POLITICAL PLUS SOCIAL RAMIFICATIONS
The suggested plan may well boost land tax revenue and benefit the Thais fiscally but its politics and social implications merit careful consideration. Foreigners may begin to invest openly in property, but whether they will live in the country is another issue. In addition , increased international purchases of luxurious dwellings will intensify perceptions of inequality and rising property prices will get worse the actual inequality.
These concerns have led the opposition Phuea Thai Part of oppose the system. The party reasons that nearly eighty per cent of Thais do not own any kind of land and that allowing foreigners to buy land will benefit the a lot more affluent segments associated with Thai society with land to sell. It will eventually exacerbate the inequality in land possession.
Beyond Phuea Thai’s concerns, it is far from clear that reducing restrictions on land ownership will be the magic formula to kickstart the particular Thai economy the fact that Prayuth government hopes for.
Thailand would do better to create a sound investment environment with improved and more transparent regulatory and lawful structures to make traders feel that it is really worth doing business in the country. That approach is a lot more promising way to lure investors, technology, plus ultimately innovation to the country.
Provided its flawed style and its potentially adverse impact on inequality, the Thai administration’s proposal to reinvigorate the particular economy by reducing restrictions on land ownership merits careful scrutiny.
Prem Singh Gill is an adjunct lecturer at the College of Interdisciplinary Studies, Thammasat University, Thailand plus senior researcher at the Research Centre just for Advanced Science plus Technology, The College of Tokyo, Japan.
Ratana Boy is definitely an independent researcher plus an undergraduate senior at the Faculty associated with Global Studies, Thammasat University.
This comments first appeared on ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute’s blog, Fulcrum.