Thailand’s Ministry of Finance presented its inheritance tax bill to the Cabinet last week, with the bill seeking to levy a 10 percent tax on inherited assets worth more than THB50 million.
It will also propose measures to prevent attempts to avoid or evade the tax.
Finance Minister Sommai Phasee said the 10 percent rate was lower than taxes in many other countries, and his ministry would propose many exemptions.
He said the tax would be imposed only on bequests of more than THB50 million, and on registered assets such as real estate, land, stocks and bonds. Heirs would be able to pay by instalments.
Those with large inheritances should not rush to transfer their assets immediately to family members, he said.
The Revenue Code will also be amended to charge a 5 percent gift tax to prevent attempts to dodge the inheritance tax by transferring assets worth less than THB50 million at one time.Recipients of such gifts will have to declare them when calculating their personal income tax at year-end.
Sommai said that after Cabinet approval, he expected the National Legislative Assembly to pass the inheritance tax bill because it would create taxation fairness.
The bill is the first attempt to tax the rich – a no-go area under Thai democratic governments.
If the Cabinet approves the bill without requiring amendments it will be sent for discussion by the National Legislative Assembly and can be expected to come into force in about six months.
According to The Bangkok Post a majority of people surveyed agree to the draft bill in a poll conducted by the National Institute for Development Administration.
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@propertyguru.com.
