Rocky start for Thailand’s latest alcohol tax reform

As the newly proposed alcohol tax reforms in Thailand kick in, Nimmi Malhotra looks into the impact on the country’s wine trade. Thailand has decided to cut its prohibitive alcohol taxes. The tax changes were announced earlier this year, and took effect from 1 March. The cabinet proposed an alcohol tax slash at three levels. First, the import duties of 54% will be reduced to 0%. Second, the excise tax will drop from 10% to 5%. Another excise tax, which applies to the volume and percentage of alcohol and calculated at 1,500 Bhat (£32.84) per litre for every 100 degrees of alcohol content, will now come down to 1,000 Bhat. Christophe Imbert of Comte de Sibour Ltd, a wine distribution company with a strong focus on on-trade distribution, confirmed to db that the excise cuts are fully confirmed, and the import cuts will be applied to every exit from the bonded warehouse starting this week. There are two reasons behind the tax system overhaul, according to Michel Conrad of Independent ...