Parliament, The House of Representatives approved the additional budget of 67, adding 1.22 trillion baht to the digital wallet, sending it to the Senate for further consideration. The opposition party emphasized that it violated the constitution and the Fiscal Discipline Act, and was not worthwhile. “Chulaphan” countered that it was in accordance with the legal framework and was worthwhile to continue the project.
Reporters reported that the House of Representatives meeting took more than 4 hours to consider the draft of the 2024 budget bill, an additional 122 billion baht from the additional central budget, a total of 6 sections, after the committee considered it and completed it without any amendments and voted 291 to 161 to approve it.
Mr. Pichai Chunhavajira, Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Committee, emphasized that the government needs to spend money according to the government’s urgent policies to stimulate the economy, which is a case that must be carried out urgently and cannot wait for th
e fiscal year 2025 budget. Therefore, this additional budget must be set to strengthen the economic system. It is a budget from taxes and other incomes of 10 billion baht and a loan to compensate for the deficit of 112 billion baht. He also emphasized that the enactment of this Act is in accordance with the Constitution and the Fiscal Discipline Act of the Country.
For the consideration of the House of Representatives meeting, Mr. Noppanart Meeruksa, a minority member of the committee, saw that this budget draft was in violation of the constitution and the Fiscal Discipline Act. There was no need to use the money within September 30 to issue this additional budget because opening the registration for the public to receive the 10,000 baht digital wallet and then being considered as creating government debt has never happened before and the debt contract cannot be specified. Therefore, it can only be concluded that the distribution of digital money is a promise by the government, without the public having to g
ive anything back to the government. Even though the registration has been opened but the money has not been delivered, it must be considered that the contract is incomplete and cannot be sued.
Mr. Wirayut Kanchanachuchat, MP for the Move Forward Party and a minority member of the committee, proposed a budget cut due to concerns that the budget to be used in the digital wallet project would further concentrate the retail business in a single entity, which could have a negative impact on the country’s economy and become a storm that would further detract from the competition of small businesses. Therefore, he asked the government to consider evaluating the results before, during, and after implementation.
While Ms. Sirikanya Tansakul, MP for the Move Forward Party, proposed reducing the additional budget to only 10,000 baht, which is the budget that the government can find other income to increase, because the government should not borrow more money. Although it is still within the financial discipline frame
work, it is already at the ceiling. There is no income estimate to reach the target. And even if the government can still borrow, it will have to spend in the 2024 fiscal year. The registration of the people’s digital wallet project is not considered debt. And the investment report proportion must be in accordance with the law. Including the digital wallet project, it is not worth doing. Because the original GDP estimate was that it could grow by 1.2-1.8%, but when the source of the money changed, it was only 0.9%, reflecting that this project was not assessed for its worth in advance.
On the other hand, Mr. Woraphop Wiriyaroj, MP for the Move Forward Party, Ms. Rakchanok Srinok, MP for Bangkok, and Mr. Phrits Wacharasindhu, MP for the Move Forward Party, proposed cutting the budget from 122 billion baht to only 1 baht.
While Mr. Chulaphan Amornvivat, Deputy Minister of Finance and Vice Chairman of the Committee, confirmed the necessity for the government to stimulate the economy during the past 10 years, w
hich had a low growth rate in the region. Therefore, there must be money to stimulate the economy and it must be in accordance with the fiscal discipline that is supervised, carried out with caution and no crisis will occur from the implementation of the digital wallet project. The goal is to be able to make the economic figures grow by 4-5%, which will lead to solving other problems, such as household debt.
As for the observation that the additional budget allocation in fiscal year 2024 will be in time for spending in the fourth quarter of 2024 or the beginning of fiscal year 2025, Mr. Chulaphan emphasized that the implementation of government projects and having people register are considered binding budgets or obligations that the government must pay according to the law on government debt. When people request to exercise their right to receive 10,000 baht, when the government approves, it is considered a joint legal transaction between the people and the government, just like other government projects.
Mr. Chulaphan also emphasized that the government’s operations are in accordance with the legal framework, with government agencies providing complete explanations. The government is therefore confident in presenting this budget draft for consideration by the House of Representatives, along with explaining the value of the digital wallet project, saying that in addition to economic growth, there are also benefits that almost 50 million people will receive money to further their lives and act as a mechanism to stimulate the economy, leading to the development of the digital economic market and E-government, which are of enormous value, making it worthwhile to continue the project.
After the meeting voted for approval, Mr. Chulaphan thanked the House of Representatives and confirmed that the budget approved by the government for spending this time will be used according to the objectives and plans, and the budget spending will be monitored to ensure transparency and achieve the results as set out in the policy
in order to stimulate the economy by promoting money circulation in the area, improving the quality of life and livelihood, and creating career opportunities for the public and business sectors for the greatest benefit of the country and the people. The government’s main objective is to stimulate the economy by promoting money circulation in various areas, improving the quality of life and livelihood, creating career opportunities for the public and business sectors, along with maintaining the level of domestic consumption and investment, including the country’s competitiveness, so that the public receives the greatest benefit from the use of the budget.
However, for the next step after the House of Representatives approves this additional budget draft, the Speaker of the House of Representatives will send the budget draft to the new Senate for consideration according to the next steps.
Source: Thai News Agency