Thai Manufacturers May Face New Environment Tax

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

14 February 2002

Under new proposals put forward by the Thai Pollution Control Department, the country's manufacturers will face stiff excise taxes in order to cover the cost of managing waste generated by their products and to encourage recyling and other environmentally friendly waste disposal measures.

Speaking at a seminar attended by both government agencies and private companies, the Pollution Control Department chief, Sirithan Boriboon admitted that 'The on-going campaigns to promote recycling have not worked.' According to Mr Sirithan, solid waste, such as electrical appliances and broken furniture, accounted for around 40% of the country's annual 13 million tonnes of rubbish, and only 14% of this was re-used or recycled.

Under the new environment tax proposals, excise taxes of 4,100 baht per tonne would be imposed on plastics, 800 baht per tonne on paper, 500 baht on glass, and 1,700 on metal, although producers would be able to ask for a refund once they had collected an agreed amount of their product waste.

The Federation of Thai Industries, which attended the meeting, expressed reservations over the proposals, arguing that if the burden is placed solely on manufacturers, consumers awareness will not be raised regarding the importance of recycling, which is another of the Thai Government's stated aims.

Soft drinks manufacturers, however, have welcomed the proposals, and stand to benefit if the new tax is imposed, as they already have systems in place to recall their product waste.

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