The Revenue Department's tax collection for the first two months of fiscal 2019 was higher than expected by double digits, largely stemming from better efficiency following adoption of data analytics.
An improving economy, better tax-collecting efficiency and lower tax leakage contributed to the robust tax revenue, said Ekniti Nitithanprapas, director-general of the Revenue Department.
The department has applied data analytics to sort out good taxpayers from those who evade tax payments, he said.
Those who are classified as good taxpayers will benefit from conveniences such as faster tax refunds, while tax avoiders will face more stringent inspection, Mr Ekniti said.
He confirmed that the adoption of data analytics was not intended to chase down individual taxpayers, but rather it has made tracking taxpayers more convenient.
The Revenue Department has applied the technology to charitable donations and insurance premium claims, enabling it to immediately learn how much taxpayers donate and pay for insurance premiums without waiting for them to file documents for tax deductions.
The technology will be extended to interest incurred from deposits, as well as contributions to the Government Pension Fund, long-term equity funds and retirement mutual funds, in the next step.
From October to November, the Revenue Department gathered 274 billion baht, exceeding the target by 27 billion or 11.1% and up 34 billion baht or 14.1% from a year earlier.
Value-added tax (VAT) amounted to 138 billion baht, surpassing the target by 9.83 billion or 7.6% and up 12.5 billion or 9.9% on the same period a year earlier.
Duty stamps were another contributor to the Revenue Department's larger-than-targeted revenue collection, Mr Ekniti said, noting that duty stamps are an indicator of economic activity such as car sales.
The department's revenue from duty stamps surged 13.7% from a year earlier and was 10.5% higher than targeted.
Mr Ekniti expressed confidence that the department's revenue target of 2 trillion baht would be achieved, representing 80% of the government's expected revenue for this fiscal year.
Amid rising economic uncertainty, the department will boost efficiency by drawing those who avoid tax payments into the formal tax system, he said.
The Revenue Department has plans to link personal income tax calculation apps developed by the private sector to its data system to allow individual taxpayers to upload their tax information directly to the department without the burden of repeated filings, Mr Ekniti said.
The department plans to share information about tax cases with the courts and approach banks to offer monthly instalments for tax payments via debit card, he said.
