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Making his mark
Although Finance Minister Sommai Phasee, 71, is the second oldest member of Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-o-cha's Cabinet, he looks very fit - both physically and mentally.
And apparently, he wants to leave a legacy as a person who has made a significant contribution to the country, especially in the area of reforming the country’s taxation system.
After successfully forging ahead with the historic adoption of the inheritance tax, Sommai is now pushing ahead with many other unpopular tax policies, including the introduction of the land and building tax, which he claimed would contribute Bt200 billion of annual tax income to the nation’s coffers.
“But the prime minister told me not to speak too much [about the property tax] so as not to be attacked,” he told reporters last week.
The land and building tax would contribute much more tax income than the inheritance tax, unless [one] kills [a lot of] rich people, he joked.
But these taxes will still not be enough, said Sommai, who implied that the next “big thing” he is going to do is plug the tax collection loopholes.
