Thailand’s Finance Ministry committee has said it plans to review a draft law to introduce what will be the kingdom’s first tax on property next month. The proposals will then be submitted for public scrutiny, according to Finance Minister Sommai Phasee who spoke to reporters on Monday.
The Land and Building tax is seen to be a key part of the government’s plan to restructure taxes and broaden the tax base to help boost revenue and promote fairness throughout the country and all its people.
He told the media: “We will submit the first draft to the tax reform committee which will hold a meeting in April. After that we will invite academics, and the people to review it as much as they can.”
When approved by the cabinet, the draft property tax law is expected to come into force within in two years, and is expected to raise in excess of THB200 billion baht per year, according to figures from the Finance Ministry.
A draft proposal was expected to be submitted to the cabinet earlier in March, however Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha delayed the submission for more work to be done on the proposals due to mounting criticism of the draft legislation, Reuters reported.
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@propertyguru.com.sg
