Thailand eyes tax rate for electric vehicles as part of ‘net zero’ target

BANGKOK: Thailand's Finance Ministry has called on the Excise and Customs Department to come up with a tax rate for electric vehicles (EVs) soon, as part of the nation's goal to achieve zero emissions by 2065.

Deputy Finance Minister Santi Promphat said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha reminded world leaders at the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) that there is no “Planet B”.

The premier also promised that Thailand would aggressively tackle climate change and strive to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and net zero emissions by 2065.

Many world leaders are attending COP26, which kicked off in Glasgow, Scotland on Oct 31 and will wrap up next Friday.

Santi said relevant agencies must come up with an attractive tax rate that encourages more people to use EVs and draws investors to use Thailand as a manufacturing base.

He said that once a tax rate is set, it will be presented to the National Electric Vehicle Policy Committee for approval.

Santi added that the development of EVs is important in the battle against global warming, but said the shift should be made gradually as Thailand still does not have a proper network of charging stations. He added that the government should also consider consumers and manufacturers, as shifting completely to EVs takes time.

Instead, he said, the government should initially support the use of hybrid vehicles. - The Nation