No plan to increase VAT to 15% - PM

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra confirmed today that the government has no plan to increase value-added tax to 15%.

On Wednesday, Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said that the plan to increase VAT is just an idea being studied, noting that it is a worldwide trend.

He said that a previous government decided to increase VAT from 7% to 10%, but had to back down.

In her Facebook and X posts, the prime minister admitted, however, that the Finance Ministry is considering a comprehensive restructuring of the tax system, to ensure fairness, equality and the competitiveness of Thailand.

She also said that restructuring of the tax system, as in other countries, would normally be done on a step by step basis and can take over a decade.

The prime minister reiterated that the main policy of her government is to reduce the expenses of people and the public sector, while increasing the efficiency of the public sector and creating opportunities for people to earn more.

She offered an assurance that her government will proceed with tax restructuring cautiously and will take the views of all parties concerned into consideration.

Twenty-five years ago, VAT was originally set at 10%, but was reduced to 7%.

Attempts or even talks about increasing VAT from 7% to 10% by previous governments have met with strong resistance from the general public.