Encarnacion, Jose Jr.Suratanavongkur, Jayathat2024-07-262024-07-261967-10https://selib.upd.edu.ph/etdir/handle/123456789/61This research paper studies the patterns of Thai revenue and expenditure for the past fifteen years, 1951-1965. It then considers the Philippines, Burma and other countries of different stages of economic development with respect to the allocation of national resources to various government service projects. Tentative conclusions were arrived at that can have some policy-implications to national planners of Thailand. A close analysis of Thai expenditure shows that, although the level of expenditure in terms of million baht has been on the upward trend, the national expenditure as a proportion to Gross National Product at factor cost fell below the "median" performance of other countries, especially in economic development, social services and slightly in general government. Since Thailand is essentially a military government, the expenditure for national defense is correspondingly high as compared to the "median" figure. In public debt, Thailand surpassed by twice as much the "median". On the overall performance, Thailand and the Philippines are still far from the median level. On the revenue side, foreign trade is the dominant provider of revenue (more than one half of the total) in terms of export and import taxes, while taxes on income and wealth contribute less than ten per cent, showing a regressive tax structure. Both Thailand and the Philippines exhibit regressiveness in the tax structure when compared to the "median" collection of other countries. Both countries were low in direct taxes, especially personal and corporate income taxes, while they are almost at "standard" performance with other countries when it comes to indirect taxes, such as import, excise and sales taxes. However, Thailand surpassed the "median" level in export taxes. On the overall performance, both Thailand and the Philippines are still below the median. In the fifteen years covered in the thesis, Thailand experienced deficit financing, so much so that the country resorted to public borrowings, from both foreign and domestic sources. Since the trend is towards increased levels of expenditures for development purposes, Thailand must aim for higher tax collections. In this direction, the government can explore the possibility of changing the tax structure into a more progressive form through more direct taxes instead of indirect taxes. This will shift the burden of taxation from the poor people to the high income group which has the ability to pay. To sum up, this paper presents a case study, using Thailand's experience, of national budgeting as a tool fort national development.enThaiThailandThai revenueThai expenditureGovernment service projectThesis