Anutin defends taxes on vaccines imported by private hospitals

[webfact]

 

By  Erich Parpart

 

Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health is defending taxes and fees imposed on private hospitals looking to bring in their own coronavirus vaccines.

 

“These are the normal fees for importing vaccines,” public health minister Anutin Charnvirakul said. “It includes delivery and quality check and other taxes which have to be paid and there is no profit being made out of it,” he said.

 

Anutin admitted last month that the country is facing a shortage on covid-vaccines. To help supplement the numbers, the government finally allowed the private hospital to bring in “alternative” vaccines to fill in the gap. Only 3 percent of the population has been vaccinated to date.

 

Full story: https://www.thaienquirer.com/27413/anutin-defends-14-per-cent-tax-on-private-hospitals-looking-to-import-vaccine/

 

-- © Copyright Thai Inquirer 2021-05-13

 

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[RichardColeman]

20 minutes ago, webfact said:

“These are the normal fees for importing vaccines,” public health minister Anutin Charnvirakul said. “It includes delivery and quality check and other taxes which have to be paid and there is no profit being made out of it,” he said.

Guy should be fired immediately - but he'll probably get a promotion

[soi3eddie]

Can anyone beleive this nonsense? During a public health emergency and almost complete shutdown of the country, the Thai government wants to tax the import of medicine (vaccine) that will benefit the public health and ensure the well being of their citizens and help the economic prospects of the nation. The private hospitals will be taxed on their profits anyway. Also, What is this nonsense about "approval" of vaccines that are already approved by far more stringent regulators in the west? Pure BS in the form of profiteering in tax. <deleted> get the vaccines in and administered ASAP. After all, Sinovac is already approved and is apparently less effective. Anutin and chumps, get on with supporting your country's health immediately with no further delays please...

 

Edited May 12, 2021 by soi3eddie

[lujanit]

27 minutes ago, webfact said:

“These are the normal fees for importing vaccines,” public health minister Anutin Charnvirakul said. “It includes delivery and quality check and other taxes which have to be paid and there is no profit being made out of it,” he said.

Unbelievable.  All he can think of is money when there is a public health crisis.  I wonder if any other country imposes import tax on covid vaccines.  

 

It is well beyond time Prayuth and his cronies are given their marching orders.

[Damrongsak]

Do they have cash flow problems?  Submarine, check.  High speed rail and some highways - Check.  Vaccines - Oh, we didn't budget for that. 

[mbenson]

Kinda show how much they really want people to get vaccinated.

 

I guess the tax is paid by the importer and then the cost passed down. There is big markup when goods are passed through the different distribution tiers. Since the tax contributes to the cost, there IS profit made on the tax then, just not by Anutin.

[Jingthing]

I filtered out the tax stuff and heard that the privates hospitals are being given the go ahead!

What took them so long?

Chop Chop Jab Jab. 

 

On the taxes, whatever, aren't the customers going to pay for all the overhead plus plus anyway? What's the diff? 

Edited May 12, 2021 by Jingthing

[sammieuk1]

There really is no hope is there ????

[Lacessit]

You're in a COVID wave that was caused by your government's stupidity in allowing Songkhran travel, and now you want to tax what would help get you out of that wave? Stupidity squared. Greed cubed.

[blackcab]

Thailand charges no import duty on any type of vaccine for human medicine. That can clearly be seen from the Integrated Tariff Database. The HS code for covid vaccines is 3002.20.90

 

That leaves VAT. The Revenue Department has previously granted a VAT exemption for covid imports, but only if they are being donated to the public for free (so the government importing vaccines and distributing them for no charge).

 

Private hospitals don't work for free, so VAT would be charged. That's not great, but at 7 per cent I don't think it's that massive a deal.

[impulse]

4 minutes ago, blackcab said:

Private hospitals don't work for free, so VAT would be charged. That's not great, but at 7 per cent I don't think it's that massive a deal.

 

Is that on top of the 14% charged by the GPO according to the article, or is the 7% VAT part of the GPO's 14%? 

 

And will the hospitals have to charge 7% VAT to the patients?

 

Not that any of that's a massive deal...  As long as they allow private vaccinations to progress.

 

Edited May 12, 2021 by impulse

[Rampant Rabbit]

Jab, what Anutin needs , <deleted> is what he is, both refer to an injection. don't  want any misunderstandings.

[ezzra]

Stupid bureaucrats never die they just keep popping up in every inept government defending their stupid logic...

[impulse]

1 hour ago, lujanit said:

Unbelievable.  All he can think of is money when there is a public health crisis.  I wonder if any other country imposes import tax on covid vaccines.  

 

It is well beyond time Prayuth and his cronies are given their marching orders.

 

There's always the possibility that he knows a variance on the legislated procedure and taxes would take months of committee meetings to approve.

 

BTW, reading the linked article is usually a good idea...

 

[Fex Bluse]

1 hour ago, soi3eddie said:

Can anyone beleive this nonsense? During a public health emergency and almost complete shutdown of the country, the Thai government wants to tax the import of medicine (vaccine) that will benefit the public health and ensure the well being of their citizens and help the economic prospects of the nation. The private hospitals will be taxed on their profits anyway. Also, What is this nonsense about "approval" of vaccines that are already approved by far more stringent regulators in the west? Pure BS in the form of profiteering in tax. <deleted> get the vaccines in and administered ASAP. After all, Sinovac is already approved and is apparently less effective. Anutin and chumps, get on with supporting your country's health immediately with no further delays please...

 

 

The rose glasses defend-all-things-Thai brigade will continue to tell us that the Thai covid response has been among the best in the world and that's why the numbers are so low. 

 

They disagree that Thailand is a basket case and is simply not testing enough. 

[colinneil]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

These are the normal fees for importing vaccines,” public health minister Anutin Charnvirakul said.

Anutin you and your covid czar care only about money, sod peoples health, just grab as much money as possible.

You are an absolute disgrace, health minister no, your title should be Co co the clown.

[ikke1959]

It is really time for this stupid man Anutin to step down, get fired,  or whatever.. He has no brains as many times told already. He hates foreigners, is incapable of doing his job, and is only in the government to enrich himself. Nobody will miss this man..There is no tax for Sinovac and Asta Zenica.. so why for the private hospitals??

[Neeranam]

Good news about the private hospitals. 

Some were saying they'd be happy paying an increased price, now they're complaining. Please develop a jab to eradicate Thai bashers. 

 

[Crossy]

7 minutes ago, colinneil said:

Anutin you and your covid czar care only about money, sod peoples health, just grab as much money as possible.

You are an absolute disgrace, health minister no, your title should be Co co the clown.

 

Headline:-

Nicolai Poliakoff OBE brings defamation charges against Thaivisa member after he compared the Thai Health Minister to his beloved character Coco the Clown. Coco said that "this is defamation of the worst kind and puts the art of clowning in a seriously bad light".

 

 

[Jimbone]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

You're in a COVID wave that was caused by your government's stupidity in allowing Songkhran travel, and now you want to tax what would help get you out of that wave? Stupidity squared. Greed cubed.

Or....was that the plan to increase revenues?  Not sure they would think that far ahead but when it comes to putting money in their pockets....

[faraday]

8 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Good news about the private hospitals. 

Some were saying they'd be happy paying an increased price, now they're complaining. Please develop a jab to eradicate Thai bashers. 

 

It's the gubmint being bashed.

[Damrongsak]

29 minutes ago, colinneil said:

Anutin you and your covid czar care only about money, sod peoples health, just grab as much money as possible.

You are an absolute disgrace, health minister no, your title should be Co co the clown.

The big boss is Co Czo the clown. 

[Orinoco]

38 minutes ago, colinneil said:

Anutin you and your covid czar care only about money, sod peoples health, just grab as much money as possible.

You are an absolute disgrace, health minister no, your title should be Co co the clown.

Please stop insulting clowns.

[James26]

NO MONEY, NO HONEY!

[Crossy]

A post has been removed.

 

Please do not discuss, mention, allude to (or anything else) ownership of Siam Bioscience. We all know by now and if we don't Google can be our friend.

[Curt1591]

If this doesn't demonstrate it's all about the money, I don't know what would. 

[irishman25]

3 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Guy should be fired immediately - but he'll probably get a promotion

now they will be a service and deliver cost and building and labor cost;s that now 5000. 

[Tarteso]

And now give us these Chinese jab !

Reading news in NYT today;

...”But now, a surge in coronavirus cases, including among the fully vaccinated, is making some question the choice of vaccine. Scientists are warning that developing nations that choose to use the Chinese vaccines may end up lagging behind countries using vaccines with stronger efficacy numbers”.

[Damrongsak]

1 minute ago, Tarteso said:

And now give us these Chinese jab !

Reading news in NYT today;

...”But now, a surge in coronavirus cases, including among the fully vaccinated, is making some question the choice of vaccine. Scientists are warning that developing nations that choose to use the Chinese vaccines may end up lagging behind countries using vaccines with stronger efficacy numbers”.

It's like eating Chinese food.  An hour later you're hungry.  (That's what we used to say in the USA when we were kids.)

[Excel]

9 minutes ago, Tarteso said:

And now give us these Chinese jab !

Reading news in NYT today;

...”But now, a surge in coronavirus cases, including among the fully vaccinated, is making some question the choice of vaccine. Scientists are warning that developing nations that choose to use the Chinese vaccines may end up lagging behind countries using vaccines with stronger efficacy numbers”.

I suppose it must be true then if the NYT are reporting it ?