PUBLISHED: 11 October 2023 at 4:00 p.m.
The government is considering eliminating affluent people from its 10,000-baht digital wallet release program, according to deputy finance secretary Julapun Amornvivat yesterday.
According to Mr. Julapun, Thailand has long-standing issues that have a significant impact on people’s living conditions, particularly in the inland, while the state has collected fewer taxes.
Public debt has increased from 40 % to more than 60 % of the gross domestic product ( GDP ), while household debt is also rising.
The digital wallet program, according to Mr. Julapun, is therefore required to help start the business the following year, when the government anticipates 5 % economic growth.
Despite criticism from more than 120 academics, researchers, monetary experts, and also former governors of the Bank of Thailand, the plan will be carried out.
Mr. Julapun insisted that all parties involved should be heard by the state. He claimed that because so many people have been anticipating the project’s completion, the government will never back down.
He stated that the Digital Wallet Steering commission will think about changing the plan to eliminate rich people during its meet tomorrow or on October 19.
Low-income individuals and resilient teams will still be the project’s main targets.
He thought that the project, which aims to give every Thai federal 16 years of age and older 10,000 baht in digital currency, would not be popular with the rich.
Next month, the state anticipates that people will start signing up for the program, adding that those who don’t do but will likely decide not to participate.
He added that the council may think about broadening the application of the digital currency. The 4 km radius from a person’s residence to the tambon, city, or even county where their formal home registration is located may be widened.
Mr. Julapun assured that there would be financial solutions to support the project for the estimated amount of money, which is around 560 billion baht.
He declined to provide more information, citing the Budget Bureau’s consideration of cutting the costs of various government tasks for the upcoming fiscal year in order to fund it as one example.