BANGKOK, 8 August 2012 – The Cabinet has decided to postpone the planned increase in the country’s Value-Added Tax (VAT) rate by a few more years to help boost the economy.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said on Tuesday that the weekly Cabinet meeting has approved the proposal from the Finance Ministry to maintain the current 7-percent VAT collection for 2 more years.
The government initially planned to raise the VAT rate to 10 percent from October 1st, 2012
Mr. Kittiratt stated that the current VAT rate is maintained for the sales of all types of products and services as well as all imports, occurred during October 1st, 2012 and September 30th, 2014.
After the aforementioned period expires, the VAT rate will be raised to 9 percent, according to the Deputy Prime Minister.
He added that the postponement of the VAT increase is intended to stimulate public spending and the private sector’s investment, which are all essential for the recovery of the Thai economy.
