Tax breaks for donations likely to rise
The Finance Ministry is prepared to give more tax breaks to those who make charitable donations, but will not commit itself to introducing property and inheritance taxes.
"The ministry is considering allowing more charity organisations to utilise tax allowances," Finance Minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn said yesterday. Chalongphob was responding to a call for the ministry to introduce new tax measures to narrow the income gap between the rich and poor. Speaking at a workshop on a master plan for fiscal policy related to social causes, Deputy Prime Minister Paiboon Wattanasiritham urged the Finance Ministry to introduce property and inheritance taxes. Such taxes may not result in more state revenues, but they would have a huge psychological impact, making people believe that there is justice in society. "This would lead to less social conflict, as the country is already facing serious political divisions today," he said. He also called for more tax allowances for people who give money to charity. Currently, the Revenue Department gives tax allowances for donations, but they must not exceed 10 per cent of a taxpayer's income. Paiboon said the allowances could be raised to 20 per cent or 50 per cent, as is the standard in many countries. He also suggested that the management of the Social Security Fund, which is currently under the supervision of the Labour Ministry, needed reform. It should have professional management similar to the Government Pension Fund, he said. These should be the priorities for the Finance Ministry and they should be implemented in the current government's term, he added. Chalongphob agreed with more tax allowance for donations, but was cautious about introducing inheritance and property taxes. He said these needed more study. "Society must have a consensus about the direction of the country, whether Thailand should follow the Scandinavian model where governments provide a large social welfare programme or whether to continue many and various social projects as has been done until now," he said. The idea to introduce a property tax has been delayed for a decade due to a lack of political will. The Fiscal Policy Office is drafting an inheritance tax proposal for Deputy Finance Minster Sommai Phasee. It will be submitted in the next two weeks, an official said.
Wichit Chaitrong The Nation
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