Bank depositors in Thailand who earn more than 20,000 baht interest a year from their bank deposits will now be taxed 15% on the interest they earn, according to Finance Minister Apisak Tantiworawong.
The minister said today the new tax measure, proposed by the Revenue Department, is intended to prevent bank depositors, who have more than four million baht in a bank account, avoiding tax on interest received each year.
He noted that in the past some commercial banks helped their customers with large deposits to avoid tax on interest earned by closing the accounts when the amount of interest approached 20,000 baht and then open new accounts for their customers.
Mr. Apisak assured that the new tax measure will only affect people with large bank balances and will enable the Revenue Department to double revenue from bank interest tax from one billion baht a year now to about two billion baht.
Revenue Department spokesperson Sai Suraswadi said banks and other financial institutes that accept deposits from customers would be required to report details of the bank interest earned by their customers twice a year, in May and November, so the department can demand tax the payment.
She warned that big depositors, who refuse to provide information about their bank interest to the department, would face 15% income tax on the interest they received even if the amount is less than 20,000 baht per annum.
