The cabinet meeting on Tuesday 9, November 2010 has come to the following decision:
The Cabinet approved tax relief measures for flood victims and approved in principle drafts for 3 executive royal decrees to exempt tax Issue No.... (Year ...) and the draft of the ministerial regulation Issue No.... (Year ...), which were issued to comply with the taxation code, as proposed by the Minister of Finance. The drafts were forwarded to the Office of the Council of State for verification in order to proceed.
Synopsis
Tax relief measures for flood victims, who were affected by the flood situation from September 1 to December 31, 2010.
1. Exemption of income tax and value-added tax for monetary value of the donated cash and goods through the relief efforts is to be given to flood victims through juristic partnership or juristic person (the draft of the first royal decree).
2. Exemption of income tax for individual and company or juristic partnership affected by the flood disaster. The exemption is for the amount of money equivalent to the financial compensation provided by the government and the cash donation or the value of donated goods from the relief and rehabilitation efforts that are in addition to the financial compensation from the government. However, the amount must not exceed the damages in money terms (the draft of the second royal decree).
3. Exemption of the income tax for company or juristic partnership for the amount of insurance payout received by the business entity as a compensation for amount exceeding the cost of the property, after decrease in value over time was deducted in accordance with article 65 (2) of the tax code, for the accounting period, starting on or after January 1, 2010 (the draft of the third royal decree).
4. The income, as defined by article 40 (5) (6) (7) (8) of the tax code, of flood victim who has registered with government relief centre of unit, that equals to the value of damages caused by the flood, can be considered as income that should not be included in the calculation for income tax, in accordance with article 42 (17) of the tax code, which has been amended by the 1953 Tax Code Amendment Act (Issue No.10) (the draft of the ministerial regulation).
The Cabinet approved the increase in wage and rank pay for civil servants for Fiscal Year 2010, in accordance with the opinion of the Budget Bureau, which sees it appropriate that the Office of Basic Education Commission be approved in principle to shift the budget from its earlier allocated budget. In the event that the budget is still insufficient for the agency to increase the wage and rank pay for the civil servants, the Ministry of Finance has been assigned to consider making up the difference by using the second account of the treasury’s reserve in order to enable the Office of Basic Education to give a pay rise to its officials.
The Cabinet has acknowledged and approved the three following proposals made by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology.
1. The Cabinet has acknowledged the National Broadband Plan in order to allow relevant agencies to use the plan as a basis for taking policy into practices.
2. The Cabinet endorsed the National Telecommunication and Broadcasting Commission to integrate the relevant work in several aspects and to appoint a joint public-private sub-committee, tasked with the following responsibilities.
2.1. Compile and design the frame of operation plan
2.2. Set up a benchmark and methodology to evaluate the plan’s degree of success
2.3. Propose the agencies to carry out the plan
2.4. Periodically compile a report on the progress of the plan and forward it to the National Telecommunication and Broadcasting Commission, which is to present the report to the cabinet.
3. The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology has been assigned to cooperate with relevant agencies from the private sector, public sector, civic sector, and regulatory body, in realising the plan.
The Cabinet acknowledged the implementation of the Cabinet resolution to solve the problem of low price of chicken egg, as proposed by the Ministry of Justice.
According to the Cabinet resolution on October 12, 2010, the measures to solve the problem of oversupply in the chicken egg market, proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, were approved, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives was assigned to cooperate with the Correction Department in having the department buy more chicken eggs from October to November, 2010, so the Ministry of Justice has reported to the Cabinet the implementation of the plan.
Summary
The Correction Department has issued a most urgent document no. 0703.6/2299, signed on October 22, 2010, which details the directives for the procurement of chicken eggs for prisons and and correction centres. By November 30, 2010, the Correction Department has expected that it would have procured about 5.25 million chicken eggs.
The Cabinet approved tax relief measures for those who were affected by political gatherings, and the drafts of 6 royal decrees to exempt tax (Issue No....) Year ... and the draft of ministerial regulation (Issue No....) Year ..., in accordance with the tax code on the sale of non-performing loan from borrower’s account, as proposed by the Ministry of Finance. The drafts have been forwarded to the Office of the Council of State for verification in order to proceed.
The Cabinet endorsed the draft of the Phnom Penh Declaration and the draft of ACMECS 2010-2012 Action Plan. The Prime Minister has been authorised by the Cabinet to endorse the draft, as proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, if there is a necessary cause to amend the document in any part that is not the thesis nor in conflict with the interests of the Kingdom of Thailand, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been authorised to amend without further consultation with the cabinet.
Synopsis
1. A review on the implementation of the leaders’ declaration from the third summit in several aspects, such as, facilitation for trade and investment, transportation, agriculture, industries, energy, public health, tourism, and human resources, is made.
2. The Cabinet approved the draft for the ACMECS 2010-2012 Action Plan for Promotion of Sustainable Development and Regional Security, consisting of detailed plans for, 8 aspects of ACMECS co-operations, cooperation and partnership for development, and local public-private cooperation.
3. Speeding up the implementation of the pledge stated in leaders’ declaration on facilitation of trade, investment, and tourism, which was endorsed during the third ACMECS Summit in 2008 is to be urged. In doing so, the exhibition for the promotion of transparency and development of trade and investment related regulations and policies to facilitate investment would be held. Regular meetings for ACMSCS Business Council and the private sector would also be held.
4. Appreciation for the establishment of mechanism for the cooperation on rice between ACMECS countries, which would lead to the establishment of ACMECS Rice Producers Association, is to be expressed. The cooperation is to support the cooperation in transferring knowledge in agriculture, forestry, and fishery, in order to increase food security and safety. It also covers the speeding up of futures contract agricultural trade and fostering understanding in regulations, procedures, and benefit of contractual trades.
5. Support for exchanges of information and technology transfers in usage of bio-fuel, promotion of hydro-power, oil and natural gas exploration, and the development of regional grid system, is to be expressed.
6. Close cooperation in utilisation of land transportation within the GMS Economic Zones, including East-West Economic Zone (EWEC), North-South Economic Zone (NSEC) and Southern Economic Zone, for co-operations in trade, investment, and tourism, which involves links between metropolitan airports and between cultural and natural attractions, is to be announced.
7. Cooperation in tourism promotion within ACMSCS is to be established by publicising the campaign ,“Five Countries, One destination,” which is a programme that encourages facilitation in travelling and supports capability development projects, such as, setting up ACMECS Tourism website and expansion of tourism-related training programme.
8. Support for education is to be in the form of scholarship and training scholarships for several profession within the frame of ACMECS, including vocational training.
--Cabinet Meeting (Abhisit Vejjajiva) November 9, 2010--