Eased rules urged for tax on debentures
The Thai Bond Market Association (ThaiBMA) will ask the Finance Ministry to relax the regulations for tax collection on debentures. The association found that the complicated measures have affected the returns of investors. They suggested that tax collection should begin on the date of issue as opposed to the day of holding, said Tada Phutthitada, the ThaiBMA’s president.
The Cabinet has agreed to amend the tax collection law on debentures to 15 per cent, which will take effect on August 20.
Furthermore, investments in debentures through mutual funds may cause investors to lose benefits in requesting a tax reduction. Therefore, investments in debentures through mutual funds may be reduced, Tada said.
The association wants the incoming government to review new tax methods in order to improve the investment environment in the country’s debentures.
Meanwhile, the ThaiBMA expects the debenture market will exceed Bt1 trillion in value after the market’s value in the first half of this year reached Bt600 billion, a 34 per cent year-on-year growth.
Currently, outstanding stocks are valued at Bt3.9 trillion and can be divided into short-term debentures valued at Bt400 billion and long-term debentures of Bt3.5 trillion.
The direction of foreign capital inflows into the bond market in the second half of this year is expected to continue to rise. Foreigners now holding debt securities worth Bt980 billion, or 7.3 per cent of the debt instruments in all markets.
