Hotels cough up 30% of rooms tax

PHUKET: Dr Prasit Koysiripong, president of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), told the Gazette yesterday that Phuket hotels are finally coming forward to pay the much-disputed hotel tax. “Hotels have been coming to the OrBorJor to pay the tax,” he said, adding that at least 10 hotels had come forward since last month and paid their dues, boosting the total collected to 2.24 million baht, or about 30% of the OrBorJor’s revised first-year estimate of 8 million baht. Hotels are supposed to deliver the tax collected each month by the 10th of the following month. The penalty for failing to do so is a fine of up to 5,000 baht, or imprisonment of up to three months, or both. However, in this, the first year of the tax, the OrBorJor is giving hotels until October 1 to deliver the tax without facing penalties. The current tax rate is 0.5% of room revenues. This will rise to 1% on October 1, which, the OrBorJor expects, will put some 20 million baht into its coffers in the coming tax year. The tax revenue is to be used by the OrBorJor to fund various projects, such as providing beach lifeguards.