Tax break mulled for foreign researchers
THE Thailand Innovation Systems Development Committee is considering a waiver of personal income tax for foreign researchers who come to work in Thailand, in a bid to promote research and development activities and the "super-clusters" investment-promot
SCG chief executive and president Kan Trakulhoon, who sits on the innovation board – chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha – said Japanese investors he had met this week in Japan expressed their appreciation of and interest in the government’s plans to promote R&D and higher-value-added investment projects under the super-clusters scheme.
Kan said the committee had not yet decided how many years of tax exemption foreign researchers should receive.
The new incentive would be in addition to several tax and non-tax incentive packages announced earlier by the government, including an eight-year tax break followed by a 50-per-cent reduction for the next five years.
Companies are also now eligible for a tax deduction of 300 per cent of their actual R&D expenses, up from the previous rate of 200 per cent.
As of last year, Thailand had only 9,940 PhD researchers in the government sector, including those working at universities, and 730 in the private sector, of whom more than 90 worked for SCG.
Kan said he had just returned from a trip to Japan, where he introduced the group’s incoming chief executive Roongrote Rangsiyopash to the CEOs of nine Japanese companies that are SCG’s business partners, as well as to the chief of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
The SCG chief added that he was currently preparing a list of 20 Japanese companies for Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, who is scheduled to visit Japan this month to encourage Japanese investors to exploit Thailand’s new super-cluster incentives and increase investment in the Kingdom.
Speaking yesterday at “CEO Talk: Innovation Insight”, a closed-door function held privately with more than 30 top executives of other Thai companies,
Kan said there was no way for Thailand to step out of its “middle-income trap” other than to promote R&D and innovation.
SCG will allocate Bt6.7 billion for R&D activities next year and Bt8.3 billion in 2017, compared with Bt4.895 billion this year.
Kan said the R&D expenditure, which was currently equivalent to more than 1 per cent of SCG’s sales, had proved to be very beneficial to the group’s businesses, and he urged other Thai companies to follow suit.
The prime minister, who presided over the opening ceremony of an “Innovation for Sustainability” event, also held by SCG yesterday, said the government believed innovation was a key driving force behind the country’s strength and competitiveness.
It has therefore made it a national strategic agenda priority to promote R&D by entrusting the private sector to take the lead in creating new products and services that fulfil the needs of consumers, Prayut said.
