BANGKOK, Aug. 28-A spokesman for the Fiscal Policy Office confirmed that there will be no specific VAT increase.
Mr. Wuthipong Jittangsakul, Fiscal Policy Advisor as a spokesman for the Fiscal Policy Office Revealed that the Thai economy in the first half of 2023 grew by 2.2 percent and is expected to expand in the second half of the year from the first half. It was supported by the tourism sector and domestic demand that continued to expand. And it is expected that headline inflation will return to the target range. Due to the pressure from the price of energy products has been relieved. In addition, in the first 10 months of fiscal year 2023, the government's net revenue was higher than expected and higher than the same period last year by 7.6 and 5.2 percent, respectively. with the people and build confidence in doing business for the private sector This will result in the country's economic system expanding continuously.
A spokesperson for the Fiscal Policy Office added that The current fiscal position is stable and sufficient for the implementation of various policies, including the allocation of welfare for the elderly. There is an Elderly Fund aimed at spending money on the protection, promotion and support of the elderly. Including collecting maintenance for the elderly fund from the excise tax on alcohol and tobacco products at a rate of 2 percent, with no more than 4,000 million baht per fiscal year since 2018, in order to allocate money from the elderly fund to help the elderly with income less according to the registration program for additional state welfare
For the proposal to raise the VAT rate to be used as retirement savings for the people. Since VAT is a consumption-based tax that is related to the country's economy. The increase in VAT will significantly affect the consumption of the people. As a result of the VAT rate increase, the price of goods and services increased. As a result, the purchasing power of the people decreased.
Therefore, a VAT rate increase requires a comprehensive consideration. In addition, according to the Fiscal and Financial Discipline Act of the State B.E. Or for any specific purpose, it cannot be done except by virtue of law. Therefore, the relevant agencies must discuss the possibility of further action.
In the past, the Ministry of Finance has continuously promoted and improved the retirement savings system for workers such as The Ministerial Regulation has been revised to increase the ceiling of members' savings and increase the ceiling of state contributions for members who are informal workers who save with the National Savings Fund in order to have more savings for post-retirement. Proposal of the National Pension Fund Act B.E. …. to enable workers in the formal sector to have more savings Including the implementation of the action plan to develop financial skills to enable Thai people of all groups and ages to have more financial skills and financial stability.-Thai News Agency
Source: Thai News Agency