Thailand: Alcohol excise taxes raised

[Pib]

I just went to Lotus and bought three cases (12 bottles per case) of Chang Draught in their Liquor Store....still same price of Bt467. Within the Lotus store they had a couple pallets of regular Chang 12 bottle cases on sale for Bt467 which is the regular price. Maybe my Lotus store didn't get the tax increase memo....probably just hadn't had time to adjust the prices since this outstanding govt (giggle, giggle) basically raised the tax overnight.

I expect they are just going to sale their current stock at current prices regardless of what the govt wants and incoming stock will bear the new and improved price. This tax increase should allow Khun Yinluck to accomplish many more overseas trips...if that is possible.

[kimamey]

With a straight face it was announced that this is not a revenue raising move and of course not, no cash strapped government would ever resort to such measures to generate more money to throw at their supporters and keep them on side.

The official excuse is that it's designed to cut down on drinking and for good measure it was also said it was hoped there would be no alcohol consumption during Buddhist Lent. I'll drink to that, if i can afford it.

If the reason is to cut down on drinking why does it say that it will be more for imported whisky?

[kimamey]

I just went to Lotus and bought three cases (12 bottles per case) of Chang Draught in their Liquor Store....still same price of Bt467. Within the Lotus store they had a couple pallets of regular Chang 12 bottle cases on sale for Bt467 which is the regular price. Maybe my Lotus store didn't get the tax increase memo....probably just hadn't had time to adjust the prices since this outstanding govt (giggle, giggle) basically raised the tax overnight.

I expect they are just going to sale their current stock at current prices regardless of what the govt wants and incoming stock will bear the new and improved price. This tax increase should allow Khun Yinluck to accomplish many more overseas trips...if that is possible.

I would assume that the tax is already applied by the time it gets to the shelves so there's no need to increase the price until new stocks arrive. Maybe someone can confirm if this is true in Thailand as it is in other countries.

Of course some places will try this to boost their profits anyway.

[kimamey]

get me a good exchange rate and i really dont care what you do. But alot of ppl do and will go somewhere else around the perimeter of the country for cheapppp booze

Yep. It's all about you, Lee.

Stop complaining RogueLeader. It's a much longer comment than he normally gives. I could be wrong but he may just be getting the hang of this posting business. Or possibly he's just drunk on cheap booze. Definitely looks likely given his spelling, grammar and sentence construction.

Frankly I'm so appalled and disgusted I think I'll go and get drunk to try and forget.

[KittenKong]

When i first got here i thought alcohol was cheap, but under further inspection it is getting quit expensive.

I seem to remember several decades ago that a beer here cost nearly three times what it did in the Philippines. Filipino beer is better too!

Thailand is indeed looking very overpriced for many things these days. A Baht devaluation comparable to the recent Indian one of around 20-25% would go some way towards making prices more sensible.

[Nooky2]

I'm still waiting for the competition from other countries they promised a year or so ago that would push prices down.

[Thai at Heart]

It's getting expensive. Simple.

[beammeup]

So how much will a 600bt bottle of wine go up?

[robblok]

This is great can you imagine all those foreigners here older on a pension.. their currency dropping now the price of alcohol going up. Finally some of those poor souls might be forced to stop drinking and go on with a healthy life. The government has such great visions and thinks about those poor foreigners who are not able to stop sitting in front of a 711 sipping their beer. Now they will have to their health will benefit.

I can only say.. great way to go now do the same for cigarettes. They will force all the people into hard drugs and such as it will be cheaper on the long run. Then those poor old foreigners try it to get at least some feeling.. get caught and deported. Back to their old country where they enroll back in healthcare and everyone is happy

*satire*

[fxe1200]

Pity governments don't get what they ask for- no drinking and smoking for that matter...

Tax on alcohol is a real cash cow and demand is largely inelastic so the money keeps rolling in.

Thais are still going to drink and if the alcohol tax becomes too opressive they will brew their own booze (if they already aren't )

They brew their own "Lao kao" or "Jadong" , spice it with honey or fruits. The original rice moonshine is processed in Songkhla, the city, where the government of the province is located at, contains 70% of alcohol and complements the international brands of "duty free" spirits, which come from the Malaysian border and are available at the known "major outlets", which also sell cigarettes for 180 THB a carton. Come to where the flavour is, come to Hat Yai!

[djbarry]

Higher taxes should only be paid on alcohol beverages manufactured from today onward!!!

The likes of Macro have a shit-load in stock that should be sold at the normal price.

Where is the justice

[CPH]

Just go to the Philippines. 1 bottle of wine 180 baht, 1/2 liter beer 25 baht, 1 bottle of rum, gin 60 baht. Cigarettes Marlboro 32 baht.

[trainman34014]

Went in to Big C at 1330 and they were still selling at old prices on all booze but; the beer case shelves were all but cleared and no Chang so i smiled sweetly (as i can anyway ) and asked a young lass if they had any more. She told me to wait and then beckoned me to the storehouse door whereupon a male staff member plonked a case of Chang Draught in my trolley. I then nipped around to the wine section where many folks were grabbing all the large bottles and managed to get one red and one white before they all vanished.

Roamed around further to get other bits whilst there and reached the till at 1405....Oh dear; they didn't want to sell booze after 1400, what nonsense when i had been there since 1330, so i said 'Get Boss please' and waited. Three other girls came and went... bla bla bla to each other and then male seen earlier at booze area arrives with one bottle of Chang Draught. Girl nods and puts everything through the till and big wai... goodbye. I've seen people in Makro go anytime with two or more cases with no problem but from this new experience it seems you only actually need one more bottle to buy 'out of hours'.

I wonder if there is anyone in Thai officialdom that could explain to us what the point is in having 'out of hours' for buying booze when it can be got around so simply. Another quirk of Amazing Thailand i presume !

[trainman34014]

Higher taxes should only be paid on alcohol beverages manufactured from today onward!!!

The likes of Macro have a shit-load in stock that should be sold at the normal price.

Where is the justice

Yes; it actually started from 0001 today and i also went into Makro today as well as Big C but my Makro branch, selling at old prices, is all but sold out of most beers as the guzzlers have already hit this morning.

[mrfill]

I wonder if the complainers are the same who object to the minivan drivers being drunk on cheap booze?

That would be rather hypocritical.

[ginjag]

Higher taxes should only be paid on alcohol beverages manufactured from today onward!!!

The likes of Macro have a shit-load in stock that should be sold at the normal price.

Where is the justice

Yes; it actually started from 0001 today and i also went into Makro today as well as Big C but my Makro branch, selling at old prices, is all but sold out of most beers as the guzzlers have already hit this morning.

Just have to laugh at all and sundry rushing to the big shops, like tomorrow never comes, and panic buying, like alcohol could never be sold again. The end of the world is nigh.

[tingtongfarang]

I wonder if the complainers are the same who object to the minivan drivers being drunk on cheap booze?

That would be rather hypocritical.

I believe the average van drivers diet consists of local hooch, lippo, yabba, with the odd suck on a water bottle

[madmitch]

Higher taxes should only be paid on alcohol beverages manufactured from today onward!!!

The likes of Macro have a shit-load in stock that should be sold at the normal price.

Where is the justice

Yes; it actually started from 0001 today and i also went into Makro today as well as Big C but my Makro branch, selling at old prices, is all but sold out of most beers as the guzzlers have already hit this morning.

Just have to laugh at all and sundry rushing to the big shops, like tomorrow never comes, and panic buying, like alcohol could never be sold again. The end of the world is nigh.

A lot of people run businesses at very tight margins therefore it is completely understandable.

But how many unscrupulous bar owners will have bought at the old price only to sell at an increased price? Wouldn't surprise me if the bars on Soi Bangla in Phuket have put their prices up already.

[sunshine51]

Well...after reading all the postings in this thread while sipping on a warclub of beer

Sing, all I have to say is that...the increase doesn't bother me that much but if it

gets too pricey...perhaps I'll drink more Sato from then onwards!

Edited September 4, 2013 by sunshine51

[kimamey]

Went in to Big C at 1330 and they were still selling at old prices on all booze but; the beer case shelves were all but cleared and no Chang so i smiled sweetly (as i can anyway ) and asked a young lass if they had any more. She told me to wait and then beckoned me to the storehouse door whereupon a male staff member plonked a case of Chang Draught in my trolley. I then nipped around to the wine section where many folks were grabbing all the large bottles and managed to get one red and one white before they all vanished.

Roamed around further to get other bits whilst there and reached the till at 1405....Oh dear; they didn't want to sell booze after 1400, what nonsense when i had been there since 1330, so i said 'Get Boss please' and waited. Three other girls came and went... bla bla bla to each other and then male seen earlier at booze area arrives with one bottle of Chang Draught. Girl nods and puts everything through the till and big wai... goodbye. I've seen people in Makro go anytime with two or more cases with no problem but from this new experience it seems you only actually need one more bottle to buy 'out of hours'.

I wonder if there is anyone in Thai officialdom that could explain to us what the point is in having 'out of hours' for buying booze when it can be got around so simply. Another quirk of Amazing Thailand i presume !

I was under the impression that out of hours you could buy a case of beer but not a can. I might be wrong of course and I didn't try to understand as I don't need alcohol that much and value my sanity more. Although strangely I come on here a lot.

[Pib]

Went in to Big C at 1330 and they were still selling at old prices on all booze but; the beer case shelves were all but cleared and no Chang so i smiled sweetly (as i can anyway ) and asked a young lass if they had any more. She told me to wait and then beckoned me to the storehouse door whereupon a male staff member plonked a case of Chang Draught in my trolley. I then nipped around to the wine section where many folks were grabbing all the large bottles and managed to get one red and one white before they all vanished.

Roamed around further to get other bits whilst there and reached the till at 1405....Oh dear; they didn't want to sell booze after 1400, what nonsense when i had been there since 1330, so i said 'Get Boss please' and waited. Three other girls came and went... bla bla bla to each other and then male seen earlier at booze area arrives with one bottle of Chang Draught. Girl nods and puts everything through the till and big wai... goodbye. I've seen people in Makro go anytime with two or more cases with no problem but from this new experience it seems you only actually need one more bottle to buy 'out of hours'.

I wonder if there is anyone in Thai officialdom that could explain to us what the point is in having 'out of hours' for buying booze when it can be got around so simply. Another quirk of Amazing Thailand i presume !

I was under the impression that out of hours you could buy a case of beer but not a can. I might be wrong of course and I didn't try to understand as I don't need alcohol that much and value my sanity more. Although strangely I come on here a lot.

During certain hours you can only buy 10 liters or more...which usually means 2 cases of beer. I've bought my 2 cases of beers many, many times during those special hours like between 2pm and 5pm.

[kuiburi]

Its to attract the "high-end" tourist , because they don't drink cheap stuff .

Edited September 4, 2013 by metisdead
Unnecessary usage of bold font removed.

[Thai at Heart]

Its to attract the "high-end" tourist , because they don't drink cheap stuff .

And they don't like paying 5 star for 1 star product any more than anyone else.

[kuiburi]

Its to attract the "high-end" tourist , because they don't drink cheap stuff .

And they don't like paying 5 star for 1 star product any more than anyone else.

Yes , agree fully . But the Thai government don't seem to understand that foreignors "high-end or average" have some standards of quality .

[fxe1200]

Higher taxes should only be paid on alcohol beverages manufactured from today onward!!!

The likes of Macro have a shit-load in stock that should be sold at the normal price.

Where is the justice

Yes; it actually started from 0001 today and i also went into Makro today as well as Big C but my Makro branch, selling at old prices, is all but sold out of most beers as the guzzlers have already hit this morning.

Great for the supermarkets to finally get rid of the beer, which has been sitting on their shelves for ages, and is dead anyway. Let them guzzlers have the piss. Cheers!!

[yougivemebaby]

With a straight face it was announced that this is not a revenue raising move and of course not, no cash strapped government would ever resort to such measures to generate more money to throw at their supporters and keep them on side.

The official excuse is that it's designed to cut down on drinking and for good measure it was also said it was hoped there would be no alcohol consumption during Buddhist Lent. I'll drink to that, if i can afford it.

I was surprised that my absolute vodka was the same price yesterday (i went to central in pattaya.) I asked the alcohol cashier if the prices were to be raised?? He said 'Only on two imported whiskey's, Johnny Walker and Chivas'. Which I'm not fond of these days. So I'm guessing 99% of us don't need to worry about the raised prices.

Have a fun alcohol fueled naked penis showing day!

[Minnehaha]

if the tax is based on alcohol content

and 3 Baht is the rise on beer assuming 6% alcohol content

then

If you drink 40% whiskey the rise would be about 21 Baht.

did I get that right?

Thats not so bad, actually.

[GrantSmith]

I have it on pretty good authority, that despite the implementation of this tax rise even the department responsible for it don't know how to apply it...

Hahaha...

[ginjag]

I have it on pretty good authority, that despite the implementation of this tax rise even the department responsible for it don't know how to apply it...

Hahaha...

Sure, but ten meetings later and expenses paid they will get the gist of it.

[louse1953]

Even before this increase, I could only afford to go to my favorite Silom pub (The Pintman) during happy hours. Thailand is now very expensive almost everywhere except the street corner fried rice shop. In my mind I am considering Cambodia next for Anchor beer at 50 cents during happy hours and $1 in all other time...

Your moving because of the price of beer!!!