Thai Baht's Strength Puts Pressure on Fiscal Revenue Collections

[webfact]

File photo

 

Revenue collection for the fiscal year ending in September 2024 fell 4-5 billion baht short of government targets due to the stronger baht, impacting VAT from imports.

 

According to finance permanent secretary Lavaron Sangsnit, the baht appreciated rapidly in the last two weeks of the fiscal year, reducing the baht value of imports like oil, leading to a dip in VAT revenue. Import values in baht terms dropped, causing the shortfall.

 

Lavaron noted that without currency fluctuations, revenue would have likely hit targets. He assured that despite the reduced collections, government spending would remain stable as budget usage rarely hits 100%.

 

For fiscal 2024, government expenditure was earmarked at 3.48 trillion baht against projected revenue of 2.78 trillion, leaving a budget deficit. The coming fiscal year 2025 follows a similar pattern, proposing expenditure of 3.75 trillion baht with expected revenue of 2.88 trillion, again falling short.

 

The Revenue Department is tasked with collecting 2.37 trillion baht of the projected revenue, while Thailand's Excise Department is set for 609 billion baht. Meanwhile, Lavaron attended an event recognising educational institutions with impressive student loan repayments from the Student Loan Fund (SLF).

 

Recent SLF law amendments have improved repayments by restructuring debt obligations to favour the principal over interest payments.

 

In the last academic year, SLF repayments increased by 10% to hit 25 billion baht. Loans granted peaked at 52 billion baht. Fund manager Chainarong Katchapanan highlighted successful debt restructuring offers, which motivate more repayments by extending terms and temporarily shelving penalties.

 

Over 200,000 borrowers from 2 million eligible benefitted, with plans to extend restructuring options to state financial entities, reported Bangkok Post.

 

-- 2024-10-30

 

 

[ikke1959]

Normal if things get more expensive there will less bought...result less income...cause manipulation of the THB... Sad thing is that Thailand always manage in breaking down good things.. I see restaurants which are always busy and than suddenly prices rises, more closures as they are asked for catering parties, or they start to use cheaper products and the quality of their food is going down and in a short time the restaurant is gone...just an example.. Government has done the same with tourism and now starting with expats, and by manipulating the THB the economy.... I never understand these ideas

[Presnock]

Guess being a senior politician here is a "walking on ice" type of working for the people.  Unless everyone is happy to some extent, then relax but the military "hanging over your head" is always right there if you slip.  But just look at the current govt.  Have a general election, strong majority win BUT some not happy make claims that in normal countries would never have taken place anyway but here, no matter what one may have done in the past, somehow they manage to remain in power - even if not by title.  Seems to me since I began staying long time in1970's, every time that the country settled down and began making some progress, oops a coup...this continues into this century too.  hopefully, there will be some political stabilization but not right at the moment.  Then next year, they enter BRICS and who knows what changes that will bring.  I think it is funny that Indonesia and Malysia both plan on joining BRICS next year too and within the past month both have had their navy chasing Chinese navy ships out of their exclusive economic zones.  They want to cozy up to the BRICS folks but it seems to me that they are only thinking of impossible increase of sales to those BRICS folks and we know that in reality the BRICS folks are increasing their numbers to garner more markets for their own folks and more votes against the west.

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Normal if things get more expensive there will less bought...result less income...cause manipulation of the THB... Sad thing is that Thailand always manage in breaking down good things.. I see restaurants which are always busy and than suddenly prices rises, more closures as they are asked for catering parties, or they start to use cheaper products and the quality of their food is going down and in a short time the restaurant is gone...just an example.. Government has done the same with tourism and now starting with expats, and by manipulating the THB the economy.... I never understand these ideas

Thai logic

[candide]

3 hours ago, Presnock said:

Guess being a senior politician here is a "walking on ice" type of working for the people.  Unless everyone is happy to some extent, then relax but the military "hanging over your head" is always right there if you slip.  But just look at the current govt.  Have a general election, strong majority win BUT some not happy make claims that in normal countries would never have taken place anyway but here, no matter what one may have done in the past, somehow they manage to remain in power - even if not by title.  Seems to me since I began staying long time in1970's, every time that the country settled down and began making some progress, oops a coup...this continues into this century too.  hopefully, there will be some political stabilization but not right at the moment.  Then next year, they enter BRICS and who knows what changes that will bring.  I think it is funny that Indonesia and Malysia both plan on joining BRICS next year too and within the past month both have had their navy chasing Chinese navy ships out of their exclusive economic zones.  They want to cozy up to the BRICS folks but it seems to me that they are only thinking of impossible increase of sales to those BRICS folks and we know that in reality the BRICS folks are increasing their numbers to garner more markets for their own folks and more votes against the west.

BRICS is mainly a forum, like G7. It's not a trade zone.

[driver52]

13 minutes ago, candide said:

BRICS is mainly a forum, like G7. It's not a trade zone.

Brics pay is coming, that's another nail in the dollars coffin

those countries are already doing trade 'outside of US sanctions', why? cos the US forced em to by not allowing em to use the USD 

[candide]

11 minutes ago, driver52 said:

Brics pay is coming, that's another nail in the dollars coffin

those countries are already doing trade 'outside of US sanctions', why? cos the US forced em to by not allowing em to use the USD 

Right. Russia and China are keen about it. Now will "normal" exporters accept to be paid in Rubles and plenty of other currencies? That's another story.

And anyway, as I said, there's no prospect of BRICS becoming a trade zone.

[FlorC]

Don't worry , next year they are going to get their hands on all those expat incomes , maybe even on their worldwide income.

[Gknrd]

26 minutes ago, FlorC said:

Don't worry , next year they are going to get their hands on all those expat incomes , maybe even on their worldwide income.

Most people with money are smarter than to let Thailand raid their savings.. Only people the income tax and all the other rip offs will affect are the old timers that don't want or cannot leave.  If I were still there I would be selling everything including my underwear and stacking up Thai Baht in a bank...

[driver52]

1 hour ago, candide said:

Right. Russia and China are keen about it. Now will "normal" exporters accept to be paid in Rubles and plenty of other currencies? That's another story.

And anyway, as I said, there's no prospect of BRICS becoming a trade zone.

crypto boss, nowt to do with rubles.....

they are already doing 'business'......where do you think the russian oil is all going?

AND why are the US buying billions of enriched uranium from Russia still? hypocrisy much?

[candide]

2 hours ago, driver52 said:

crypto boss, nowt to do with rubles.....

they are already doing 'business'......where do you think the russian oil is all going?

AND why are the US buying billions of enriched uranium from Russia still? hypocrisy much?

Yes, Russia is already doing business in this way by giving big discounts.

 

I don't see any coherence. If It's in crypto money, they don't need a specific BRICS payment system. It can already be done without it.

 

My comment was about "normal" exporters, ex.  a company exporting from SA to Brazil. I doubt they are particularly interested in being paid in real or crypto, rather than being paid in USD.