The opposition Move Forward Party leads all political parties with a subsidy of 52.5 million baht for 2024 from the Political Party Development Fund overseen by the Election Commission.
The bulk of the money for the fund comes from donations people make when filling out their annual tax returns. A taxpayer can choose to direct 500 baht to the party of their choice and the amount will be deducted from their tax payable.
The Election Commission allocates additional development funds based on political party fees, votes a party receives in MP elections, and the number of branches a party maintains.
The allocations from the Political Party Development Fund for 2024 were based on donations made in tax returns filed in 2023, when Move Forward received 40 million baht from 83,733 donors, compared with 27.56 million from 62,634 donors the year before. The sum in 2023 dwarfed that of the second-place Pheu Thai Party, which received 4.58 million baht.
The top recipients of the fund for 2024 are as follows:
- Move Forward: 52.5 million baht
- Pheu Thai: 16 million
- Ruam Thai Sang Chart: 10.7 million
- Democrat Party: 6.7 million
- Prachachat: 2.8 million
- Chart Thai Pattana: 2.6 million
- Seri Ruam Thai: 2.5 million
- Bhumjaithai: 2.4 million
Parit Watcharasindhu, the Move Forward spokesman, noted in a post on X that the party’s subsidy from the Fund had increased from 47.5 million baht in 2023 and 30.1 million in 2022.