The Thai government continues to look for ways to end property speculation throughout the country and a number of new measures will soon be proposed to Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong as part of the latest draft of the land and buildings tax.
This draft is expected to force real estate speculators to make use of their land at a faster pace through the implementation of new taxes while at the same time boosting the budgets of local administrators’ organizations. Finance permanent secretary Somchai SujjapongseIt said that the bill would also help lowering the government’s burden in subsidizing land.
According to the Bangkok Post, the Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) has set the tax ceiling rates at 0.2 percent of appraisal value for land used for agricultural purposes while the tax ceiling will be at 0.3 percent for residential land and one percent for land for commercial use.
Land that is not developed would be taxed at one percent for the first three years. After that it would double to two percent for the next three years and finally hit the three percent ceiling in the seventh year. It is expected that the draft will be implemented some time next year.
It was noted that the actual tax rate would be levied progressively based on the appraised value. Residences appraised at no more than THB2 million will be taxed at 0.03 percent or up to THB600 per year. Homes priced at more than THB100 million would be charged at the full 0.2 percent rate.
The Post added that commercial land with an appraisal value of less than THB2 million will be taxed at 0.1 percent or up to THB2,000 per year while commercial land valued at THB1 billion or more will be taxed 0.6 percent or up to THB4.35 million.
