BANGKOK, July 19 — The value added tax (VAT) will be maintained at 7 per cent until 2015, said Prasong Poontaneat, director-general of Revenue Department.
Mr Prasong said that, in principle, whether the collection of VAT would be increased to 10 per cent as proposed by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) would depend on the decision of a new government, to be formed later.
The decision will have to be based on several factors, including the economic situation, consumer confidence, the country’s exports and whether Thailand would benefit after the ASEAN Economic Community is implemented at the end of 2015, he said.
However, it must be acknowledged that the current VAT rate in Thailand is the lowest among ASEAN members, said Mr Prasong, adding that it was not necessary to increase collection to 10 per cent immediately.
The increase could be made by gradual steps of one per cent, depending on the country’s economic condition.
VAT collection in Thailand rose 1.3 per cent in June after suffering a contraction over the past several months.
It was also believed that by maintaining the VAT rate at 7 per cent, it could help boost this year’s economic growth to 3.5 per cent.
NCPO, meanwhile, has approved extension of the corporate tax rate at 20 per cent for another year, while the maximum personal income tax rate which is now collected at 35 per cent will be enforced until the end of 2014, which is enough time for a new government to consider revision.
