Thread: Abhisit queries 'no tax' for Thaksin kids

^ Odd, so it is looking highly likely that Thaksin's children and Thaksin himself will get away with not paying tax....odd timing, right? Just after the election...

Nothing like contributing to the welfare of the country....and this is absolutely nothing like it....11 billion baht, that'll buy a few books I'd imagine.

I'm sure it is just coincidence....

Also strange that 'certain' people didn't post this news item here....very strange...

It's all an honest mistake.....

11 billion should go a long towards........................................... .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ...................

^the nearest Benz dealership...........?

Originally Posted by jizzybloke

the nearest Benz dealership

Not thinking about that mate..................maybe a few hundred thousand water buffalo for the faithful electorate.

Does mean that Toxic & Pokemon can be prosecuted again. So good news there.

Originally Posted by Gerbil

Does mean that Toxic & Pokemon can be prosecuted again. So good news there.

No need to explain these actions to anyone mate as not one of them would understand.

Originally Posted by Gerbil

Does mean that Toxic & Pokemon can be prosecuted again. So good news there.

Well spotted. Something of a contrast to

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

...it is looking highly likely that Thaksin's children and Thaksin himself will get away with not paying tax...

Still, "many a slip twixt cup and lip".....

^

So the Yingluck government is going to allow such a case to proceed, right? Have you taken leave of your senses Steve?

And lets not forget that handy statute of limitations....

What it must be to [cough] "know" so much and understand so little - never mind the reading difficulties.

loonatic.

Anyway I want to see the tax returns of abisit and his kids.
Thai returns and UK tax returns.

Better still just let internationally acclaimed Robert Amsterdam look at em

So what is the law regarding the statute of limitations anyway.

Who thinks that law will be the same as it is now a month from now?

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

^

So the Yingluck government is going to allow such a case to proceed, right? Have you taken leave of your senses Steve?

And lets not forget that handy statute of limitations....

There is no case so whats the point?

Originally Posted by Moonraker

So what is the law regarding the statute of limitations anyway.

Who thinks that law will be the same as it is now a month from now?

An investigation into the political court decisions by the judiciary since 2006 is needed first. Thailand needs to add precedence rulings and the ability to appeal a decision.

Some that are interested in the whole story might want to read a bit of background.
The Paper Trail

The curse of Win Mark

Bangkok Post : Korn: Tax Thaksin

Breakingnews >

• Published: 9/08/2011 at 05:13 PM
• Online news:

Former finance minister Korn Chatikavanij has urged the Revenue Department to collect tax from former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra from the sale of Shin Corp shares to Singapore’s Temasek Holdings in 2006.

He echoed the reaction with former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva who said on Monday that someone must still pay the tax, about 11 billion baht, after the department announced that the Finance Ministry has approved its decision not to collect the tax from Thaksin’s children – Panthongtae and Pintongta.

The reason given by the department is that Thaksin, not his children, was in control of the shares, as ruledby the Central Tax Court.

If the department does not collect the tax from Thaksin, it would face a charge of dereliction of duty, said Mr Korn, who as minister was in charge of the department during his term.

“I still trust the Revenue Department,” Mr Korn said. “I say ‘trust’ on the condition that if it views the case is a taxable transaction it will certainly collect the tax.”

Asked whether he still trust finance minister if his successor is Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala, former secretary-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission, he replied he “dares not put hope” in him. Mr Korn did not elaborate on his comment.

The Revenue Department based its decision not to collect tax from Thaksin’s children on the Central Tax Court’s ruling late last year that Mr Panthongtae and Ms Pintongta were not the real owners of the shares, just Thaksin's proxies, and were consequently not personally required to pay the tax.

The two earned huge capital gains by selling 329.2 million shares of Shin Corp to Temasek for 49.25 baht each after buying them for one baht each from the Ample Rich Investments Ltd, a holding company registered in British Vergin Islands.

Both telecom giant Shin Corp and Ample Rich were found by Thaksin. The ousted prime minister has claimed he sold his shares in Shin Corp to his family and Ample Rich before he assumed premiership in 2001.

However, the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions, in its trial on the seizure of Thaksin’s assets in 2010, found his two children were only proxies in the share holding.

The Central Tax Court based its ruling on the Supreme Court’s decision.

^
It would be useful to see a timeline showing when what decisions were reached by which of the various bodies. On the face of it, it seems that Korn was Finance Minister (with oversight of the Revenue Dept) when their final decision was taken. If that's the case, why wait (like Abhisit) until you're out of office before saying anything?

Originally Posted by SteveCM

^
It would be useful to see a timeline showing when what decisions were reached by which of the various bodies. On the face of it, it seems that Korn was Finance Minister (with oversight of the Revenue Dept) when their final decision was taken. If that's the case, why wait (like Abhisit) until you're out of office before saying anything?

It is purely a political attack. The revenue dept should go through Korn and Marks family interests and see if they have ever paid this tax?

Steve, previous threads specific to the tax issue.

https://teakdoor.com/thailand-and-asi...ml#post1643179 (Court rejects tax demand against Thaksin's children) (2010)

https://teakdoor.com/thailand-and-asi...tml#post917439 (Thailand : Court rejects tax payment from Shinawatra children) (2009)

https://teakdoor.com/business-finance...tml#post238743 (2007)

https://teakdoor.com/thailand-and-asi...tml#post207913 (Thaksin's two children told to pay tax on share sale profits) (2006)

There are a lot of others threads related to the sale of the Shin Corp shares to Temasek. A lot. Not going to bother posting all of those.

A big one is here though...

https://teakdoor.com/thailand-and-asi...ml#post1318186 (Thailand : 76-bn THB asset seizure case)

Search for Shin Corp Shares.

NNT post, some of which is to be found in Steve's Bangkok Post article and some new bits of interest...

Korn believes 11-bn-THB tax will be collected from Thaksin : National News Bureau of Thailand

Korn believes 11-bn-THB tax will be collected from Thaksin

BANGKOK, 9 August 2011 (NNT) – Outgoing Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij is confident that the Revenue Department will be able to pursue former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for the overdue tax worth 11 billion THB before the case is expired.

Mr Korn admitted that the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions had clearly ruled that Mr Thaksin was accountable for the 11 billion THB in capital gains tax stemming from the sales of Shin Corp shares, rather than his children Panthongtae and Pinthongta Shinawatra. The ex-premier was identified by the Court as the rightful owner of the shares, which were privately traded outside the stock market between Ample Rich Investment and Singaporean firm Temasek Holdings.

Mr Kornr then voiced his belief that relevant officials of the Revenue Department would abide by the Court’s verdict to retrieve the tax money owed to the state from Mr Thaksin; otherwise, they would be prosecuted for negligence of duty in accordance with Section 157 of the Criminal Code. He assured that actions would be taken at haste without trouble with the statute of limitations of the case.

Regarding a report that former Secretary-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala would become his successor in the finance minister post, Mr Korn said it would not benefit the effort to acquire the 11-billion-THB tax if it was true. He cited many past decisions by Mr Thirachai as being in favor of Mr Thaksin and his family and aiming to help them escape their legal punishments.

The Bangkok Post expanded their earlier report....

Bangkok Post : Korn presses officials to chase Thaksin for taxes

Korn presses officials to chase Thaksin for taxes

Revenue Dept slighted over sale of Shin Corp

• Published: 10/08/2011 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News

Revenue officials have been urged to pursue a tax claim against former premier Thaksin Shinawatra for profits gained from the 2006 sale of Shin Corp shares to Temasek Holdings.

Former finance minister Korn Chatikavanij slammed the Revenue Department for its failure to take action after he had asked it several times to clarify its position.

The Finance Ministry this week formally acknowledged it would not appeal a judgement by the Tax Court to dismiss a 12-billion-baht tax assessment against Pinthongta and Panthongtae Shinawatra for the Shin Corp sale. It is not known when the Tax Court actually submitted its judgement notice to the Revenue Department. By law, the department would have 60 days to appeal after receiving the notice.

Mr Korn said he had asked the Revenue Department for clarification on the issue several times over the past several months with no clear reply.

The Tax Court, in a ruling on Dec 29, 2010, argued that Ms Pinthongta and Mr Panthongtae were not the actual owners of the Shin Corp shares but were instead acting as nominees for their father, Thaksin.

The ruling was in line with a judgement made early last year by the Supreme Court, which found Thaksin guilty of conflict of interest rules and corruption for enacting policies that benefited Shin Corp during his time as prime minister. The Supreme Court ordered the confiscation of 46 billion baht from the Shinawatra family, based on the gains in the value of Shin Corp shares from the date Thaksin took office in 2001 to when the Temasek deal was made in January 2006.

But Mr Korn told the Bangkok Post that the Tax Court decision does not obviate the fact that the sale of Shin Corp shares did result in capital gains for Thaksin that should be liable for taxes.

"There is no question that the share transaction did occur. So who is liable for taxes? The Revenue Department must pursue this question," he said.

"I am not really upset about the decision to not appeal against Ms Pinthongta and Mr Panthongtae. But who must be held responsible?"

On Jan 20, 2006, Ample Rich Investments, a holding company registered in the British Virgin Islands, sold 329.2 million Shin Corp shares to Ms Pinthongta and Mr Panthongtae for one baht each. The next business day, the pair sold off the Shin shares on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) to Singapore's Temasek Holdings for 49.25 baht each, resulting in a gain of nearly 16 billion baht.

Under the tax code, capital gains are waived for individual transactions made through the SET. Tax liability however is assessed for capital gains from transactions made outside of the exchange. The Revenue Department argued that as the Shinawatra children received the shares at a lower-than-market price, taxes should be assessed on the benefits received, namely the difference in value between the sale from Ample Rich to the children and the funds received from the Temasek sale.

But after the Supreme Court in February 2010 found that Shin Corp was actually owned by Thaksin, his children changed their defence strategy before the Tax Court and claimed that as they were not the owners of the shares, they should not be subject to taxes.

Thaksin had earlier denied ownership of the Shin Corp shares through Ample Rich, presumably to avoid charges of asset concealment or conflicts of interest. The two Shinawatra children had also originally testified in the Tax Court that they were the original owners and denied acting as proxies for their father.

In any case, the decision by the Finance Ministry to not pursue a tax case against Ms Pinthongta or Mr Panthongtae will not result in any refunds or payments by the state, as the tax claim was filed by the Revenue Department against the assets seized and confiscated by the Assets Scrutiny Committee and later by the Supreme Court. The Revenue Department will release about 200 million baht in cash and another one billion in personal assets owned by the two Shinawatra children which had been ordered frozen pending the outcome of the tax case.

A Finance Ministry official said given the Supreme Court judgement, the tax case against the Shinawatra children was misplaced as they were not the actual beneficiaries of the share sale.

"Basically, the Revenue Department has to go after the persons who were actually liable," the official said.

However, another official said it was possible that the Revenue Department may decide to drop the case altogether, under the argument that the Ample Rich transactions involved a shuffling of shares between accounts all under the control of Mr Thaksin himself, with no actual sale occurring. Thus, no tax liability was to be assessed.