Officials at the Ministry of Finance are preparing measures to reduce excise taxes on fuel, as well as draft legislation to allow the Oil Fuel Fund to borrow additional funds to stabilise domestic prices.
The Oil Fuel Fund is the main tool for stabilising domestic pump prices. The cost of doing so currently exceeds one billion baht a day.
If the fund becomes overburdened, the government may need to use tax cuts as a supplementary measure, caretaker finance minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said on Wednesday.
The constitution bars a caretaker government from introducing tax or other financial measures that would obligate a future government. But the ministry’s proposals will be submitted for consideration by the incoming administration, he said.
The House of Representatives will meet on Thursday to elect a prime minister, after which a cabinet can be formed. The new government is expected to officially get to work in late March or early April.
The finance ministry and the National Economic and Social Development Council have held discussions on the energy crisis, which has driven up global oil prices and affects all countries, Mr Ekniti said.
Thailand must prepare measures to mitigate the impact across all business sectors, to be proposed to the new government, he said.
