Revenue Department plan intends to add some 500,000 taxpayers

Revenue Department plan intends to add some 500,000 taxpayers

The Revenue Department aims to pull 500,000 individuals into the tax system, including online merchants and influencers, YouTubers and freelancers.

Expanding the personal income tax base is aimed at creating fairness in the tax system because there are still many people who are not being taxed on earnings, said director-general Ekniti Nitithanprapas.

An initial survey by the Revenue Department found there are 6 million people excluded from the tax system.

The department set a target to include around 500,000 people in the tax system.

The agency plans to allow individuals to file a complaint with the department if a person or business operator is not properly taxed, said Mr Ekniti.

The department will also use data analytics to analyse existing information and investigate duplicate tax returns.

"Every business operator should pay the correct amount of taxes," he said.

There were 9.55 million people in the tax system for fiscal 2020 that ended on Sept 30, up slightly by 250,000 people from fiscal 2019.

Thailand has a population of almost 70 million people.

Out of 9.55 million taxpayers, there were 3.3 million people who had a monthly income of 25,000 baht, the minimum threshold to file tax forms, while the remaining 6.25 million earn less than the threshold.

For fiscal 2021, the department aims to generate tax revenue worth 2.085 trillion baht, with 40% from the value-added tax.

The department also plans to expand the corporate income tax base because there were only 450,000 business operators that submitted tax filings for fiscal 2020, said Mr Ekniti.

There are around 600,000 businesses registered with the Commerce Ministry.

The department aims to include the remaining 150,000 businesses in the corporate income tax base by this year, he said.

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