NLA to take first look at 2016 budget bill

In the military-appointed assembly’s first deliberation, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha, who is also chief of the National Council for Peace and Order, will make a speech to NLA laying out the rationale for the proposed budget. The 2016 budget is about Bt145 billion or 5.6 per cent more than that of the previous fiscal year. The figure represents 20.4 per cent of the country’s gross domestic production. 

A draft of the inheritance tax bill has also been set for preliminary deliberation by the NLA. The Finance Ministry proposed an exemption for inheritances not exceeding Bt50 million. However, a majority vote of a parliamentary committee vetting the bill agreed on the figure of Bt100 billion. 

The tax rate remains at 10 per cent of donated assets’ value. The beneficiaries will be subject to a 5-per-cent tax if they are descendants of the deceased. 

According to the bill, the inheritances to be taxed include immovable properties, securities according to the securities and exchange law, deposits, and registered vehicles.