The cabinet on Tuesday approved extending tax measures for individuals and companies that donate to the government; import medicines, medical supplies and medical equipment for public charity; and buy antigen test kits (ATK) for their employees.
These are all recognised as supporting the government's virus containment measures.
Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said the cabinet approved a draft of three royal decrees relating to the revenue exemptions.
These include a draft royal decree to extend a corporate income tax deduction and personal income tax deduction for companies and individuals that support donations to the government's efforts to contain Covid-19 infections via the Excise Department's e-donation system, extending to Dec 31, 2023 from the previous expiry date of March 5, 2022.
Individuals are entitled to a personal income tax deduction of up to 10% of their net income, while companies are eligible for a corporate income tax deduction of up to 2% of their net profit.
The second royal decree concerns a value-added tax exemption for companies or legal partnerships that import medical products used to treat or prevent infections for state clinical facilities, public healthcare units, and public organisations, extending to Dec 31, 2023 from the previous expiry date of March 5, 2022.
The third royal decree concerns extension of the 50% corporate income tax deduction offered to companies that purchase ATKs for their employees for another nine months from April 1, 2022 to Dec 31, 2022. The cabinet approved a draft royal decree about the revenue exemption to support ATK purchases on Sept 14, 2021.
"Although the government is estimated to lose a combined 1.74 billion baht from the three measures, it believes they will help reduce the private sector's financial burden and attract companies as well as individuals to assist in preventing outbreaks," he said.