Only a few weeks into 2022, the Thai Finance Ministry has chosen to not extend the land and building tax cut. According to Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, the primary reason is because of the fiscal burden associated with the tax cut, and the need for more revenue. Khun Arkhom implies this is also important as Thailand has failed to expand its tax base for considerable time.
The tax cut, which had taken effect in June 2020, was 90%, and cost Thailand roughly 30 billion baht per year, between 2020 and 2021. First-home owners would be exempt from paying tax for the value of the land and buildings (up to 50 million baht or 10 million baht if they only owned structures and not land). For second-home or other owners, there would be a triaged system, beginning at 0.02% of the value of the house and land. Normally, there is a tax rate of ~0.01%–0.1% for farmland, 0.02%–0.1% for residential land, 0.03%–0.1% for buildings and land owned by individuals, and 0.3%–0.7% for vacant land.
Figure. Tax rates for different types of buildings and land.
The ongoing pandemic and impacts have necessitated the state having more money, especially for local development and financially assisting people. If the Ministry had chosen to extend the tax cut, this would have meant the state would have to look for money elsewhere, which is, undoubtedly, a difficult task to achieve. Khun Arkhom has indicated that it may expand the tax base by taxing profits from cryptocurrency trade (amid increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies around the world) among other methods.