HELP FROM ABOVE
Subsidy for poor likely to start in October
The Finance Ministry plans to introduce a negative income tax, a subsidy for those at the low end of the scale.
The Finance Ministry plans to introduce a negative income tax, a subsidy for those at the low end of the income scale, to help them cross the poverty line.
Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong said a ministerial announcement or law needs to be issued to facilitate the implementation of the measure, which would be permanent and is likely to be implemented in October.
A recent survey found that almost 4 million Thais are living below the poverty line, which stands at 2,500 baht a month or 30,000 a year.
Financial support for those below the poverty threshold will depend on how much each recipient is earning, he said.
Those who receive the subsidy are required to undergo training and education to develop the requisite skills needed to cross the poverty line, said Mr Apisak.
The subsidy payment is likely to start in October, the same period when the government’s welfare and subsidy scheme for the poor through the national e-payment scheme begins.
The number of registrants for the welfare scheme this year stands at 14.1 million, up substantially from 8.27 million in 2016.
The ministry’s criteria this year requires applicants to be unemployed or to have had an annual income of 100,000 baht or less last year to receive aid under the programme.
They must also have savings, bonds and savings certificates worth less than 100,000 baht combined.
If applicants own property, the space must not exceed 35 square metres for a condo unit, 25 square wah for a townhouse or 10 rai of land for agricultural purposes.
Applicants must be Thai nationals aged 18 and above.
Meanwhile, Mr Apisak said he aims for government payments to be shifted to the electronic platform in January of next year.
The government will not force people to pay taxes or fees through the electronic channel, but it will encourage them to do so by providing greater convenience and lower costs than cash payments.
For electronic data capture (EDC) terminal installation under the national e-payment plan, he said only 60,000 card swiping devices had been installed since the scheme was kicked off in March, as merchants are still worried that they will be subject to higher tax bills if the pointof-sale terminals are installed.
Under the e-tax scheme, which is a part of the government’s national e-payment plan, the Revenue Department will link all transactions paid through EDC terminals into its taxation database and alert taxcollecting agencies about tax payments.
The Finance Ministry recently granted approval to two banking consortiums to install an additional 557,055 credit and debit card swipe terminals under the e-payment scheme by March 2017 to fulfil the government’s goal of installing at least one EDC terminal in every shop.
One consortium comprises Bangkok Bank and KBank, while the other — Thai Alliance Payment System — consists of five banks: Siam Commercial Bank, Krungthai Bank, Bank of Ayudhya, Thanachart Bank and TMB Bank.