Imagine you’re diving into the intricacies of a nation’s finances, a realm where billions of baht pirouette through the coffers with the grace of a seasoned ballet dancer. At the helm of this financial ballet stands none other than Pornchai Thiraveja, the maestro directing the fiscal flows with an expertise that could rival any conductor. As the office director-general, Pornchai recently shared insights that felt like peeking behind the grand curtain of Thailand’s economic stage, revealing a fiscal performance that was as mesmerizing as it was complex.
The dance of numbers under Pornchai’s spotlight revealed that the governmental revenue pirouetted close to the estimated limelight. However, it couldn’t escape the reality of performing 2.6% lower year on year, a dip attributed partly to an extra 36.223 billion baht that had gracefully leaped into the last quarter of the fiscal year 2022’s performance. Yet, like any seasoned performer, the finance sector knows the show must go on.
When it came to taking a bow for the biggest revenue earner in the first act of fiscal 2024 (spanning from October to December), the Revenue Department stood at center stage. With a grand collection of 457.329 billion baht, primarily from the value-added tax, it was as though the department had performed a flawless pirouette, drawing an applause-worthy amount into the nation’s treasury.
Not to be overshadowed, state enterprises also contributed their share to the treasury’s trove, depositing a considerable 63.68 billion baht. It was a performance that, albeit smaller in scale, played a crucial role in the overall spectacle of Thailand’s fiscal ballet.
However, in every performance, there is a moment of tension, and in this fiscal narrative, it was the Excise Department’s turn to take the stage. With collections that were 18.86 billion shy of the anticipated revenue, the plot thickened. The government’s decision to cut excise tax on diesel and petrol sales, a move to ease the retail prices’ high wire act, played the antagonist in this act, leaving the audience wondering how this shortfall would affect the finale.
As the curtain drew to a close on December’s performance, the government found itself with 209.616 billion baht in its coffers, a testament to the revenue of 622.652 billion baht that had been entrusted to the Finance Ministry by the various state agencies. Subtracting the grand illusions of 963.782 billion baht for expenses painted a picture of calculated opulence, further ornamented by the strategic acquisition of 20 billion baht loans to bolster the liquidity, ensuring the fiscal show could go on.
So, there you have it – a tale of financial ebbs and flows, a spectacle where billions of baht take the stage, directed by the skilled maestro, Pornchai Thiraveja. It’s a narrative that keeps the nation, and perhaps even the world, watching with bated breath to see what act comes next in Thailand’s grand fiscal performance.
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