Democrat MPs petition NACC on Shinawatra shares, taxes
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Accuse finance minister, his deputy and Revenue Dept chief of dereliction of duty for not taxing Thaksin, ex-wife
Democrat Party MPs have petitioned the national graft agency, accusing the finance minister, his deputy and the Revenue Department chief of dereliction of duty in their decision not to tax former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his ex-wife for their share sale to their children.
Democrat MP Sansern Sama-lapa, who is the party’s “shadow deputy finance minister”, said yesterday that the petition was submitted to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) against Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong, Deputy Finance Min-ister Tanusak Lekuthai and Reve-nue Department director-general Sathit Rangkasiri on Tuesday.
Sansern said the three failed to perform their duty properly in not levying tax on the sale of shares in the Shin Corp family business by Thaksin and his then-wife Pojaman to their children Panthongtae and Pinthongta. The shares were held in an offshore firm called Ample Rich and later sold to the Singaporean government’s Temasek Holdings.
He said that shares sold outside the stock market were not exempt from tax.
The Democrat also noted that after Thaksin’s sister Yingluck became prime minister in August last year, the Revenue Department decided not to collect tax from Panthongtae and Pinthongta, citing a court verdict that the shares still belonged to Thaksin and Pojaman.
The agency recently decided not to collect tax from Thaksin and Pojaman on grounds that the share transaction occurred through the stock exchange and therefore was exempt from tax.
“The first part of the share transfer [from Ample Rich] occurred outside the stock market and should be taxed, although a court ruled the shares did not actually belong to Panthongtae and Pinthongta,” Sansern said. “The earnings were made and someone must be responsible for paying tax. It seems the Revenue Department interpreted the law in a way that benefits Thaksin and Pojaman.”
Sansern also said the Democrats would employ other measures in a bid to have those responsible pay the Bt12-billion tax estimated to have incurred from the share sale. “It is still not hopeless for the country to get its money back,” he added.
Sansern said the Democrats would try to find out whether Thaksin and Pojaman had paid income taxes properly, especially in 2007 when the ex-prime minister was abroad.
