Personal tax incentive eyed

Under the proposal to be put to Cabinet next Tuesday, businesspeople or experts in specific fields who come to work in the EEC will be able to choose to pay personal income tax in line with Thailand’s normal tax structure or pay a fixed rate of 17 per cent. The Finance Ministry is working out more details and conditions of the measures.
The government had to change the country’s investment policies in order to keep pace with the “Thailand 4.0” initiative, particularly with the development of the EEC, Somkid told an economic seminar hosted by Matichon newspaper.
Aside from an acceleration in infrastructure investment, more attractive tax measures would be required to lure investment into the area, he said.
The Industry Ministry will soon propose investment-promotion measures in two targeted industries, robotics and electric vehicles, Somkid said.
“Upgrading the country to Thailand 4.0 will see advancement of manufacturing and economic development on the basis of knowledge and technology,” he said. “This year, we will see concrete development of the EEC, which will be positioned for those wanting to invest in EEC for expanding into CLMV,” the subregion comprising Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
“The investment in the EEC this year will start from ports and extend to a high-speed [railway] to attract investment and lure educational institutions and foreign research institutes to set up in the EEC as a foundation for human-resource and technological development in Thailand,” he said.
Somkid said that after the announced promotion measures for targeted industries, several foreign firms – including German tyre maker Continental Corporation – would sign agreements for investment in Thailand soon.
He added that after an investment promotional event last week called “Opportunity Thailand”, representatives of several foreign firms met with him to discuss planned investment. Among them was Fuji Film Corp, which will join with Charoen Pokphand Group on a health-foods venture in the EEC. 
Somkid said that this year the government would try to maintain Thailand’s economic growth momentum from last year and push for even higher growth. In 2016, gross domestic product expanded 3.2 per cent.
“Economic expansion is a part but the government’s key target is economic restructuring into Thailand 4.0,” said the deputy prime minister, citing support for start-ups, human resources in new technology, so-called smart farming in the agricultural sector with a move to big plots and technology, and tourism.
Somkid said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha planned to set up a committee something like the so-called Superboard (which oversees state enterprises) that would consist of people with knowledge and expertise, to supervise mega-project procurement. The list of proposed members of the planned committee will be forwarded to the government’s committee in charge of reform, national strategies and reconciliation soon.
“Previously, strict reference pricing was done, prompting the government to save more than Bt60 billion, which showed us that there were loopholes in reference pricing [handled by] the bureaucracy,” Somkid said.