The economic condition remains too fragile to cope with higher value-added tax (VAT), said Somchai Pakapaswiwat, a Thammasat University lecturer.
Following the Finance Ministry's study of raising VAT to cope with higher expenses, he said in MB Channel that the global and Thai economic recovery is in the uncertain stage given the unclear recovery in the US and the European debt crisis.
"The time is not right. To raise the VAT, we should wait till we are certain that the economy has fully recovered," he said.
Finance spokesman Ekniti Nitithanprapas said over the weekend that VAT could be raised along with many pending proposals to overhaul the tax structure in response to the launch of several new social programmes.