"The department does not want to collect taxes from these people, but everybody who earns income is required by the Revenue Code to pay taxes," said director-general Sanit Rangnoi.

The department is among very few state agencies providing accessibility services. The National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre is another.

Thailand Association for the Blind representative Chatuphol Nutathong said about 10 per cent of the association's members used screen-reader software to access the Internet. The same software can be used as a tool to search for information provided under Web accessibility.

He said state agencies such as the Prime Minister's Office should also provide Web access because disabled people want to send their complaints there. The Govern-ment Lottery Office, which allows handicapped people to sell tickets, should also introduce it, he added.

Sanit said the new service had not cost the Revenue Department much money and other state agencies had the capacity to provide it. "In the United States, the law requires all state agencies to provide Web accessibility. We [the Revenue Department] have done it before such a law exists in Thailand," he said.

In another development, tax collections in May fell short of their target by Bt7 billion, Sanit said. Collection of corporate income taxes were down by about Bt5 billion because commercial banks had lower profits resulting from the need to provide reserves against loans. Low import growth also meant that collection of value-added tax was about Bt2 billion lower than expected.

Tax collections are expected to improve in August as economic stimulus measures are expected to be having a positive impact on growth by then, he said. - Wichit Chaitrong, The Nation