The auditor-general is preparing to take tough action against senior officials who defended the controversial decision not to tax the Shin Corp share sale to Temasek, a source said yesterday.

The Revenue Department last week turned down a request from the Auditor-General's Office for five senior officials to provide information about the children of caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra buying Shin Corp shares from Ample Rich early this year.

The auditor-general wanted to check on whether the tax officials performed their duty honestly, the source said.

He insisted the auditors were not trying to take advantage of Thaksin's current political setbacks to harass the prime minister's allies.

"The auditor-general will issue another letter to the five senior officials at the Finance Ministry. If they do not cooperate, they will face legal action," he said.

The five are Revenue Department director-general Sirote Swasdipanich, deputy director-general Phaitoon Pongkesorn, former adviser and Finance Ministry inspector-general Bengcha Luischaroen, tax division director Morirath Boonyasiri and senior tax official Krich Vipulanusarn.

The tax-free Bt73-billion sale of Shin Corp to Singapore's Temasek Holdings in January this year sparked protests that resulted in the current political crisis.

Many people accused the Shinawatra family of avoiding their tax responsibilities.

Tax experts at leading universities including Chulalongkorn and Thammasat argued that revenue officials did not collect tax from the deal because they were currying favour with politicians and thinking of their own interests at the expense of society.

Wichit Chaitrong

The Nation