The cabinet on Tuesday agreed to a waiver of personal income tax for foreign actors and actresses for five years, aiming to generate more than 3.5 billion baht in revenue from investments in foreign film productions.
Deputy government spokeswoman Tipanan Sirichana said the cabinet approved the Finance Ministry's new Revenue Code to attract predicted investment of at least 3.5 billion baht from foreign film shoots in the country.
In addition, the move will encourage tourists to fly to the locations where films they enjoyed were filmed, Ms Tipanan said.
Ms Tipanan said the ministerial regulation to waive the personal income tax of foreign actors and actresses will come into effect for five years 180 days after its publication in the Royal Gazette.
"The move is also in line with the government's national strategy in generating incomes and boosting competitiveness to promote the film industry and stimulate the economy."
Citing statistics from the Tourism Department, foreign film firms had visited Thailand to shoot a total of 198 productions worth 1.68 billion baht during the first eight months, including music videos, feature films, and advertisements, she added.
Meanwhile, deputy government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul revealed the cabinet agreed to a waiver on the requirement of having a medical certificate for foreigners who apply for a long-term resident (LTR) visa.
The government is also allowing them to have other people pick up work permits for them after applying.
Ms Traisuree said the announcement will help facilitate and shorten procedures for the applicants.
The LTR visa was introduced on Sept 1 for non-Thais to stay in the kingdom for up to 10 years. The visa also offers a range of tax and non-tax benefits to attract new foreign residents, technologies and talent to stay or work in the country.
Eligible applicants must have at least US$1 million (nearly 37 million baht) in assets and investments in Thailand, and can be retirees aged 50 or older who have an annual pension or a stable income.
They can also be highly skilled professionals or experts in targeted industries, working for business entities, higher education institutes, research centres, or specialised training institutes in Thailand or for Thai government agencies.
