Thai government to impose tax on online trade

BANGKOK, April 19 (TNA) - The Thai government is considering to, for the first time, impose a tax on growing online businesses in the country. Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, who oversees economic affairs, told journalists on Friday, after holding a meeting with executives of the Thai Ministry of Finance at the ministry in Bangkok, that he has assigned the ministry's Department of Revenue to quickly study on the most practical taxing approach to be imposed on the expanding online businesses in the country. The Thai deputy premier stated that the move is aimed to prevent any disparity in the domestic business sector in the long run, as the corporate tax has been imposed on all other businesses in the country. The Thai deputy prime minister acknowledged that there are now millions of items of the online trade in the country, with its steady growth foreseen in the future, and its database and taxing system, thus, need to be developed. The deputy prime minister suggested that the Thai Ministry of Finance work together with the Office of the Council of State on the study and the introduction of the most practical taxing approach for online businesses in the country in the near future. (TNA)