Thai Banks to tax savings interest above 20,000 baht

BANGKOK, 23 April 2019 (NNT) – The Thai Bankers Association has held a meeting to find a solution to the savings interest tax and to provide maximum convenience to bank customers who might be obliged to divulge their savings account activity to the Revenue Department so that no such tax would need to be collected if the interest amounted to less than 20,000 baht.

Kobsak Duangdee, the secretary general of the Thai Bankers Association, said the TBA held a meeting with member banks on Tuesday to discuss the Revenue Department’s plan to collect the 15% savings interest tax in cases where the interest amounts over 20,000 baht per annum and that the savings accounts’ owners provide relevant data to the department.

For that matter, the working group is seeking the best way-out among several alternative means to provide maximum convenience to bank customers. More than 80 million savings accounts have been opened at all banks in the country.

Those who may have opened savings accounts at several banks may agree to fill out such data in a form at a certain bank branch so that the interbank data can be submitted to the department or sign an agreement via Mobile Banking.

He said bank customers shouldn’t panic because no tax would be charged if their savings account amounted to less than four million baht. The TBA and member banks have scrambled to disseminate the information to their customers and create an understanding accordingly. However, bank customers need not sign any agreement on such matter as yet.

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