Criteria for land and building tax finalised

 

Somchai Sujjapongse, permanent secretary of the ministry, said the revised legal draft would focus on collecting tax from speculators to push them into making their land available for use. Local administrative organisations will also earn more, and then the government would have to spend less to support them, he said. At present, most government revenue comes from personal and corporate income taxes and value-added tax. Property tax accounts about 1 per cent of government revenue.

 

Personal income tax 

Amendments to personal income tax, which are close to finalisation, will widen the base of taxpayers, and are expected to be proposed to the Finance Ministry this quarter. 

An anonymous source from the ministry said that earlier, the Fiscal Policy Office had proposed a legal draft for four types of taxes on land and buildings. 

If approved, the current bill will take effect on January 1, 2017.

According to the bill, land for agricultural purpose will be taxed at a ceiling of 0.2 per cent of its appraisal price, land and buildings for residential purpose will be taxed at a ceiling of 0.3 per cent, and land and buildings for commercial or industrial purpose will be taxed at a ceiling of 1 per cent. 

Unused land will be taxed at 1 per cent for the first to third years, at a ceiling of 2 per cent for the fourth to sixth years and at a ceiling of 3 per cent for the seventh year.