Thai Cabinet eyes revised bill on land and building tax

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Cabinet eyes revised bill on land and building tax
ERICH PARPART
THE NATION


Somchai

BANGKOK: -- THE REVISED Land and Building Tax Bill will be put up for Cabinet approval in the new year as the Finance Ministry has prioritised tax reforms with the aim of expanding the tax base and increasing tax-collection efficiency.

This will be done alongside the National E-payment Master Plan, the single business account scheme, and a programme to encourage small and medium-sized enterprises to register within the tax system.

"All I can say now is that the draft bill for the land and building tax will definitely go before the Cabinet within the next 365 days, but the details on its structure and rates cannot be revealed until the Cabinet approves them," permanent secretary Somchai Sujjapongse told reporters at the ministry yesterday.

The former deputy prime minister in charge of economic affairs, MR Pridiyathorn Devakula, and former finance minister Sommai Phasee had signed off on the bill and it was about to go before the previous Cabinet for approval before a reshuffle. The current economic team led by Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak decided to put the matter on hold for further revision.

Under the previous draft, a tax rate of 0.05 per cent would have been collected from farmland, a rate of 0.1 per cent was to be applied to properties used as private residences, and vacant or unutilised land were to be subject to 0.5 per cent.

Homes with appraised value of Bt1.5 million or less would have been exempt from tax, while a 0.05-per-cent tax on private residences appraised at Bt1 billion to Bt5 million was also proposed. These rates and exemptions were put under revision. Somchai said there would be a lot of positive changes after the revision that would make the tax "more acceptable for the public, as there is flexibility and local governments will also receive higher income". He said the revision was almost "100 per cent finished", as the Fiscal Policy Office had handed the draft to Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong yesterday for final touches.

If the Cabinet okays the draft, it will be handed over to the National Legislative Assembly for the first, second and third readings before the bill can become law.

Somchai said other priorities for the Finance Ministry were its new capital market development plans to provide more access for SMEs and new products that will help the country cope with an ageing society and environmental problems, along with the implementation of reforms of special financial institutions.

Private investment

Meanwhile, the ministry has continued to encourage the private sector to invest by stressing that it should take advantage of the government's stimulus measures before they expire at the end of 2016. These include tax deductions for the purchase of machinery and for expenditure on research and development.

The ministry estimates that private investment, which accounts for 24 per cent of gross domestic product, has to expand by at least 5 per cent next year in order to simulate domestic consumption (51 per cent of GDP) and meet the 2016 GDP growth projection of 3.8 per cent.

Private investment and domestic consumption will be backed by acceleration of government spending (16 per cent of GDP) and the expected continued excellent performance of the tourism sector (11 per cent of GDP) in the new year. These should be able to compensate for the export slowdown (65 per cent of GDP), which is predicted to expand by less than 2.5 per cent in 2016.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Cabinet-eyes-revised-bill-on-land-and-building-tax-30275938.html

-- The Nation 2015-12-31

[shirtless]

wealthy land owners wont want this

[halloween]

wealthy land owners wont want this

That's why it is being enacted now, rather than by a government of millionaires claiming to care for the people of Thailand.

[overherebc]

Just wondering if banks would have to pay on re-possessed land?

Will people sell to avoid tax and would it have any effect on values? Not really asking just thinking.

That's 'if' it is passed as law.

[Langsuan Man]

I wish that they would start doing more they eyeing the idea

The elite are going to block it every way they can as they have every time it has been proposed in the past

So don't think that it is going to happen since the road from "eyeing" and "enacting" is a long one. Look how far the gift and inheritance tax went

Part of being elite is that you are not responsible for taxes, let the poor eat cake

[thelonius]

wealthy land owners wont want this

That's why it is being enacted now, rather than by a government of millionaires claiming to care for the people of Thailand.

What we have now is a "government of millionaires claiming to care for the people of Thailand" who most definitely are not enacting the bill now.

"All I can say now is that the draft bill for the land and building tax will definitely go before the Cabinet within the next 365 days, but the details on its structure and rates cannot be revealed until the Cabinet approves them," permanent secretary Somchai Sujjapongse told reporters at the ministry yesterday.

In other words until enough loopholes have been written in for the "right people". You lap this stuff up, don't you, a certain case of "anything but Thaksin" disease.

[JOC]

wealthy land owners wont want this

That's why it is being enacted now, rather than by a government of millionaires claiming to care for the people of Thailand.

Wake up man!!

The present leaders are just acting as pawns for the real wealthy aka big land owners in this country.

The problem for this "government" is to tax the poor and at the same time protect the rich, without making it too obvious...............

[gandalf12]

Why do they need to "encourage" small and medium sized companies to register in the tax system? I would assume it would be automatic if you started a company.