 200 Baht will buy them insurance worth a light is really rather stupid......IMO, of course 

[khunPer]

Add the 100 baht – or whatever relative small amount it might be – to the airport tax, that's where most foreigners enters. 35 million arrivals of 100 baht each would be 3.5 billion baht.

 

If the talk is 350 million baht unpaid medical bills, 10 baht tax could do, or 20 baht to make a double-up buffer zone, or to pay for the administration costs.

 

Additionally, if needed at all, a land-border crossing tax could exclude neighboring countries, so day-traders in markets can cross, whilst other foreigners could pay the fee, if that's administrative possible without the fee disappearing in administration costs.

[Ozman52]

25 minutes ago, khunPer said:

Add the 100 baht – or whatever relative small amount it might be – to the airport tax, that's where most foreigners enters. 35 million arrivals of 100 baht each would be 3.5 billion baht.

 

If the talk is 350 million baht unpaid medical bills, 10 baht tax could do, or 20 baht to make a double-up buffer zone, or to pay for the administration costs.

 

Additionally, if needed at all, a land-border crossing tax could exclude neighboring countries, so day-traders in markets can cross, whilst other foreigners could pay the fee, if that's administrative possible without the fee disappearing in administration costs.

The original was an airport departure tax, and there has never been one for land crossings - a rail ticket Had Yai to Padang Besar is only B50. Why would they bother trying to impose one when the revenue raised would be quite small?

[khunPer]

31 minutes ago, Ozman52 said:

The original was an airport departure tax, and there has never been one for land crossings - a rail ticket Had Yai to Padang Besar is only B50. Why would they bother trying to impose one when the revenue raised would be quite small?

Yes, it's the same departure tax I talk about, anything else might be too complicated, including land-crossing, if you read what I said.

[chilly07]

Should be 500 baht as the airport tax used to be and paid at all airports AND border crossings and the 

19000000000 generated ploughed back entirely to the Thai Health Service

[stanleycoin]

39 minutes ago, chilly07 said:

Should be 500 baht as the airport tax used to be and paid at all airports AND border crossings and the 

19000000000 generated ploughed back entirely to the Thai Health Service

Can you tell us why you think,  Tourists should fund

Thailand's health service.

 

What have you been smoking. 

 

 

 

Edited May 30, 2019 by stanleycoin

[seajae]

can see a fight over the tourism portfolio now that they know it is going to be getting lots of finances

 

[IAMHERE]

If I remember correctly the TAX to leave Thailand was 300 baht in 2007. The 300 baht EXIT FEE was paid in cash at the airport as you leave. Now the TAX is 700 baht. What does that money benefit the tourist?  Seven hundred baht times 45 million visitors is a lot.

[essox essox]

10 hours ago, Tracyb said:

Remember the days when we had to pay 300 Baht departure tax at the airport upon exiting the country?  The fee was then added to airline tickets’ price too make things “easier and quicker for departure.  I wonder where THAT money goes??

IT WAS 500 BAHT ........ AND NO ONE KNOWS WHERE THE MONEY WENT !!

[stanleycoin]

50 minutes ago, essox essox said:

IT WAS 500 BAHT ........ AND NO ONE KNOWS WHERE THE MONEY WENT !!

Maybe !!!!!!!

 

[chama]

On 5/29/2019 at 4:39 AM, worgeordie said:

I am sure the Travel tax will be put to good use........

regards Worgeordie

Define "good"? I know your kidding but this whole thing sounds wide open for manipulation allowing to channel money into pockets and not the promised channels for improvement. Pity because if used properly it could actually be beneficial. 

[jollyhangmon]

2 hours ago, IAMHERE said:

If I remember correctly the TAX to leave Thailand was 300 baht in 2007. The 300 baht EXIT FEE was paid in cash at the airport as you leave. Now the TAX is 700 baht. What does that money benefit the tourist?  Seven hundred baht times 45 million visitors is a lot.

 

... well, for the 40 million tourists they're dreaming up for this year they'd be reeking in a whopping 28 billion then, give or take.

 

In other words their purported alien-induced loss of 300 odd million healthcarewise - again: I'd very much like to see these numbers corroborated in the 1st place ... - is just about 1% (!) of their current revenue from said departure tax ... just to put things in perspective!