Taxing times: Excise tax bites hard as Patong businesses suffer

[rooster59]

Taxing times: Excise tax bites hard as Patong businesses suffer 

By Tanyaluk Sakoot

 

Entertainment business owners in Patong are crying foul over the new excise tax, saying they are already under too much pressure. Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot
 

PHUKET: Calls by Preechawut “Prab” Keesin, the well-known head of the Pisona Group of companies, for a reprieve on an 11% excise tax levied on entertainment businesses in Patong are gaining support, with leading business figures ready to lobby the Phuket Governor for support.

 

The new tax, and alleged heavy-handed approach by officials in its collection, is being branded as possibly the final straw killing off entertainment businesses in Phuket’s busiest tourism town.

 

Mr Prab, a son of long-time former Patong Mayor Pian Keesin, late last week went public in saying that the tax is too much for local businesses, who are already suffering heavily from plunging tourism figures.

Full story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/taxing-times-excise-tax-bites-hard-as-patong-businesses-suffer-71716.php#ATfU5800BBwPLIX0.97

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2019-06-08

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[GeorgeCross]

17 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

Mr Prab, a son of long-time former Patong Mayor Pian Keesin, late last week went public in saying that the tax is too much for local businesses, who are already suffering heavily from plunging tourism figures.

 

not what TAT says!?

 

 

[madmitch]

Interesting that the TAT seem to quote 80 - 90% occupancy rates, as does Bill Barnett's operation, but the head of the Phuket Chamber of Commerce is coming up with a more realistic 50-55%. This is probably due to the types of hotel that the first two use in compiling their statistics.

 

I hate to think what the annual occupancy rate for small to medium hotels will be over the course of the year as many are completely empty at the moment as the quietest low season in many years is currently hitting home. Plus the high season seems to be shorter every year.

 

Yet still the numbers of visitors are rising, according to the Government. But where are they?

Edited June 8, 2019 by madmitch

[RichardColeman]

[TTSIssues]

Where are the visitors? They are all short stay package tourists, in and out in a couple of days, just long enough to be fleeced round the shops. Gone are the days of families and groups staying for two or three weeks. A more useful measure would be number of tourists days, no number of people

[Cake Monster]

2 hours ago, TTSIssues said:

Where are the visitors? They are all short stay package tourists, in and out in a couple of days, just long enough to be fleeced round the shops. Gone are the days of families and groups staying for two or three weeks. A more useful measure would be number of tourists days, no number of people

They are then trollied off to Cambodia, which has seen a huge ( relatively ) rise in Tourists.

The Chinese do love their casino,s.

[bluesofa]

 

"The “new” 11% tax is technically a 10% levy on incomes on all entertainment businesses, plus a 1% “general tax”, introduced under the revised Excise Tax Act which came into effect on Sept 16, 2017.

Now, with a full Thai tax year concluded since the new levy was introduced, tax officials are calling for operators to pay up"

 

Does this mean that all entertainment businesses nationwide will be liable for this tax, or is it, as many laws are, being applied selectively?

 

"Business owners were not prepared for the tax, Mr Prab added, and accused officials of not informing them properly of what the new tax required.

“We and other businesses didn’t have a chance to prepare for this 11% tax. We have been adding only 7% for the to customers’ bills,” he said."

 

Does the above mean it's a direct tax on all sales in entertainment venues - will it include bar fines, or is it perhaps a tax levied on say, profit, but has been quoted incorrectly above, when referring to the 7% VAT?

 

What is the "1% general tax"? Seeing as it is described separately from the entertainment tax, will this be subject to other sales/services universally?

 

 

Edited June 8, 2019 by bluesofa
grammar

[Dumbastheycome]

It seems that there is a generalized effort  to apply taxes  across more than just  "entertainment" venues.

Perhaps  not  directly  from the Thai IRD.

Established  restaurants even in rural areas  have been  visited  by  people  measuring  commercial "area" for customers on the basis of applying a tax.

While it is difficult  to reconcile  the debate on whether "area" is  a justifiable  basis when compared to the multitudes of mobile food vendors who escape most if  not any food and hygiene inspection standards it is a signal that there is a move to  extract tax revenue from microbusiness. 

That  "entertainment" business  which has a much bigger percentage of turnover and profit( if they are  viable) is now subject should be of lesser concern than the  very high possibility that  small established  local vendors will have any marginal viability destroyed.

That  for maybe an hour a premises  has people  waiting a sitting space has little relevance  to the  remainder of any day where  customers  are  not attending as compared  to a  mobile outlet that may have  opportunist sale  to  many more yet  even if  taxed on "area"  does  not have the overhead  costs  in equivalence.

Unfortunately or maybe   fortunately the Thai  IRD  has  had difficulty in applying  income taxes  equitably to  income across the  board.

Problematic in that is the  fact that  a majority of Thai  do  not  subscribe to having a Bank Account.

Not   too  far distance  it will  become  mandatory as factor  in  extracting  the  cost  of  :Governance".

 

a

[bluesofa]

4 minutes ago, Dumbastheycome said:

It seems that there is a generalized effort  to apply taxes  across more than just  "entertainment" venues.

Perhaps  not  directly  from the Thai IRD.

Established  restaurants even in rural areas  have been  visited  by  people  measuring  commercial "area" for customers on the basis of applying a tax.

{snipped}

Thanks for your comprehensive reply.

 

Above you said, "Perhaps  not  directly  from the Thai IRD." If not, then who might be doing so, and how come they are involved in Thai RD matters?

Is it the same people visiting restaurants?

[Dumbastheycome]

1 minute ago, bluesofa said:

Thanks for your comprehensive reply.

 

Above you said, "Perhaps  not  directly  from the Thai IRD." If not, then who might be doing so, and how come they are involved in Thai RD matters?

Is it the same people visiting restaurants?

Perhaps  "Local Government"  sent  to  collect.

"The Empire  owes  to  Rome" ?

I  have  yet to discover the  source of the edict.

[Sydebolle]

The BS is getting greater on a daily basis.

The tourism figures do, slightly, vary - depending on who you ask. The TAT has double and triple digit increases of quality tourists, the physical operators face empty hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues. The only true thing might be, that Pattaya has no prostitution as the hookers moved elsewhere where the business is.

Likewise BS is the excise tax; I seriously wonder who is NOT cooking the books. As long as they pay some taxes they are off the radar. Note to self; never book a loss at the end of the year.

Last, possibly not least, somebody has to pay for the 40 billion airport link, the three submarines are steaming (or nuclearing?) their way to the shallow shores of Thailand. But as Pattaya needs beach beautification work done to the tune of 665 million this year alone - as per the gifted mayor - this sand relocation exercise could prove a double winner. Pattaya has sandy beaches and the submarines can dock somewhere .....

[the guest]

I haven't visited Patong for years, I hear it's just (if not more) expensive than places in Europe. Eventually tourists will disappear if prices don't fit the glove, which in this case is a third-world country with poor infrastructure, a lack of adequate facilities, and a bad reputation of ripping-off tourists.

 

As a result, Vietnam and Cambodia are becoming more attractive places for those seeking a truly Asian experience without all the glamour.

[xylophone]

On 6/8/2019 at 11:43 AM, madmitch said:

Interesting that the TAT seem to quote 80 - 90% occupancy rates, as does Bill Barnett's operation, but the head of the Phuket Chamber of Commerce is coming up with a more realistic 50-55%. This is probably due to the types of hotel that the first two use in compiling their statistics.

 

I hate to think what the annual occupancy rate for small to medium hotels will be over the course of the year as many are completely empty at the moment as the quietest low season in many years is currently hitting home. Plus the high season seems to be shorter every year.

 

Yet still the numbers of visitors are rising, according to the Government. But where are they?

Good post MM and agree entirely with what you say, and if I remember correctly a few years ago there was a similar suggestion that TAT only report on a certain select number of high quality hotels with regards to their occupancy rates, whereas any other hotel/guesthouses under that do not get a mention.

 

Furthermore an executive in one of the top hotels in Patong told me that there was great competition between those top hotels as to who had the highest occupancy rates, so those reported numbers were sometimes inflated, especially if a competitor reported a higher rate...........

 

Like you, I see the smaller businesses and not only hotels, as suffering very badly at the moment.

 

Another poster mentioned that it's quite likely that the small tour groups of Chinese and the like stay in cheap hotels and move on after a few days, and that certainly fits in with what I've seen in the likes of Nanai road.

 

When I left Patong a week  or so ago, the place was very quiet with restaurant alley, by Jungceylon, being almost empty on many days and a few of the bars and clubs being sparsely populated, much more so than on other low seasons. 

[gk10002000]

On ‎6‎/‎7‎/‎2019 at 8:50 PM, rooster59 said:

suffering heavily from plunging tourism figures

Talk about finding new and imaginative ways to kill the golden goose.  I been to Thailand 14 times since 2004.  Have found other diversions the last few years.  And what were my supposedly definite retirement or semi retirement plans have been put on hold as the Thais create more and more limitations, paperwork, ad hoc requirements for Visas, retirement extensions, how to document monthly income now apparently demanding monthly transfers, etc.  

[gk10002000]

plummeting tourism eh?  When I first went to Karon beach I thought it was great. Some of the recent posts showing black water flowing in and around are disconcerting to say the least.  Over developing, no proper sewer or garbage disposal.