The Finance Ministry is preparing stimulus measures for areas affected by severe flooding.
According to Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat, once the floodwaters recede, the ministry is set to provide assistance in two key areas: revitalising the local economy in flood-affected areas by encouraging people to visit and spend money in those regions; and implementing financial measures through state financial institutions, many of which have already been introduced.
"The ministry is reviewing measures to see what additional tools can be utilised. Once the new measures are finalised, there will be on-site visits to the affected areas, such as Chiang Mai and Mae Sai, as part of a 'Mobile Finance' initiative," he said.
On Tuesday, the cabinet approved relief funds for flood-affected households, granting 9,000 baht per household.
The cabinet also approved measures proposed by the Operations Center for Flood, Storm and Landslide Victims that include 10,000 baht per household for cleaning up mud and other debris.
Other measures are expected to include financial aid for home repairs and agricultural land remedies, according to the ministry.
Past ministry efforts included fiscal measures to assist flood victims in 2017, allowing homeowners to deduct home repair costs from their taxes, up to 100,000 baht per household.
Car repair costs for vehicles damaged by flooding could also be deducted, up to 30,000 baht per vehicle. These deductions applied to areas officially declared flood zones between July 5 and Dec 31, 2017.
The ministry used state financial institutions, such as the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Development Bank of Thailand, to offer low-interest loans to businesses affected by the 2017 floods.
A total of 5 billion baht was made available, allowing SMEs to borrow with a maximum term of 15 years and a loan period of up to seven years at low interest rates, set at 3% for the first three years, with rates set by the bank from years four to seven.
To promote tourism in flood-affected areas, Mr Julapun said the ministry can implement various measures such as tax incentives, allowing expenses incurred for travel in disaster-affected areas to be tax-deductible, similar to the 2022 initiative that promoted tourism in secondary cities.
Under that initiative, the Revenue Department allowed corporate businesses to deduct 100% of expenses for domestic training and seminars held for employees in secondary cities.
