Tax break extended for new SET listings
Pridiyathorn: The number of listed companies remains small.
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Finance officials bow to calls to help more companies go public
The Finance Ministry has given the nod to extend corporate income tax incentives for companies which seek to list on the local stock market this year. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula said yesterday the tax privileges would, however, be provided for only three accounting years, compared with five years given for companies listed on the bourse between 2001 and 2006. Companies are subject to a 25 per cent corporate tax payment if their stocks are listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) this year, and 20 per cent if their shares are listed on the second-tier Market for Alternative Investment (MAI). Non-listed companies pay 30-per-cent tax on their income. "The ministry granted the extension as we considered that the number of listed companies at the moment remains small, compared with over 400,000 firms in Thailand," Pridi-yathorn said. The ministry will seek Cabinet approval for the tax privileges soon. The SET and brokers had frequently asked the ministry to extend the corporate income tax privilege for newly listed companies in order to encourage non-listed companies to go public. Earlier, the request had been turned down amid a widening budget deficit. Since the incentive was implemented in 2001, more than 100 firms have listed on both the SET and the MAI. Regarding the tax privileges for the merger and acquisition of listed companies, an informed source at the Finance Ministry said it would agree that the new entity that emerges from the M&A would receive the same corporate income tax privilege as newly listed companies. However, the ministry would not allow the new entity to reduce its tax liability by deducting from taxable income losses incurred from at least one of the merged firms, the source said. Wichit Chaitrong The Nation
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