Government Delays Taxes on Stock Transactions to Assist Investors

BANGKOK (NNT) - The Ministry of Finance is expected to postpone its plan to impose a financial transaction tax on individual stock investors due to unfavorable economic conditions.


Krisada Chinavicharana, permanent secretary for the Ministry of Finance, said the ministry is reconsidering its plan as the Thai economy is still struggling due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict.


According to the permanent secretary, the government has always waived the financial transaction tax on individual stock investors as a means of assisting market development. He said the finance ministry has considered ending this tax exemption because its implementation could help to broaden the tax base and increase revenue to support economic growth.


According to calculations, investors will pay 0.11 percent of the total transaction tax rate, which will have little impact on the market. The Revenue Department estimated that this tax would not affect 80-90 percent of stock investors because their total share sale transactions do not exceed 1 million baht per month.


Revenue Department spokesperson Sommai Siriudomset said the postponement will not affect the department’s revenue collection since the tax has not been included in its revenue forecast for the current fiscal year. She also noted that the department’s 2022 revenue forecast of 8-10 billion baht was based on e-service tax laws that took effect before September 1, 2021.


Government Delays Taxes on Stock Transactions to Assist Investors