The Finance Ministry is pushing about 80 bills, including those involved with imposing taxes on digital platform operators and the land and buildings tax, to lawmakers for passage before next year's general election.
If these bills fail to win approval from the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) under this government, they will be bounced back and must seek approval from the next government, said finance permanent secretary Prasong Poontaneat.
A Finance Ministry source who requested anonymity said Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong has instructed related state agencies to push for the bills to be vetted by the NLA before next year's election.
Major bills include an amendment of the Revenue Code to collect value-added tax (VAT) from online vendors that are registered overseas but are generating income in Thailand and an e-business tax, the source said, adding that expanding the tax base to digital platforms is to help the government run a balanced budget as targeted for the next 11-12 years.
The cabinet recently approved a draft bill on imposing withholding tax on local online vendors and an amended Revenue Code related to VAT collection on e-business operators with a physical presence outside of Thailand but earning income here.
The draft bill on withholding tax is being considered by the Council of State and will later be forwarded to the lawmakers. Under the bill, financial institutions and digital financial service providers will be required to report transactions of their customer accounts that have more than 3,000 money transfer transactions a year or more than 200 such transactions with a total value of at least 2 million baht a year.
The measure is intended to determine if online vendors are understating their withholding tax payments.
Under the amended code, foreign-based digital platform operators providing services (including online games, sticker downloads, online advertisements, digital content and online hotel bookings) for Thai consumers are liable for VAT.
According to the Revenue Department, there are about 500,000 online vendors, of which 350,000 are based in Thailand and the rest are foreign-based operators.
The Revenue Department is drafting a bill on the revocation of VAT exemption for online purchases of goods worth less than 1,500 baht from vendors outside of Thailand that are shipped by mail, eyeing another tool to enhance the department's tax collection efficiency.
Regarding a draft bill on land and buildings tax, the source said that without the law's passage under the current government, the new property tax is likely to be shelved because the Finance Ministry has long tried to push the law but is always foiled by public opposition.
The draft bill on the land and buildings tax has been stuck in the NLA scrutiny process since passing a first reading in March 2017. The NLA standing committee extended the scrutiny process for an eighth time, which lapses at the end of September.
A draft bill on reforming state-owned enterprises is another law at risk of derailment if it fails to get passed by the Prayut Chan-o-cha government, the source said.
The bill, which is being deliberated by the NLA, calls for the establishment of a national holding company to oversee state enterprises, improve governance and information disclosure to the public, and seek greater clarity in choosing members of the board of directors at each state enterprise, which should be based on qualifications and expertise and setting out tasks of the State Enterprise Policy Commission.
The bill also stipulates the transfer of 11 corporatised state enterprises' shares owned by the Finance Ministry to the national holding firm.
The 11 corporatised state enterprises are PTT Plc, TOT, CAT Telecom, MCOT Plc, Thai Airways International Plc, Airports of Thailand Plc, The Transport Co, Dhanarak Asset Development Co (a state enterprise under the Treasury Department), Thailand Post Co, the Syndicate of Thai Hotels & Tourists Enterprises Ltd and Bangkok Dock Co.
The 11 enterprises have combined assets worth 6 trillion baht.