Thailand plans to apply a minimum corporate tax rate of 15% on big international companies from next year, Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said in an interview with a TV programme on Friday.
The cabinet earlier this week approved related laws to support the tax implementation, he told MCOT channel. The laws will be effective after being published in the Royal Gazette.
Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy is trying to update its laws, policies and tax practices as it seeks admission to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in the next few years.
Thailand’s standard corporate income tax rate is 20%, though the government offers exemptions or lower tax rates for some investment projects to lure big foreign companies.
“These companies will need to pay taxes to their origin countries anyway even if they get exemption or 5% tax rate here,” Mr Pichai said. “We also agree to give back some of the tax collection to them.”
The government has also offered to compensate part of the tax burden for foreign companies if they meet requirements such as moving research to Thailand, improving their operations to be more environmentally friendly or offering skills training to their local staff, he said.