Bangkok: The Permanent Secretary of the Treasury has disclosed a situation where workers are receiving only 2,000 baht in subsidies due to late tax filings, despite expectations of a higher amount.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Lawaron Sangsanit, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, announced that numerous villagers who applied for the “Half-Half Plus” program, which is intended for those who have filed their annual personal income tax returns, were surprised to receive only 2,000 baht via the Paotang app. This amount was the same as for those who did not file taxes, while they should have received a 2,400 baht subsidy. The program allocates 60% of the funding from the government and 40% from public contributions.
The Permanent Secretary specified that individuals who file taxes annually are required to submit Forms Por.Ngor.Dor.90, Por.Ngor.Dor.91, and Por.Ngor.Dor.95 by June 30th to qualify for the 2,400 baht credit. The Revenue Department identified about 130,000 individuals who filed late, resulting in them receiving only the 2,000 baht credit. Despite the government’s decision to extend the tax filing deadline to June 2025 for full-time workers, the original deadline was set for March 31st, 2025. Many individuals still submitted their forms late, making them ineligible for the Half-Half Plus scheme for those filing in 2024.
Mr. Lawaron further stated that the Ministry of Finance is actively verifying the eligibility of participants in the “Kon La Khrueng Plus” program, following the initial ineligibility of 400,000-500,000 applicants on the first day. Should more individuals fail to meet the criteria on the second day, the registration process will be gradually reopened. The verification process will be completed by the evening, and registration will continue until 20 million participants are accepted. He reiterated that eligible participants must make their first expenditure by November 11th.
Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanpraphat has called for an assessment of the first phase of the “Half-Half Plus Phase 2” program to inform further development. This includes initiatives aimed at upskilling and reskilling small business owners to improve their online sales capabilities, with additional assistance to be provided as aligned with the budget. The funding for the project is expected to be adjusted from the 2016 mid-year budget.