The Finance Ministry is projecting a total collection of 43 billion baht from land and building tax this year, marking an increase of 8 billion from the previous year due to the discontinuation of tax discounts.
During a property seminar commemorating the fifth anniversary since the tax’s implementation and discussing the real estate sector’s outlook, Finance Permanent Secretary Lavaron Sangsnit mentioned that the ministry is currently evaluating the law to assess potential amendments, with a decision anticipated by year-end.
Mr. Lavaron explained that after more than two decades of deliberation, the tax law was enacted in 2019, leading to the initiation of tax collection in 2020. However, due to the pandemic situation, the government lessened the tax burden by 90% until 2021. The full tax rate came into effect in 2022, and last year, a 15% reduction was implemented to support people facing economic challenges.
With no tax reduction measures in place this year, revenue from the tax is projected to reach 43 billion baht, up from 35 billion in the previous year. Mr. Lavaron expressed optimism that future revenue from this tax is likely to increase steadily, considering the continuous rise in the value of land and buildings, forming the tax base.
He also noted the significant growth in the number of taxpayers over the years, with only 7 million individuals paying the tax in the first year, a number that surged to 16 million by 2022.
Highlighting the tax collection’s local government ownership, he emphasized the importance for local administrative organizations to conduct thorough land usage surveys, as different types of land usage are subject to varying tax rates.
In Bangkok, 99.4% of the land usage assessment has been completed, encompassing 2.1 million land plots, 2.2 million houses, and 1 million condo units.
Mr. Lavaron credited the government’s ongoing efforts to revitalize the real estate sector for partially clearing the housing stock, contributing to a 1.5% economic growth in the first quarter of the year.
Although first-quarter growth figures were modest, Mr. Lavaron expressed confidence that delayed government budget disbursements and forthcoming measures should aid in energizing the economy for the remainder of the year.
