Excise Department mulls environmental tax options

The Excise Department is conducting a study of the impact from imposing an environmental tax that could possibly be directed to a fund to support recycling and related activities.

The department is also discussing the potential tax with business operators engaged in polluting industries, including battery manufacturers, said director-general Krisada Chinavicharana.

Many operators realise that electronic waste and scrap vehicles have value, as some components contain precious metals that can be extracted for sale or reuse, he said, citing car batteries as an example.

Finance permanent secretary Prasong Poontaneat said recently that the Finance Ministry was considering an environmental tax to reduce e-waste, adding that such taxation should be adopted in parallel with raising public awareness and encouraging recycling in a comprehensive effort to address the rising e-waste problem.

Thailand has become a dumping ground for electronic and plastic waste after China banned the import of such refuse last year. The importation of e-waste is allowed for recycling, but some of it is shipped to Thailand without permission or beyond quotas, and large amounts have been found in illegal disposal factories in recent crackdowns.

The Department of Industrial Works last month suspended the licences for five factories found to have breached the conditions for the use of plastic and electronic waste for recycling.

The department vowed to ban local factories from recycling plastic and e-waste to discourage factories from importing it into Thailand and also promised to help authorities deal with the rising level of refuse.

Thailand imported 313,000 tonnes of plastic waste between January and May, up significantly from 161,000 tonnes for all of 2017.

Mr Krisada said the department is weighing the possibility of taxing products when they are bought and using that revenue to support recycling plants, as such businesses typically need time to reach the break-even point but are a boon to the environment and create value for the economy.

For instance, a 10,000-baht tax could be slapped on car purchases and a 1,000-baht charge could be levied on mobile handsets.

The principle of the environmental tax is that those who buy products are liable for the inevitable disposal costs, Mr Krisada said, noting that Taiwan is one country with an efficient waste separation and disposal regime.