Finance Ministry targets speculative online gold trades with possible special tax
Government is reviewing online gold trades that often lack physical settlement and may require platforms to submit data, with any measures aimed at curbing short-term speculation while protecting retail buyers and gold shops.
- Thailand's Finance Ministry is considering a special business tax to slow down high-volume, speculative gold trading conducted on unregulated online platforms.
- The proposed tax would specifically target large investors engaged in short-term speculation without physical delivery, while exempting the general public and traditional gold shops.
- A primary motivation for the tax is to curb currency volatility, as the high volume of online gold trading is putting upward pressure on the baht through large US dollar transactions.
Lavaron Sangsnit, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, said the ministry is studying the imposition of a special business tax on gold trading that is primarily speculative, with an initial focus on transactions conducted via online platforms.
He said the Revenue Department could issue a regulation requiring online gold trading platforms to keep accounts and submit transaction data for inspection, similar to reporting requirements already applied to food delivery and e-commerce platforms.
Preliminary information suggests only 15–20% of gold transactions involve traditional gold shops with physical delivery, while more than 80% are traded freely through online platforms.
Lavaron said trading volumes on these platforms are extremely high, at times exceeding stock market turnover, yet the activity is not overseen by a dedicated regulator.
A special business tax, he added, would increase “friction” and introduce additional conditions that could slow transaction activity.
Vinit Visessuvanapoom, Director of the Fiscal Policy Office, said a Revenue Department announcement could be implemented quickly after receiving approval from the finance minister.
Once authorities have clearer data on platform-based gold transactions, the government would assess whether speculative trading is excessive, and then consider the suitability of a special business tax, while ensuring it does not affect small buyers.
He stressed the measures would not affect the general public who buy gold jewellery for personal use, or buy gold bars for saving and long-term asset accumulation.
Nor would they affect traditional gold shop operators conducting normal business.
The aim, he said, would be to target large investors using online platforms for massive short-term speculation without physical delivery of gold.
Officials said daily gold trading value has risen significantly, at times approaching levels seen on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET).
This has also led gold companies to buy US dollars in much larger proportions.
In some periods, gold trading transactions have generated net US dollar sales equivalent to as much as 40–50% of the country’s total net US dollar sales, putting direct upward pressure on the baht, strengthening it faster than regional currencies and creating volatility inconsistent with economic fundamentals.
The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has previously pushed for gold trading to be conducted in US dollars to reduce pressure on the baht.
It has also tightened scrutiny of foreign-exchange transactions by gold companies and required major gold traders to report detailed gold trading data.
However, officials said the impact on the baht from gold-company transactions remains persistently high.
