Big bike forced off road by car on Bangkok highway - video

[webfact]

Panel challenged over inheritance tax
KRIS BHROMSUTHI
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- The National Legislative Assembly (NLA)'s ad hoc committee on an inheritance tax bill is yet to find common ground on a minimum amount of inheritance that would require tax payments and a tax rate.

It said the law requires that tax collection must not create "difficulty" for the taxpayers.

Suwannee Sirivejchapun, spokeswoman for the committee, dismissed a report that panel members had agreed to lift the bar for those due to pay inheritance tax - from Bt50 million to Bt80 million, while lowering the tax rate from 10 per cent to 8 per cent.

She said that panel members were yet to find common ground on the appropriate wealth level for the target "rich" group and their tax rate, because tax collection was required by law to not cause difficulties for taxpayers.

There had previously been speculation that the NLA's panel on drafting the inheritance tax bill had made some significant amendments that included the raising of a "minimum amount of assets - in which owners did not have to pay inheritance tax -" from Bt50 million to Bt80 million and lowering the tax rate of originally 10 per cent down to 8 per cent.

Other sensitive issues that drew some debate were the types of asset that should be excluded from tax payment calculations, Suwannee said.

The inheritance tax bill was proposed to the NLA by the Cabinet on November 26. It was passed with overwhelming support from lawmakers. The NLA voted 160-16 in favour in the first reading of the inheritance-tax bill on December 18 last year. NLA then appointed a committee to deliberate and amend the bill before submitting it to the NLA for the second reading of the bill on March 17.

Critics had earlier complained that not only should registered assets, such as houses, property, stocks, cars and accounted money be included in tax calculation, but also unregistered items such as gold, accessories, watches or any valuable collections. However, estimating these unregistered assets could be very challenging for tax collectors.

Article 15 of the bill mentioned the tax calculation of registered assets such as property and stocks, but it didn't specify how to include "other assets", and it simply stated that the calculation "should be based on Ministry of Finance rules".

Sommai Phasee explained to NLA members last December that the fundamental idea of the bill was to "tax the rich to feed the poor", in order to promote economic equality which had been one key agenda under the junta's administration. He also said the country's tax collection attributed to 18 per cent of GDP. But in developed countries, the figure was at 30 to 40 per cent, meaning an inheritance tax bill would provide an additional source of government income.

Another observation of concern was for tax avoidance, which could be easily achieved - for example, parents could transfer most of their assets to their children before they died. Hence, proposed "asset transfer" tax was one way to effectively collect more revenue.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Panel-challenged-over-inheritance-tax-30253757.html


-- The Nation 2015-02-10

[worgeordie]

"must not create difficulty for the tax payers", they must have sensitive tax collectors

in Thailand.in the real world that is their whole purpose,to give you headaches and

take as much tax off you as possible,without sympathy or regret.

regards Worgeordie

[Pib]

Governments can never get enough tax...always some new program or debt to pay...taxes can become addictive and really addictive in some countries.

[CMBob]

I wouldn't really worry about how much difficulty is caused to those here who die with estates that large. They can handle it.

The proposal of both a property tax and inheritance tax by the general and his crowd has been somewhat of welcomed surprise to me as both proposals seem to mainly affect the wealthy. Maybe a good start although I'm doubtful that in the end it will do anything at all about the growing income and wealth disparity between the elite few and the average citizen (a pressing issue all over the world, not just Thailand). While I'm all for an equitable tax system (which I consider a progressive rate system), one wonders at times if governments should use tax policy to attempt to equalize wealth and, if so, how exactly should it be done (given most methods used have pretty much failed throughout the globe).

Meantime, if they have to pay, I won't feel sorry for them.

[trogers]

Let's do a survey in the underworld to gather feedback on the tax difficulty faced by the deceased.

Have they not heard of life insurance policies designed to cover the burden of inheritance taxes?

[noitom]

Thais should have implemented a real estate property tax first, then the inheritance tax. How can you have an effective inheritance tax without first an assessment, and then an annual real estate tax? Or is this inheritance tax based on liquid assets only, cash, securities, gold..etc?

[trogers]

Thais should have implemented a real estate property tax first, then the inheritance tax. How can you have an effective inheritance tax without first an assessment, and then an annual real estate tax? Or is this inheritance tax based on liquid assets only, cash, securities, gold..etc?

The Land Dept already has a value on your real property and uses it to calculate taxes and duties in a sales transaction.

[Sarathi]

The NLA are taxing credulity

[FangFerang]

How can dead people have any difficulties?

The challenges to the committees seem to be how they can exclude themselves in ways that are not obvious. Raising the threshold and lowering the rate yields NO gain in revenue.

And I thought the red shirts were sycophants.

One poster remarked that an inheritance tax without property tax is irrelevant, which is true; however 75% of the land is owned by 1% of the people. Many of the people sitting on the committees of the current government represent a large portion of that 1%.

Edited February 10, 2015 by FangFerang

[maidee]

too many rich generals with 80+ million baht , all gathered on their governement salary ????????????????????

[Time Traveller]

The irony ! Government that needs more money and wants to tax people more. But the rich people who would get taxed the most are the same people that control the government!

This is the reason thailand will never progress to becoming an equible soceity.

[bheard]

The irony ! Government that needs more money and wants to tax people more. But the rich people who would get taxed the most are the same people that control the government!

This is the reason thailand will never progress to becoming an equible soceity.

That's it.

Not just a Thai problem either.

And equitable societies are steadily moving towards being inequitable. Australia is one of them.

[Seastallion]

Lower the threshold to 30 million, but also lower the tax rate to 5%.

This would end up with a greater tax take, but less "difficulty" for the heirs, and also be fairer as it encompasses more "rich" people.