The Cabinet yesterday approved tax measures to promote reading - except for sections covering book-selling businesses, which need to be reviewed by the Finance Ministry in a month before being resubmitted for consideration.
An informed source at Government House said yesterday the Education Ministry had proposed measures such as tax refunds and incentives to promote reading as part of the national agenda.
Currently, book donors are entitled to a tax deduction of double the purchase price, but no more than 10 per cent of the profit once all donation expenses have been deducted. Therefore, the private sector and publishers cannot donate books and teaching materials to cover schools' needs.
The Reading Promotion Committee (RPC), chaired by the education minister, has studied tax measures and offered the following proposal:
1 Revenue tax will be waived to cover book donation expenses in order to promote reading in state offices, schools and charity organisations. Previously, only corporations enjoyed this waiver;
1.1 An individual can get a tax deduction of up to two times the donation expense, but no more than 30 per cent of the assessable income after cutting expenses and tax-deductible allowances;
1.2 A corporate or partnership can get a tax deduction of up to two times the donation expense, but no more than 30 per cent of its net profit before cutting charity expenses;
2 Waiver of revenue tax for book-purchase expenses for families or organisations will be as follows:
2.1 An individual can get a tax deduction for up to Bt10,000 spent on books;
2.2 A corporation or partnership can get a tax deduction for money spent on books for internal consumption at up to twice the purchasing price.
3. Book-publishing businesses (including magazines and newspapers) shall be included in the 0 per cent value-added tax system, thus making the cost of manufacturing books much lower.
The RPC has set several goals it hopes to achieve by 2012, including getting Thais to read at least 10 books instead of just five per year.