Thailand’s Cabinet raised excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco, which will immediately raise the price of hard liquor and cigarettes, but have no effect on beer or wine prices.
The tax on rice whiskey jumps from 120 baht a liter to 150 baht, based on alcohol content. For blended liquor the taxes jumps 50 baht to 350 baht per liter. The tax on brandy jumps slightly from a maximum of 48 percent to 50 percent.
Beer and wine already sits at the highest allowable tax rate.
The tax rate on cigarettes jumped two percentage points to 87 percent based on weight per cigarette. The result could be an increase in the price of a pack of cigarettes of 6-9 baht. Imported cigarettes could see increases of up to 20 baht per pack.
Deputy Prime Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong told reporters the tax hikes were aimed at boosting government revenue and cutting consumption, while also squeezing out cheaper imported booze and smokes.
Excise Department Director-General Benja Luicharoen said the increase should boost her department’s revenues by 12 billion baht annually, with 10 billion baht of that coming from cigarette taxes.
