Alcohol tax revamp urged

       Excise taxes for alcoholic beverages should be overhauled to be strictly based on alcoholic content, according to Satit Rungkasiri, director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office.
       Shifting tax calculations to be based on degree rather than quantity is in keeping with the idea that beverages with higher alcoholic content should pay higher tax, considering the higher potential cost to public health and society.
       Mr Satit also said Thailand was unique in charging excise taxes for beers based on a three-category system: premium,standard and economy."No other country uses the system we use for beers. It only introduces complications in calculating taxes."
       But past efforts to overhaul the tax structure for beer, wine, liquors and spirits have mostly failed, in part to heavy lobbying by domestic producers.
       Excise taxes for beer are currently calculated as 55% of the ex-factory price or 100 baht per litre-equivalent of 100%alcohol, whichever is higher. In general,charging based on alcoholic content will bring the government more money.
       The three-category structure is complicated as each has its own reference for ex-factory prices, with economy the lowest and premium the highest. This is despite the fact that production costs for beer differ relatively little.
       Past efforts to link tax rates to alcohol content have also been impeded by government policies to assist community producers of white spirits, which generally have more alcohol than imports.