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Tax tutorial schools, NACC urges Cabinet
The National Anti-Corruption Commission has proposed to the Cabinet that tutorial schools be taxed as businesses in order to increase the tax base and improve the quality of education.
Government Spokesman Yongyuth Mayalarp said after the Cabinet meeting yesterday that the NACC believed that these schools should be taxed as they made high profits but did not invest that much. They also do not have to register as corporates according to the law, which provides them with the tax loophole.
Yongyuth added that the NACC believes regular schools should be able to prepare their students adequately for university entrance exams, making tutorial schools unnecessary.
SET index slides again
The SET Index dropped 15.99 points yesterday to close at 1,559.56, with trading value of Bt55.4 billion.
It was the second consecutive decline, after the index fell 22.21 points to 1,575.55 points on Monday. Yesterday’s close represented a decline of 38.2 points or 2.3 per cent from 1,597.76 on Thursday.
GDP growth to exceed 1 per cent in 2015: FPO
Gross domestic product is projected to grow by more than 1 per cent in 2015, given this year’s low base and export and tourism recoveries, according to the Fiscal Policy Office.
Ekniti Nitithanprapas, deputy director-general of the FPO, said that the current quarter might see year-on-year growth of no more than 1.4 per cent as state spending was less than targeted.
Between the beginning of the fiscal year 2015 on October 1 and December 5, only Bt550,000 of the state investment budget was disbursed, about 35 per cent less than the target, he said.
Solar power venture
Yingli Green Energy Holding Co, the world’s largest vertically integrated solar-panel manufacturer, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Yingli Green Energy Singapore, intended to collaborate with Kasikornbank, Huawei Technologies Co, and Solventia Solar Energy Co to deploy solar power in Thailand, which they consider a promising renewable-energy market.
According to their recently signed memorandum of understanding, the companies plan to provide turnkey solar power solutions jointly for both power plants and distributed generation projects throughout the country.
Because of Thailand’s strong year-round solar radiation and rising demand for electricity, the government has established a 3-gigawatt target for total solar-power capacity by 2021. The country plans to meet at least 20 per cent of its energy demand with renewable resources by 2022.
Siam Center wins award for design, development
Siam Piwat Co, owner of Siam Center, Siam Paragon, Siam Discovery, and Paradise Park shopping centres, and joint-owner of mega-project IconSiam, has won a Gold Award in Design and Development for its renovation project of “Siam Center, The Ideaopolis”.
This is the only shopping complex in Thailand to win an “Asia-Pacific Shopping Centre Award” from the International Council of Shopping Centres, said Chadatip Chutrakul, chief executive officer of Siam Piwat.
