The Cabinet met on Tuesday, December 13, 2016 at Command Building I, Government House. Some of the resolutions are as follows;
The Cabinet approved in principle on Draft National Sports University Act, B.E…, as proposed by Ministry of Tourism and Sports, and ordered for it to be forwarded to Office of the Council of State for its deliberation. The Ministry is to take comments of Office of the Public Sector Development Commission (OPDC) into consideration. The Act will be submitted to the coordinating committee of the National Legislative Assembly before being passed on to the National Legislative Assembly.
1.To specify the University as an educational institution specialized in sports with the aims to develop knowledge related to sports, produce and develop human resources in sports, physical education, sports science, sports technology and industry, sports management, and other related fields. The University will also be served as training center for national athletes, and the place to produce and develop human resources in sporting excellence.
2.To revoke Physical Education Act, B.E. 2548, and upgrade Institute of Physical Education into National Sports University under Ministry of Tourism and Sports.
1. The University campuses will be established in 4 regions; North, Northeast, Central and South.
The Cabinet approved in principle on Draft Ministerial Regulation No…. (B.E…) issued under the Revenue Code on Revenue Exemption (Economic Stimulus Measures for Year End, B.E. 2559), as proposed by Ministry of Finance. The Draft Regulation will be forwarded to Office of the Council of State as an urgent agenda and will be proceeded accordingly.
Exemption of personal income tax for spending on products and services from value-added tax registrants during December 14-25, 2016 at no more than 15,000 Baht. The conditions are as follows:
1. Taxpayer must purchase products or services during the given period and must be provided with tax invoices according to Section 86/4 of the Revenue Code.
2. Purchase of products or services must be for domestic use, and will include VAT (7%). Purchase of liquors, beers, tobaccos, automobiles, motorcycles, boats, petrol/auto gas is not applicable.
3. Services for tour operators or tour guides for domestic travel, and accommodations are not applicable.
The Cabinet acknowledged proposals made by Ministry of Transport on Action Plan on Transport (Urgent Phase), B.E. 2016 for the mobilization of investment in infrastructure projects. Gist of the matter is as follows:
1. Performances under the Action Plan on Transport (Urgent Phase), B.E. 2016 for the mobilization of investment in infrastructure projects: consisting of twenty mega projects, worth 1,796,385.77 million Baht. Out of twenty, ten have completed the bidding process in 2016, such as Chumthang Jira-Khon Kaen Dual Track Rail Construction Project; Development of Suvarnabhumi Airport Phase 2; Bang Pa-in – Nakhon Ratchasima and Bang Yai - Kanchanaburi Motorways Construction Project; Mass Rapid Transits of Orange, Pink, Yellow lines, etc. Rest are in the middle of preparation for the bidding process or the EIA process. Most projects under the 2016 Action Plan are implemented as planned. Only a few projects are delayed due to external factors, such as Thailand- China Railway project, and Thailand- Japan High Speed Rail project, route Bangkok –Hua Hin and Bangkok –Rayong.
2. The Action Plan on Transport (Urgent Phase), B.E. 2017, aims to mobilize national infrastructure investment. It is in line with the 20-year National Strategy (B.E.2560-2579), the 12th Economic and Social Development Plan (B.E. 2560-2564), and (Draft) 8-year Strategy on National Transport System Development (B.E. 2558-2565). There are 36 projects under the Action Plan with the total investment of 895,757.55 million Baht, such as common ticketing system management project, Hua Hin - Prachuap Khiri Khan dual-track railway, procurement of 200 sky trains and construction of charging station, other dual-track railway projects, Mass Rapid Transits of Blue and Dark Green lines, etc.
The Cabinet acknowledged results of the annual public poll organized by Ministry of Digital Economy and Society on what the public wants as New Year gifts for 2017 from the government. This year, around 5,000 people of over 18 years old were polled during November 1-12, 2016. Gist of the matter is as follows:
1. Following up on information related to the administration of the government and National Council for Peace and Order: 86.5% of respondents follow up on information related to the administration of the government and National Council for Peace and Order administration, such as via a TV program “Prime Minister’s Weekly Address”, while 13.5% do not follow up.
2. Satisfaction towards overall government administration: Satisfaction percentage is 7.45 out of 10. 79.7% of the respondents stated that they are “very satisfied” and “most satisfied” The Southern region has the highest satisfactory percentage, followed by the Central, Northern, Bangkok, and Northeastern regions.
3. Matters with satisfaction scores of over 7 out of 10: management of educational equality, suppression of influential people, suppression of deforesting acts, reforestation, suppression of human trafficking, anti-corruption and social organization, upgrade of quality and access to healthcare services, promotion of ‘Thainess’ tourism, suppression of drug trafficking network and illegal gambling, promotion of national reconciliation and happiness, reliefs for natural disaster victims, and promotion of international relations.
4. Confidence towards government: The score is 7.44 out of 10. 79.8% of the respondents are “very confident” and “most confident”. The Southern region has the highest score of confidence, followed by the Central, Northern, Bangkok, and Northeastern region.
5. Top 5 New Year presents the public wants from the government: 1) solution to consumption product prices; 2) solution to people’s debts; 3) solution to agricultural product price slump; 4) provision of low-interest loans; and 5) solutions related to employment and occupations.
6. Suggestions: 96.6% of respondents gave the following top 5 suggestions: 1) control of consumption product prices; 2) solution to agricultural product price slump; 3) solution to people’s debts; 4) anti-narcotics; and 5) anti-corruption.
--Cabinet Meeting (Prayut Chan-o-cha) December 13, 2016 --