Thailand to revise tax systems

BANGKOK, July 9 (TNA) - Thailand's National Reform Council (NRC) is making amendments on the country's tax systems, aimed at preventing political parties from spending state budgets on populist programmes to gain their popularity in the future. Somchai Ruchupan, Chairman of NRC’s Economic and Financial Reform Committee, told journalists on Thursday that he has submitted a proposal to NRC, seeking its consideration on reforming Thailand's tax systems, in which corporate tax should be calculated from revenues and expenses made by business firms alone, excluding their subsidiaries and affiliates. Somchai said the newly-proposed tax systems, if approved, would follow Singapore’s tax calculation system, in which the value-added tax would be raised step by step, while the state would also push for other taxes, including environment, windfall, as well as land and building. Somchai stressed these taxes, if collected, would help prevent future Thai administrations from spending budget on populist programmes. Simultaneously, Krirkkrai Jirapaet, Chairman of NRC’s Agriculture, Industry, Commerce, Tourism and Service Reform Cimmittee, expressed his views that, in reforming the national economy, Thailand meeds to amend laws, aimed at supporting the private sector and boosting the country's business competitiveness and bargaining power on the world market, while domestic production, especially that of local agricultural processed products and industrial innovations, must be further strengthened. (TNA)