Hotels Asks Government To Extend COVID-19 Land and Building Tax Cuts

Hotels are asking the government to extend building and land tax cuts which take effect in June 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.  They demanded that the 90% tax cut be extended until 2024 or a new tax cut from 70 to 80 percent be implemented to keep the hotel industry alive while tourism in Thailand remains uncertain.

The head of the Thai Hotels Association Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi has appealed for an extension of property and building tax exemption claiming that the industry’s income is still 80 to 90% lower in 2022 compared to 2019. The most popular tourist destinations are affected since there are few tourists and markets are overloaded with lodging alternatives, many of which pay premiums for land and building taxes owing to their good location.

The proposed new tax rates which will greatly affect hotel owners must be delayed until the tourism industry recovers since there is no significant number of tourists because of unpredictable changes in reopening guidelines.

She refers to the Test & Go program which started in November.  The program allows tourists to return to Thailand without undergoing lengthy quarantine in November but was canceled on December 22 when the Omicron variant was detected in Thailand. 

The country’s “We Travel Together” program, whose goal is to boost domestic tourism by subsidizing hotel stays has not been relaunched despite the fact that the 4th phase is scheduled in February, and the program is planned to run until September 2022.

With the substantial drop in revenue, hotels are unable to pay costly location-based taxes. If tax rate cuts are removed, many hotels will be forced to take on debt or close their business.   Apart from the extension of tax cuts, hotel owners are requesting the Ministry of Labour to extend wage subsidies for small company employees which are provided 3,000 baht to assist struggling hotels in paying their staff.

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Source: Bangkok Post