B15,000 tax deduction approved

The cabinet has approved a maximum 15,000-baht income tax deduction for purchases of tyres, books and One Tambon One Product (Otop) items purchased between Dec 15 and Jan 16 next year.

Nattaporn Jatusripitak, an adviser to the Office of the Prime Minister, said the tax break was approved during yesterday’s regular cabinet meeting. The purpose was to boost the demand for agricultural produce, encourage literacy and generate community income.

The specific products eligible for the deduction are Otop items registered with the Community Development Department of the Interior Ministry, books and e-books, but not magazines or newspapers and tyres produced by businesses registered for value-added tax (VAT) and the manufacturers or suppliers who purchase raw materials from the Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAT), Mr Nattaporn said.

To prove deduction eligibility, shoppers will also need to get a full receipt with the seller’s tax registration, he said.

The money will be deducted from a taxpayer’s total taxable income, lowering a shopper’s overall tax burden.

Meanwhile, the government gave the green light to a 3.4 billion-baht scheme to assist oil palm growers who are struggling with falling crop prices.

Each family of palm growers will be given 1,500 baht per rai, but not exceeding 15 rai each, Mr Nattaporn said.

The growers eligible for the scheme are those who registered with the Department of Agricultural Extension (DOAE) no later than this month and have palm fruits that are ready to harvest or are more than three years old.

Currently, there are 150,000 eligible oil palm growers, totalling 2.25 million rai of farmland, he said.

The government also approved a 159.59 million-baht package to assist tobacco growers who are affected by the increased tobacco tax, he said.

Those who obtained a 2018/2019 production quota and registered with the Tobacco Authority of Thailand are among those eligible for the assistance.

“It’s a short-term policy to alleviate the plight of tobacco farmers. In the long-term, the prime minister encourages the farmers to grow other plants or support farmers who are ready to change jobs,” he said.