Srettha defends seeking extra 122 billion baht for handout scheme

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin kicked off the first reading of the additional budget for fiscal 2024, saying the extra 122 billion baht will be used for economic stimulus via the digital wallet scheme.

Srettha told the House on Wednesday that the government had to earmark an additional 122 billion baht in fiscal 2024 for financing the 10,000-baht digital handout scheme to boost people’s quality of life and create job opportunities.

He said the government could not wait until the fiscal 2025 budget bill for the money to be allocated.

The premier told the House that 10 billion for the additional funds would come from taxes and other government revenue, while 112 billion would come from borrowing.

Srettha assured the House that the 122 billion baht for the digital wallet scheme would flow into the private sector and lead to the procurement of a lot of goods and services, which in turn would let the money circulate in the economy.

The additional funds would be added to the 3.48 trillion baht national budget that has already been approved for fiscal 2024, raising the total budget to 3.602 trillion baht.

With the increased budget, the government will spend 800 billion baht or 22.4% of the total budget on investment, Srettha added.

The premier also assured the House that the government was in total compliance with the Financial Discipline Act in requesting the additional funds.

He said that Thailand still enjoyed strong financial stability with US$220 billion in reserves as of May 31. The foreign reserves are 2.5 times higher than the short-term foreign debts, he pointed out.

Srettha spent about 13 minutes defending the additional budget bill before returning to his office at Government House.

Both the coalition and opposition whips have agreed to allocate 13 hours to the debate on the first reading, with the time equally shared between the two sides.

The bill is scheduled to be enacted within 105 days after being tabled in the House of Representatives or by October 21.