Somkid urges private sector to invest more so they will be entitled to more tax deductibles

[webfact]

Dr Somkid urges private sector to invest more so they will be entitled to more tax deductibles



BANGKOK: -- Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak asked Investors to invest this year so that they will be entitled to twice the amount of tax deductible.

Addressing the annual general meeting of the 5th region Chamber of Commerce, Dr Somkid said he would propose the cabinet at a meeting this Tuesday to double the tax deductible for investors who make investments this year.

He said that investors can use their investments as tax deductibles even though their projects are not completed this year.

He noted that the 3.2 growth rate for the third quarter was not beyond expectation largely due to the government’s investments which served as the engine to drive the economy. However, he said that it would not be possible for the government to invest for two long.

It is necessary that the other engine – that is the private sector which barely invested in the first quarter – to start moving, said Dr Somkid as he pointed out that private sector’s investment last year accounted for 19 percent of the GDP compared to 30-40 percent during the period before 1997 while private sector’s investments in other Asean countries are much higher than in Thailand.

The deputy prime minister cited information from commercial banks which show that Thai private sector’s investments account for 1.2-1.3 percent of their assets. He said he wanted the private sector to spend up to 19 percent of their assets on investments while interest rates are low.

Meanwhile, Mr Issara Wongkusonkit, present of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, admitted that the private sector is not sure that the Thai economy is recovering and that they are still worried with several problems.

He said the private sector has wanted to government to play the leading role in making investments to push the growth rate up to 3.5 percent.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/165217


-- Thai PBS 2016-05-30

[Brer Fox]

Things are starting to sound desperate. Mr Issara Wongkusonkit, present of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, admitted that the private sector is not sure that the Thai economy is recovering and that they are still worried with several problems. Mr Issara Wongkusonkit won't say what the problems are publicly are but most know what he means.

The smart money is now going into other countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar where their is greater peace of mind in their investments and labor productivity is much higher than Thailand. The glory days for Thailand are over until democracy returns and even then there are doubts about an economic turn around.

Tourism is one of the few things the country has left going for it and some are of the opinion that there are many out there destroying that though greed, poor safety and personal insecurity for tourists Military police in full combat gear with automatic weapons patrolling tourist areas and raiding innocent card clubs does not improve the tourist image. The deserved bad international tourism publicity Thailand has been getting lately hasn't helped.

Tourism in surrounding counties is on the up and up and will take a bite out of the real (you can't count Chinese) tourist numbers. For example:

http://www.thanhniennews.com/travel/vietnams-foreign-tourists-grow-20-pct-in-janmay-62665.html

[hawker9000]

... so they'll be entitled to twice the tax deduction.

[toybits]

It's just business. When business men feel the environment is not conducive to investment, the market becomes bearish. Doesn't he know that?

[KIWIBATCH]

He is telling (asking) investors to invest this year then they would be eligible for double the tax deductibles....but then in the next sentence....he (is) going to propose to Parliament on Tuesday that they double the tax deductibles.....

So Parliament will approve and pass into law his idea on Tuesday...done and dusted...????

So invest first and hope like hell Parliament approves and passes his idea into law.

[retarius]

I have wondered about the dearth of red plate vehicles in my area, Isaan. They have become almost an extinct species up here. If this a more widespread trend then the future looks a bit iffy economy wise, and all these hair-brained schemes will come to naught.

Proper businessmen invest when they can see an opportunity for profit growth, not because they will get a gimmick tax deductible.

Whatever gimmicks Somkid comes up with are only stopgap measures that will have little long term impact and will only delay the inevitable slide back down the prosperity pole. The elite have wanted a deferential and dumb population and have created an edu'mac'ation system to match. The graduates of this system will not be able to compete with other nations in terms of skills, so wages will inevitably have to go down to attract foreign investment….meaning fewer red plate vehicles on the roads.