BANGKOK, 6 April 2012 – More than a quarter of a billion baht in tax refund has been paid out to first-time home buyers, according to the Revenue Department.
Revenue Department Director-General Satit Rungkasiri revealed on Thursday that more than 11,000 tax payers bought their first homes in 2011, to the tune of some 14.3 billion baht.
Mr. Satit said that, under the government’s “First Home” policy, buyers of first homes are eligible for a certain amount of tax refund from their purchase. As a result, the Revenue Department has refunded more than 260 million baht to qualified home buyers.
As the “First Home” campaign is still active, Mr. Satit expects the home tax refund will continue to rise this year.
When asked about the impact on the Finance Ministry’s tax revenues, caused by its plan to introduce new measures aimed at helping SME operators who have been affected by the new minimum wage of 300 baht, the Revenue Department Director-General said that, even if such tax incentives are implemented, he is confident that this year’s tax collection growth target of 10-15 percent, to approximately 15 billion baht, will still be achieved.
