The special committee for the consideration of the draft annual budget expenditure act for the 2025 fiscal year has decided to temporarily suspend the budget for the digital wallet stipend program, amounting to 152.7 billion baht.
Thakorn Tantasith, a party-list MP of the Thai Sang Thai Party, revealed that the Ministry of Finance has been asked to provide additional documents for a more thorough review.
Thakorn previously debated the draft budget, highlighting three risks: revenue collection not meeting targets, hidden budget allocations for economic stimulus, and strengthening the economy, which includes the 152.7-billion-baht digital wallet budget.
When combined with additional borrowing of 112 billion baht for the 2024 supplementary budget, the total borrowing would exceed 264 billion baht. This raises concerns about potential violations of the 2018 state fiscal and financial discipline act, which allows borrowing only in urgent and continuous crises. (NNT)
