BANGKOK: The Secretary-General of the Finance Ministry Rangsan Sriworasart has said that the Kingdom would be able to achieve a 4% economic growth as targeted.
Mr. Rangsan based his claim on the Government’s stricter tax collection policy, new investment stimulus package, and the soon-to-be-discussed new law on taxing land holdings and buildings, as the main driving forces. He said even though legal entity tax revenue may be lower than expected, the Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue makes up for the shortfall. The rising VAT income indicates an increase in public spending.
Secretary-General Rangsan explained that the government decided to lower the legal entity tax rate to attract more investments. These investments include the heavily promoted special economic zones being developed in various border provinces. Furthermore, he said his ministry would push for tax structure reform, in order to modernize obsolete laws. This includes collecting tax on land and buildings, an inheritance tax, as well as excise and customs taxes.
