Alcohol tax studied

The Excise Department will aim to balance public health policies and the need to protect domestic alcoholic beverage producers in its ongoing tax review, says Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij. The Finance Ministry wants to revise excise taxes under the principle that spirits with higher alcoholic content pay higher tax rates. At the same time, it also is aware of the need to protect domestic producers from overseas competitors. The Excise Department has a collection target of Bt360b for fiscal 2010 ending in September, an increase of 2% from last year.