Thaksin faces tax demand on Shin sale

THE REVENUE Department would send former premier Thaksin Shinawatra a citation to pay delinquent taxes on the 2006 sale of Shin Corp shares to Temasek Holdings of Singapore before the case’s legal deadline on March 31.
The fugitive former premier has the right to submit an appeal against this tax order within 30 days, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said yesterday.
 This case is separate from the court order some years ago to seize Bt46 billion of the Bt73-billion proceeds from selling Shin Corp shares, he said.
The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders had ruled then that the Shin Corp shares belonged to Thaksin but the former premier had used his son and daughter as nominees to hold the shares on his behalf while he held public office. 
These shares were later sold at Bt49 apiece against the unit cost of Bt1 to Temasek, so there was still income tax owed by Thaksin on the capital gains.
However, Noppadon Pattama, a legal aide of Thaksin, claimed the sale of the shares was transacted through the Stock Exchange of Thailand hence the proceeds were exempt from income tax.
Wissanu said once the demand letter is served on Thaksin, the statute of limitations on this civil case would be automatically extended by 10 years. 
This case should be judged by the court as setting a precedent since the government has the duty to attempt to collect back taxes even though it is not completely clear if the taxes are collectable, he said. Counter-lawsuits by Thaksin and his family cannot be ruled out but there is no need to issue special measures to protect tax officials, he said. The case is in a “grey” area so the court should have the final say, he said.
In 2015, the National Anti-Corruption Commission took legal action against four former senior officials of the Revenue Department for helping Thaksin and his children to avoid the taxes. 
Later the Criminal Court sentenced these four officials to three years in jail.
Wissanu said the argument that sale of shares in the stock market was exempt from capital gains tax could be raised by the defence in court when the case goes to trial. 
However, the Auditor-General’s Office has insisted that this stock sale had incurred a tax liability. 
Tax officials have tried to collect about Bt12 billion from Panthongtae and Pinthongta, the son and daughter of Thaksin, but the efforts failed after a tax court ruled in 2010 that the two children do not have to pay taxes since the shares belonged to Thaksin.
Noppadon insisted that shares sold on the stock market do not have a tax liability. This regulation has been applied for many years so it could not be interpreted otherwise. 
He said the issue in this case was not about the statute of limitations but the legal fact that the sale is not subject to income tax.
Prior to 2006, Thaksin had set up Ample Rich Investments to sell 329 million shares of Shin Corp to his two children at a price below the market price. In 2007, the Revenue Department initiated its first attempt to levy income taxes on the share sale.