Terms for tax waiver on savings account interest to be announced
THE REVENUE Department will announce conditions for tax waiver on interest earned from savings accounts next week, while asking banks to disclose information on all savings accounts.
Pinsai Suraswadi, principal advisor on strategic tax administration and revenue spokesman, said that based on yesterday discussion between the department, Thai Bankers’ Association (TBA) and Bank of Thailand on amending the announcement on tax collection from interest earned from savings accounts,
Depositors who do not want to disclose their information to the Revenue Department must clearly confirm with banks, otherwise banks will assume that the depositors choose to disclose their interest information directly to the Revenue Department. The amended announcement will be made public next week.
With regard to depositors who do not disclose information, banks are required to deduct tax on interest earned from their savings deposits, even if it amounts to no more than Bt20,000 per year.
“ Those who prefer banks to send their information to Revenue Department need to do nothing as banks will forward the data to the department on their behalf. Once inspected and confirmed that the annual interest amounts to less than Bt20,000 per year, the tax waiver will apply,” he said.
The move will facilitate savings account owners, of which about 99 per cent or about 85 million earn interest of no more than Bt20,000 per year and are exempted form tax . These savings account owners do not need to ask the banks to send their interest information to the department as stated in the previous announcement which aimed to solve tax avoidance of savings account owners who earn interest of more than Bt20,000 per year.
Chuleeporn Nuamtanong, deputy secretary-general of the TBA, said that the Revenue Department will grant privileges to depositors who earn no more than Bt20,000 per year in combined interest . They will be tax exempt and disclosure of interest information does not contradict with the law as banks will send information of interest earned from savings accounts only to the department, not of all bank account owners.
Meanwhile, banks will adjust their work system and send information by electronics within May 15 this year.
“Now, depositors may have several accounts and banks will not know whether the customer earn interest of less than Bt20,000 (per year) and will be tax exempted.
But if all banks send information to the Revenue Department, it can identify those earning more than more than Bt20,000 per year from their savings accounts so that banks will be able to deduct tax on interest correctly,” Chuleeporn said.
