Thai PM:House and land taxation is necessary

BANGKOK, March 9 (TNA) - Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha insists that house and land taxation is now a must, but concerned authorities are planning it carefully before its introduction over the next few years. Prime Minister General Prayut, who is also Chief of the army-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), told journalists of the information on Monday, saying that the government would have to, otherwise, raise the value-added tax (VAT) to boost its revenues if the draft house and land taxation bill was not promulgated. The prime minister suggested, however, that people should not be panic, as the planned house and land taxation will not take place soon pending careful consideration by the authorities concerned, covering its tax collection system, tax calculation and land appraisal. The prime minister explained that revenues have not met the government's target, as part of taxpayers have tried to evade taxes, causing the government to always have deficit budgets. The prime minister noted that his government must also repay debts the previous governments created; so, without the house and land taxation, VAT may have to rise from 7 per cent now. According to the prime minister, in principle, VAT must actually increase to 10 per cent, but the government has relaxed it so far to ease more burden on local consumers. (TNA)