Charge the rich more taxes and feel happy
Veteran journalist Plew Seengern admits the latest annual rankings of the 50 richest men on the Thai stock market, each of whom has amassed wealth worth more than 10 billion baht, leave him feeling excited.
He said at the same time he was “envious of those rich people”.
The list shows Thailand is wealthy and its people will be happier because the government will collect more taxes from its rich people, Plew wrote in Thai Post newspaper yesterday.
He recalled that some years ago the Revenue Department announced a list of people who paid the most income tax to the state. He wondered why the department suddenly stopped the practice. In his opinion, it should be revived. Plew said he would praise such people, who should serve as role models for other Thais.
Of 70 million in the Thai population, 12 million are classified as “salaried workers” and, of these, only two million have paid personal income taxes to the state.
He believes the very rich account for about 20 million, while another 20-25 million are at middle-come level.
The writer said Thais, himself included, aspire to follow in the footsteps of tycoons who are not only rich but also pay income tax and are still getting richer every year.
The Revenue Department, he added, should devise means to encourage more individuals including tax-dodgers to enter the tax system.
He cited the case of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg who recently gave away 99% of his shares in Facebook, worth about 1.62 trillion baht, to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation after his wife gave birth to a baby girl.
Although the giveaway is regarded by some as a way to evade paying huge taxes, Plew said the initiative was praiseworthy.
All the talk about the poor state of the Thai economy is only partially true, he said, adding the collective wealth of Thai people, if put together, may pile as high as the Golden Mount. The writer was referring to the landmark stupa at a Bangkok temple.
The money is there but the tycoons don’t want to spend it under the present economic situation. “It’s like striking a match but there is no fuel. The fire from the match will soon extinguish,’’ he said.
“Believe me, tycoons are more worried than most of us if they cannot invest their money because money that is kept idle without being invested just loses its value,” Plew said.
He suggested a new listing of “happiness tycoons”, or people who perform good deeds for society.
He said there are a few of these people in our midst, citing the example of taxi drivers who return wallets or valuables left accidentally in their cabs to their forgetful owners; Thai boxing champion Buakhao Banchamek who is honest to his boxing profession and still pursues a normal life despite his fame and wealth; or fisherman Chat Ubonchinda in Krabi who made headlines in October when he rescued a couple of Norwegian tourists trapped in the mud and left without asking for anything in return.