The Finance Ministry plans to dust off the land windfall tax law as part of the country's reform of its tax system, says Krisada Chinavicharana, the permanent finance secretary.
The Fiscal Policy Office drafted the law, which was approved by the cabinet in 2018. The draft has not been developed since then.
Mr Krisada said the law will be implemented at an appropriate time.
The tax applies to landowners who benefit from inflated land prices following the development of transport infrastructure near their land.
A draft bill on the land windfall tax caps the ceiling at 5% of the inflated price of land areas located along electric train routes, high-speed trains, airports, ports or utility projects.
The aim of the tax is to ensure fairness in the tax system, according to the government.
Those liable for the tax are owners of land that is within a 5-kilometre radius of a station serving high-speed, double-track or electric trains, or the on- or off-ramp of an expressway.
Tax collection will vary according to the period of the project's development.
During project construction, land sales transactions are subject to a levy every time ownership changes hands. The tax is only imposed on the inflated price.
Land sales after the completion of project construction is subject to a one-off tax payment, not every time the land change hands.
This tax is collected only on the inflated price and only on land for commercial use or residential units worth more than 50 million baht.
Land used for residency or agricultural purposes is exempt from the tax.
The Finance Ministry recently revealed plans to propose to the cabinet soon the implementation of a financial transaction tax on individual stock investors as part of the tax reforms.
It is estimated the tax would generate tens of billions of baht in revenue per year for the state's coffers.
According to Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, the tax should be introduced at an appropriate time.
The financial transaction tax applicable for share sales by individual investors trading on the Stock Exchange of Thailand has been on the books for around 30 years, but was always waived to support market development.
The ministry plans to introduce a royal decree to revoke the waiver and put tax collection into effect.
