Prayuth mulls tax cuts for consumers

National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) chief Prayuth Chan-ocha has ordered his subordinates to look into slashing the value-added tax (VAT) rate to boost the economy.

He addressed the issue yesterday in a video teleconference with regional army commanders, provincial governors, Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) officials and NCPO advisers, an army source said.

Gen Prayuth asked officials to study whether the current 7% VAT rate could be lowered to help consumers, and to consider how the move would impact state revenue and the 2015 national budget.

Officials must also look at how personal income tax could be restructured to benefit those on the lowest incomes, the source said, adding that the NCPO's economic working team has been asked to tackle the issue urgently.

According to the source, Gen Prayuth has asked Air Chief Marshal Prachin Jantong — who is in charge of the economy — to boost the efficiency of 56 state enterprises by restructuring their boards and reviewing relevant legislation.

Emphasis should be put on recruiting board members with suitable qualifications, while the size of the boards should be consolidated to boost their efficiency, with proposals for addressing the issues due to be finalised by today.

Gen Prayuth reportedly highlighted concerns relating to the Board of Investment (BoI), since the law says the agency must be chaired by the prime minister to approve funds for large investment projects.

He is concerned that there are several investment projects pending approval, but no one to sign them off.

The meeting also discussed ways to curb money transfers and money laundering amongst people seeking to cause unrest and political strife. Gen Prayuth suggested the creation of new laws to deal with the issue.

The source said Gen Prayuth has also instructed relevant agencies to study legislation on public debt and work out how much money the coup administration can borrow to fund investment projects without causing an unmanageable financial burden on the economy.

The coup leader also asked NCPO advisers to survey issues being raised in the media and submit potential solutions to him, and said all agencies should come up with proposals for reaching the final stage of the NCPO's road map for reform — the restoration of full democracy to the country.

Under the first two stages of the road map, a functioning civil service must resume, then an environment for reform created, including national legislative and reform assemblies, the source said.

"I want all agencies to think about how to do this independently, and not wait for orders," Gen Prayuth was quoted as saying. "The target now is to complete the first stage."