Deputy Prime Minister Trairong Suwankiri on Friday indicated the
government’s planned borrowing of significant funds to support
implementation of projects under the Thai Khem Kaeng (Strong Thailand)
scheme would not fuel the country’s public debts as some academics
criticized.
He said the amount the government planned to borrow would
not be as high as Bt800 billion, partly because it earned more tax revenue
than forecast.
Trairong said he had monitored various ministries’ plans
to disburse the Thai Khem Kaeng budget and found the amount is not as high
as indicated earlier.
Of late, the public health, education, and natural
resources and environment ministries had delayed disbursing the budget of
which Bt70-80 billion might be cut back.
Asked to comment on a plan by the Thai Chamber of
Commerce and the business community to show their disapproval of the ongoing
rallies of red shirt demonstrators which they see as negatively affecting
the Thai economy, the deputy premier said it could be done because it is an
expression of individual views which is a right under democratic systems.
“Under democratic rule, everyone can express views if he
or she has been affected by actions taken by other persons. What we should
be wary of is a possible clash. A resort to violence must not be adopted by
any groups of people,” he said. (TNA)
By Mark Beales
British expats face a tax nightmare following a High Court
decision.
Judges have ruled that Robert Gaines-Cooper, a Brit who has
lived in the Seychelles for more than 30 years, still has enough links to the UK
to make him eligible for taxes. He faces a bill of 20-30 pounds in back-taxes,
penalties and interest.
Paul Gambles
MD MBMG International.
The move could have major implications for British expats
living in Pattaya, Paul Gambles, managing director of MBMG International, has
warned.
Until recently, expats thought they were non-resident if they
visited the UK for 90 days or less each year. But the judges decided that tax
could still be charged if Brits retained connections in the UK. Having a mobile
phone account, a correspondence address, membership of a sports club or
accommodation in the UK could be used as evidence to show someone was still a UK
resident.
Mr Gambles said: “We think people need to have a look at
their own situations and decide am I definitely non-resident? If you’re not, you
have two choices: one, am I prepared to do all the changes that are needed to
comply with the UK tax authorities? If not, you have to accept you run the risk
of being a UK non-resident and should adjust all your tax planning.”
Judges heard that successful businessman Mr Gaines-Cooper
lived in the Seychelles for ten months each year, but returned to England to
watch the Henley Royal Regatta, a rowing event held in London.
Mr Gaines-Cooper said there was now no clear definition from
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) about what constituted being
non-resident. The ruling is important British residents must pay tax on all
worldwide assets and income, but non-residents only pay tax on income generated
in the UK.
Another financial expert, John Andes, a partner at KPMG
Thailand, urged working expats to check they had proper employment contracts as
this would help to show they were non-resident.
Around 50,000 British expats live in Thailand, and a large
percentage of those are in Pattaya.
Mr Gambles said he had heard stories about expats using a UK
address to claim a state pension. UK state pensions are not index-linked in
Thailand, so do not increase each year. Mr Gambles warned that doing this could
be fraudulent, and could also now be used as evidence to prove someone was
resident.
Mr Gambles felt the UK’s extreme debts have prompted tax
authorities to claim more money, and that expats were ‘easy and soft’ targets.
Read next week’s Pattaya Mail for Graham Macdonald’s Money
Matters feature on the court hearing.
Dr Iain Corness
The very active Automotive Focus Group (AFG) on the
Eastern Seaboard held its meeting before the Australian Chamber of Commerce
meeting at the Pullman Pattaya Aisawan Resort.
Leigh Wilmott
The guest speaker was Leigh Wilmott, the Senior Business
Development Manager from the Australian government’s Austrade division, who
held everyone’s attention while he spoke with conviction on the key
capabilities in the Australian motor manufacturing industry.
Australia manufactures around 300,000 vehicles each year
but its inhabitants purchase around one million new vehicles a year, so most
of the new cars are actually imported. Leigh Wilmott agreed that this was
the case, but suggested to the AFG members that Australia had much more to
offer Asia, through the emerging technologies and brought their attention to
the AutoLink project, citing the fact that Australia was one of the few
countries that could design, tool up and manufacture a complete car. He
noted that Australia had key capabilities covering components, technology,
after-market and automotive services.
Mention was made of the forthcoming Australia-ASEAN
mission on June 22-25 this year which will be held in Melbourne, Victoria.
This would provide participants with a first-hand understanding of the
automotive technologies available and provide the opportunities for meeting
potential strategic partners.
This was yet another successful evening for the AFG
members, including several new faces who expressed their intention to become
full members. The AFG can be contacted through the secretariat Maurice.
[email protected].
