BANGKOK, Jan 25 – The Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) urged the government to reduce the country’s public debt, especially due to the annual Bt200 billion loss incurred from the highly-criticised rice pledging scheme which is set to drag on to 2017.
Somchai Jitsuchon, a leading TDRI economist, said today that investment in infrastructure in preparation for the ASEAN Economic Community, water management projects and the new corporate tax structure are some of the factors contributing to escalating public debts in 2013-2017.
He forecasts that Thailand’s economy this year will grow at least 5 per cent with inflation at 2.8 per cent, while export will be slightly higher than last year at 4.2 per cent.
The government should control public spending and adjust some projects he described as being exhorbitant while increasing certain taxes such as the land tax, construction tax and value added tax.
Debt per capita will exceed 60 per cent if Thailand’s annual economic growth is lower than 6 per cent, the TDRI economist said, indicating that successful spending control will result in public debt control.
Somkiat Tangkitvanich, TDRI president, said the Bt300 daily minimum wage has boosted workers’ income, but negatively impacted some small-sized businesses in several industries.
The TDRI proposed that the government announce 2013-2022 as a decade of productivity growth for Thailand’s businesses by boosting labour skills, investment in research and development and launching education reform.
