How Thai Authorities Plan to Use Blockchain Technology

Authorities not only in Thailand but other countries as well are working hard to cope with various illegal activities. It is worth mentioning that the country’s tax collection agency will use blockchain technology to streamline tax payments in 2021.

Interestingly, the Excise Department will use this technology to improve its revenue collection instead of actually raising taxes. It makes sense as the local companies are struggling to cope with challenges. According to Lavaron Sangsnit who serves as the director-general of the department, new policies should not affect the recovery of the local economy, and that raising taxes could create problems.

People should take into consideration that, the country’s government aims to collect 530 billion baht ($17.5 billion) for the fiscal year 2020. Last year the government collected $18 billion. 

It is worth noting that the Revenue and Customs Departments will also incorporate blockchain technology into their operations in 2021. Notably, blockchain will help the departments stated above calculate tax liabilities, import duties, and prices. 

Interestingly,  the departments will combine blockchain-based collection data into a single database, which will supposedly make tax evasion more difficult. 

Blockchain technology and oil exporters

It is worth mentioning that the Excise Department which is part of the Ministry of Finance started to implement blockchain technology for assessing tax refunds for oil exporters. The regime will require oil exporters to pay excise taxes as well as claims overpaid taxes after they have shipped the fuel. Importantly, using a distributed ledger will reportedly make the claims process for oil exporters faster as well as more transparent. 

As a reminder, oil plays a very important role in Thailand. The revenue that comes from exporting oil represents a crucial part of the Thai government’s budget, accounting for around 200 billion baht per year ($6.6 billion) or around two-thirds of all revenues collected annually. The new system for oil exporters should be fully operational by the first quarter of 2021. 

The coronavirus pandemic continues to dominate the headlines for more than half a year. It is not surprising as the pandemic is not over yet. In this situation, the country’s government should try not to raise taxes as at least some companies may cease to exist due to this factor. Nevertheless, it is important to collect taxes in a timely manner. 

As mentioned earlier, the country’s tax collection agency will use blockchain technology to streamline tax payments in 2021. This way it will be easier to reach this goal. Moreover, other countries should also pay more attention to blockchain technology when it comes to collecting taxes.