New measures aimed to kindle fertility

The cabinet yesterday approved tax measures to support nurseries and boost Thailand’s fertility rate.

Nathporn Chatusripitak, a spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, said in an effort to boost the fertility rate in Thailand, the government will allow a childcare tax deduction of up to 30,000 baht per child, without a limit on the number of children.

Each parent is allowed to receive a tax deduction of 30,000 baht per child.

Parents will be eligible for a tax deduction of 30,000 baht for the first child, with the rate increasing to 60,000 for the second.

The government will also allows parents a deduction on pregnancy-related expenditures and delivery costs, not exceeding 60,000 baht.

The state is projected to spend 2.5 billion baht on the tax measure.

The cabinet yesterday also approved doubling the deduction for any expenditures made to renovate nurseries to support their businesses.

The measure will allow nurseries to deduct construction and renovation costs at double the current rate, capped at 1 million baht, said Mr Nathporn.

Only nurseries registered as legal entities can receive the tax privilege, excluding home-based nurseries.

The government is projected to lose 20 million baht a year from the measure.

The Finance Ministry’s Fiscal Policy Office found Thailand had become an ageing society in 2007, with over 10% of the population identified as elderly.

That percentage rose to 14.2% in 2015, while Thailand is expected to become an aged society by 2025, when the percentage of the population deemed elderly is forecast to rise to 21.2%.

Thailand’s population rose by 300,000 or 0.6% year-on-year in 2006 to 62.5 million from 62.2 million in 2005, according to the Institute for Population and Social Research (IPSR) at Mahidol University.

Thailand’s population is expected to continue rising, albeit at a slow pace.

By the year 2022, the fertility rate is expected to be on par with the mortality rate, resulting in zero population growth, according to an IPSR study. The study said population growth may enter negative territory after 2022.

Meanwhile, the cabinet yesterday approved four-year visas for foreign experts, investors and executives, and one-year visas for startup investors.

The visa grant aims to support the government’s touted 10 targeted industries and human resource shortages in hightech industries.

The 10 targeted industries are nextgeneration automotive; smart electronics; high-income tourism and medical tourism; efficient agriculture and biotechnology; food innovation; automation and robotics; aerospace; bioenergy and biochemicals; digital; and medical and healthcare.

The measures are also expected to promote development of the Eastern Economic Corridor.