Move Forward wins taxpayers' vote to bag Bt30m for development
The opposition Move Forward Party has received more than Bt30 million from the Election Commission’s Fund for Development of Political Parties — the highest among the 67 eligible parties this year, it was revealed on Friday.
Move Forward was allocated Bt30,145,874.86 from the fund, which comes from taxpayers.
The party’s secretary-general, Chaithawat Tulathon, on Friday thanked taxpayers who donated to Move Forward and promised the party would spend the subsidy efficiently for its development as a political institution.
When filling in their annual income tax forms, taxpayers have an option to donate a portion of their tax money (up to Bt500) to a political party of their choice.
The coalition Democrat Party received the second-largest tax donation from the development fund, at just over Bt13 million (Bt13,133,331.30), followed by the coalition Bhumjaithai Party (Bt9,475,722.29), new party Kla (Bt6,559,587.89), the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (Bt5,706,040.41), and opposition Pheu Thai Party (Bt4,231,814), the Election Commission revealed on Friday.
Other new parties benefiting from the fund included Thai Sang Thai (Bt740,000) and Thai Pakdee (Bt81,000).
The fund allocated a total of Bt101.95 million to parties this year.
In addition to income tax donations, the fund draws from other sources including state budget, election candidates’ application fees, and other donations.