Policies to promote economic growth
Following the first cabinet meeting scheduled to take place next year, the federal appears prepared to implement a number of steps aimed at lowering living costs and boosting the economy.
According to assistant finance minister Julapun Amornvivat, the measures may include changes to the prices of power and gasoline.
A moratorium on government debt repayments to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand ( Egat ) for subsidizing household electricity rates since September 2021 is also being considered by the government in an effort to lower the retail price of diesel on the market. Egat is said to have spent 135 billion ringgit on the rebate.
Regarding the Pheu Thai Party’s commitment to distribute 10,000 ringgit in digital currency, Kitti Limsakul, acting deputy president and party policy committee member, stated that the funds would be distributed in two to three installments rather than all at once.
When questioned about the policy’s viability by detractors, Mr. Kitti responded that it could be implemented because it isn’t in violation of the Bank of Thailand( BoT ) regulations, as some have claimed.
According to the law on digital assets and growth for the economy and society, the online money is a gift that can be exchanged for baht notes, not an e-currency like Bitcoin, he claimed.
A vacation, like the Songkran festival, will be preceded by the first round of the money pay, which is anticipated to be around 2, 500 baht. The plan will then be evaluated by the government to determine how well it stimulates the business, he said.
Vendors who receive payments using the online cash handbook will then be required to pay taxes on their income, the government said, and if the outcome proves to be sufficient, it will distribute the second package of 2, 500 baht.
The final settlement of 5,000 baht will then be made, he said.
According to him, the project will aid in economic expansion and increase the country’s gross domestic product ( GDP ) by about 5 % annually.
The 10, 000 baht may get transferred all at once, according to a statement posted on Pheu Thai’s Facebook website.
The affirmation stated that Mr. Kitti’s reference to installment payments was merely his private opinion.
If the government determines that the economic effect was less than anticipated after the first repayment is issued, it is unclear what will happen to the remaining payments.
However, according to a source, Suriya Jungrungreangkit, the minister of transportation, intends to speed up the party’s plan to cover fares across the electric rail network in Bangkok at an agreed-upon rate of 20 baht per trip.
He stated that” this plan has been deemed to be as serious as it was one of the major promises made by the group during the May 14 vote.”
Along with other state organizations like the Ministry of Finance, Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand( MRTA ), and Department of Rail Transport, Mr. Suriya is developing a timeline for the implementation of the policy.
Depending on how it is put into practice, the government will need to provide quarterly subsidies of about 5.44 billion baht for this coverage.
In order to support the nation’s aircraft industry and commerce campaign, Mr. Suriya also plans to increase the power of Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Phuket, and other local flights.
According to the source, Mr. Suriya also plans to push more significant projects for the development of transportation and logistics infrastructure, such as the Thai Land Bridge task in the South, which past governments have now researched and suggested.
The new government is hastening the process of writing its policy speech, which will be presented in parliament on September 11, according to Prommin Lertsuridej, head of the Pheu Thai group that is drafting the group’s policies and financial affairs committee.
On the government’s plan speech, the government is carefully collaborating with the National Economics and Social Development Council and the Cabinet Secretariat, he said.
He stated that the majority of the new government’s top priorities, which will be announced in parliament before it officially begins working on them, deal with ways to boost the economy.
One of these priorities, according to him, is reviving commerce, a major cause of Thailand’s income, and paying off household debt.
