Thai Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana (Photo:bangkokpost.com) Bangkok (VNA) – The Thai Finance Ministry has set up a committee to shake up the tax structure of the Revenue Department, the Excise Department and the Customs Department, according to Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana.
The committee will be chaired by permanent secretary for finance Prasong Poontaneat.
The tax restructuring is aimed at enabling the entire tax system to support the Finance Ministry’s main mission of sharpening the country’s competitiveness and improving local livelihoods. However, it will lead to both tax cuts and hikes, Minister Uttama said, without diving deeper into details.
According to Prasong, an e-business tax, which is now being interpreted by the Council of State, would boost the Revenue Department’s income and broaden the tax base.
Meanwhile, director-general of the Revenue Department Ekniti Nitithanprapas, said it is pushing the e-business tax bill to be deliberated by parliament this year to take force next year. The Revenue Department expects to boost value-added tax (VAT) by 3-4 billion THB (100-130 million USD), levied on foreign online platforms without a physical presence in Thailand.
The department is pushing an exchange of tax information law with other countries to better prevent tax avoidance, Ekniti said.
Failing to tax foreign-based online platform operators is a global problem and some countries have introduced a digital tax of 3 percent of transaction value. Thailand still needs time to study the tax, he said.-VNA
VNA
