Thailand OKs whopping 90% reduction in land, building tax for 2020

The Nation/Asia News Network

BANGKOK — Thailand’s Cabinet has approved a 90 percent reduction in land and building taxes for the year 2020 and a two-month postponement in the deadline for filing personal income tax returns, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha said today (June 2).

“The move aims to alleviate people’s financial burden due to the Covid-19 situation. The reduction in land and building taxes will be valid for this year only and should not affect the country’s future revenue,” he said.

“The Cabinet at a next meeting will discuss measures to help local agencies that will be affected by the lower revenue from taxes,” he added.

Furthermore, the Cabinet has agreed to postpone the deadline for filing personal income tax returns for another two months, after it had previously approved a three-month postponement in February, then extending the deadline from March to June. The new deadline is now the end of August.

The Land and Building Taxes Act BE 2562 (2019) was enforced for the first time earlier this year. It requires people to pay tax on their land or buildings depending on size and use. Under this law, a maximum 0.15 percent tax will be collected from land used for agricultural purposes, 0.3 percent for residential use and 1.2 per cent for commercial and industrial purposes as well as from lands that have been left unused. The maximum limit will be raised by 0.3 per cent every three years but will not exceed 3 percent.