Finance Ministry to review welfare card disqualification over parents’ tax allowance

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said on Monday that the Finance Ministry would review the criteria for the state welfare card scheme following public concern over a rule that could disqualify cardholders if their children claim a tax deduction for supporting their parents.

Ekniti said the issue had been discussed with the prime minister, and the government had listened to concerns from the public. In reality, some children claim the parental care tax allowance but do not actually support their parents, causing elderly people in need to unfairly lose access to state assistance.

He said the prime minister had instructed the Finance Ministry to urgently review the rule. Ekniti has assigned the Pracharat Committee for the Grassroots Economy and Society to consider whether the parental care tax deduction should be used as a condition for approving state welfare cards.

The review aims to ensure the rules reflect real social conditions and allow the government to reach vulnerable groups as accurately as possible.

“We want state welfare to reach those who are genuinely in the greatest difficulty. Over the past nearly 10 years, there have been complaints that some people have falsely claimed rights even though they were not truly in hardship,” Ekniti said.

There are currently about 13.22 million state welfare cardholders, with more than 10 million having already confirmed their rights. The process of identity verification and reassessment of entitlements through the Ministry of Interior will continue until June 21.

The government’s assistance measures are divided into two main target groups.

For those in the greatest hardship, the state has increased monthly assistance from 300 baht to 1,000 baht, without requiring recipients to contribute their own money.

For those with some income who do not meet the criteria for the state welfare card but still need support, they can join the Thais Help Thais Plus scheme. Under this programme, the government contributes 60% and participants pay 40%. The scheme is scheduled to begin on August 1.

The review and screening process is expected to be completed by July, allowing those who qualify for state welfare and those wishing to use the Thais Help Thais Plus scheme to begin accessing support from August 1 onwards.

“The government is ready to listen to public opinions to ensure fairness and cover all target groups,” Ekniti said.