Party of the People Puts Pressure on Premier Over Suspected Tax Evasion Documents
The People's Party (PP) is still on the attack, pushing a House of Reps inquiry into Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra's shady use of promissory notes (PNs) in a 4.43 billion baht share purchase. The PP alleges this sneaky move might have been a tax-dodging scheme.
In his role as head honcho of the House committee on economic affairs, PP member Sittiphol Viboonthanakul laid out three primary concerns: whether the transaction was legit, if taxes were deliberately avoided in a way that dented the government finances, and whether the relevant agencies acted promptly and transparently within their legal bounds.
He talked shop before yesterday's meeting of the economic committee, which saw reps from the Revenue Department and the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) called in to shed some light on the sketchy dealings.
The PM faced some serious heat about the alleged tax evasion during a recent no-confidence debate. Despite this, she managed to garner an overwhelming majority vote to keep her in the top spot.
The PP ain't backing down, promising to keep going with other legal avenues to take aim at the PM.
Another PP member, Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn, claimed the committee needed to clarify whether Ms. Paetongtarn's use of PNs to buy shares from her close ones constituted a bogus legal transaction to dodge gift taxes.
He was there for the meeting to push the Revenue Department to clear up whether they were operating under Sections 17(7) and 13(7) of the Revenue Code.
Section 17(7) allows the department to snoop around on transactions and figure out if they are phony schemes intended to dodge taxes. The Revenue Code's Section 13(7) lets the director-general kick disputed tax matters up to the Tax Ruling Committee, which issues official interpretations or rulings to explain how the law applies to specific cases.
In short, the PP ain't giving up on their mission to dig up the truth about whether the PM pulled off a tax-dodging scam.
[1]: [https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thailand-opposition-legislators-seek-inquiry-4-43-billion-share-deal-2021-03-22][2]: [https://www.bangkokpost.com/thai-politics/1973338/promissory-notes-controversy-more-heat-from-opposition][3]: [https://www.iafrica.com/news/apoe1ro/(Revised)%20Thai%20PM%20faces%20probe%20over%20use%20of%20promissory%20notes][4]: [https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30398692]
- The opposition's ongoing investigation into Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra's use of promissory notes in a 4.43 billion baht share purchase, spearheaded by The People's Party (PP), is focusing on whether this constitutes a tax-dodging scheme.
- During a House of Reps inquiry, the PP has raised concerns about the legitimacy of the transaction, potential tax evasion that might have impacted government finances, and the swiftness and transparency of relevant agencies' actions within their legal bounds.
- The Revenue Department and the Office of the Auditor General were called in to shed light on the questionable deals, with the PP pushing for clarification on the use of promissory notes for share purchases and whether they are phony transactions made to dodge gift taxes.
- Thepphong Viboonthanakul, a PP member and head of the House committee on economic affairs, has highlighted the importance of understanding whether the transaction violates Sections 17(7) and 13(7) of the Revenue Code, which pertain to investigating potential tax fraud and referral of disputed tax matters to the Tax Ruling Committee, respectively.
