FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Kittiratt echoes call to fight income inequality

Kittiratt echoes call to fight income inequality

The government has more homework to do to address the wide income gap and promote green and knowledge-led growth, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said yesterday.

 

The Asian Development Bank’s board of governors has agreed that members need to pursue poverty reduction further, address income inequality, and promote green growth and a knowledge-led economy, Kittiratt said after attending the 45th annual meeting of the board in Manila.
He said a large number of people in some countries could not access financial services, in some cases as much as 40 per cent of the population. In Thailand, however, only 9.6 per cent of the people cannot access such services, he said. 
“That is because state-run banks such as the Government Savings Bank and Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives have provided substantial loans to poor farmers and other low-income groups,” he said. Village evolving funds sponsored by the government also provide financial services to disadvantaged groups, he said.
Those who cannot get loans from banks often end up borrowing from loan sharks who charge very high interest, Kittiratt said.
 He said the government’s policy to raise minimum wages may be blamed for rising production costs for businesses, but higher pay would lead to more consumption by low-income groups. That would benefit companies, as they would sell more products.
The government has also urged private firms to use technology to promote environmentally friendly production, he said. 
There about a million patents available for free as their legal protection has expired and government agencies and private companies could utilise these to improve production and service efficiency, Kittiratt said. 
“I encourage Thai corporations to make use of these intellectual properties, but tax incentives are not necessary as a tool” to promote use of these technologies, he added. 
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