Boat owners warned over tax

PHUKET: The Phuket Excise Department has warned the owners of all imported pleasure craft, including speedboats and jet-skis, to settle their outstanding taxes before April 1 or face huge fines and possible imprisonment. An Excise Department statement said the grace period would give boat owners time to pay taxes owed. The total import taxes payable on foreign-made pleasure craft were reduced on December 19 last year from 209% to 47%. Outstanding taxes paid before April 1 will be charged at the new rate of 47%. But if a boat owner goes to pay the tax after the deadline, he may be charged at the old rate of 209%, depending on when the boat was imported. Defaulters needing to be chased could face fines of up to 20 times the tax due, or seven years in jail, or both.