Tax revenue up more than a quarter

PHUKET: The Phuket Area Revenue Office (PARO) expects to have raised 5 billion baht in taxes by the end of this fiscal year on September 31, an increase of a billion baht from last year.

PARO Chief Pensri Passakul said at Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura’s monthly meeting with Provincial Office Chiefs on August 30, that between October 1 last year and July 31 this year the PARO collected 4.162 billion baht in taxes, an increase of 27% from the same period last year when 3.263 billion baht was collected.

She added that in July this year 330 million baht in taxes was collected, 30% up on the 254 million baht collected in July 2005.

K. Pensri said that the increase in revenue was mainly due to the booming property sector.

Supot Suwannachote, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Land Office (PPLO), reported to the governor that from October 2005 to the end of July 2006 the PPLO collected 921 million baht of land tax and 295 million baht in land service fees.

“We could have about 1.2 billion baht by the end of this September,” K. Supot said. “In the same period last year the PPLO collected 1.092 billion baht.”