Thaksin's children ordered to pay 10 billion baht in taxes  

BANGKOK, April 2 (TNA) - The Revenue Department has been obliged to collect more than 10 billion baht in personal income tax from Panthongthae and Pinthongtha Shinawatra, son and daughter of deposed prime minister Thaksin, relating to sales of their Shin Corp shares.

Wirote Laohaphan, chairman of a subcommittee of the Assets Examination Committee in charge of auditing tax payments by the Shinawatra family,  says the Committee had resolved to have the Revenue Department collect 5.9 billion baht in personal income tax plus 4.8 billion baht in withholding tax from the deposed prime minister's children, who made more than 15.8 billion baht in profit from the sales of their Shin Corp shares to Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Company.

The chairman of the AEC subcommittee said Mr Panthongthae and Ms Pinthongtha were found to have bought 329 million Shin Corp shares from Ample Rich Investment Company and then sold them to the Singaporean firm for 49.25 baht per share. The sales profit incurred a total of 10.7 billion baht in personal income and withholding taxes.  

He added that overdue tax payment is subject to a 1.5 per cent interest fee per month.

The committee spokesman Sak Korsaengruang said both persons could possibly be given a criminal penalty for their tax-evading charges, while certain officials of the Revenue Department could possibly be faced with duty- negligence charges.

TNA

For those of us who want to know what it means in dollars, here`s a further report:-

Quote:Thaksin family faces $327m tax bill

A Thai anti-corruption agency has ordered the children of Thaksin Shinawatra, the deposed prime minister, to pay $327 m in back taxes.

The order comes from Thailand's Assets Examination Committee, established after Thaksin was deposed in a bloodless coup last September.

The tax bill, due this week, stems from the 2006 sale of family-controlled telecom conglomerate Shin Corp to Singapore's Temasek Holdings.

"I can say that we are quite closing in on the final chapter of Mr Thaksin's future"

Meanwhile, Surayud Chulanont, the current Thai prime minister, has said the investigation into corruption charges against Thaksin himself may be wrapped up by the end of April.

Surayud told a news conference in Tokyo that while he himself was not directly involved in the investigation, he believed that the probe was coming to an end.

"I can say that we are quite closing in on the final chapter of Mr. Thaksin's future," he added.

Commenting on the Shin Corp tax bill, a Thaksin family lawyer told the Associated Press the family had not paid tax on the deal because none had been owed.

"The transaction was carried out overseas in Singapore and the sale of Shin Corp was a transaction done in the stock market and hence exempt from capital gains tax," Noppadol Patama, Thaksin's lawyer and de facto spokesman in Thailand, said.

Thaksin was accused of corruption by the
leaders of last year's coup [EPA]
Thaksin, who has been living in exile since a coup last year, has been accused by coup leaders of corruption during his five years in office.

Last month the Thai police chief said that investigators had recommended Thaksin be charged with three counts of lese majeste, which could put him in jail for 45 years.

However, speaking on Tokyo Surayud said investigators were looking into charges linked to his first election as prime minister, among others.

Criminal tax evasion charges were brought against Thaksin's wife and his brother last week.

Surayud also said that Thaksin was free to come back to Thailand but that his return might prove difficult.

"Yes, as a Thai citizen he can come back to Thailand, but again as one who caused big trouble in Thailand, I think it is not easy for him to come back," he added.

aljazeera

Thaksin's children or Ample Rich must pay Bt21bn

Ample rich Investments or its directors must pay almost Bt21 billion in tax from income earned on Shin Corp shares since 2003, the Assets Examination Committee (AEC) declared yesterday.

AEC Shin Corp share-probe committee chairman Viroj Laoha-pan said it was recommended the Revenue Department tax Ample Rich - or directors Panthongtae and Pinthongta Shinawatra - Bt20.98 billion.

Tax should be at the full corporate rate because it was decided Ample Rich was a foreign company doing business in Thailand.

The Thailand Securities Depository had charged the company 10 per cent tax on its dividends. But, the AEC believed the tax should be collected at the full 30 per cent. The British Virgin Islands-registered company earned revenue from dividends, the sale of Shin Corp shares and other income between 1999 and 2006.

On April 2, the panel ruled Panthongtae and Pinthongta must pay combined taxes of Bt5.691 billion on the Bt16.295 billion earned from the January 23, 2006 sale of Shin stock to Temasek Holdings of Singapore.

Viroj said the panel would now investigate if Ample Rich intended to avoid paying tax.

AEC secretary Kaewsan Atibodhi denied the AEC was considering freezing assets of all involved in the share sale and under investigation for alleged irregularities. But he said neither the AEC nor the courts had ruled if the Shina-watra family was unusually rich.

He explained the Legal Execution Department could freeze assets in tax cases, but if defendants appealed and deposited a surety this action could not be invoked. Assets can be frozen in cases where defendants are declared unusually rich.

Committee spokesman Sak Korsaengruang also denied it would freeze the property and accounts of politicians and associates being investigated for corruption.

Sak said there was no basis to the claims. The AEC had the power to freeze assets but it must act with caution and fairness in exercising it, he said.

Assets would be frozen only if there was evidence those under investigation would try to transfer them, he said.

A source who asked not to be named said on Sunday the AEC was considering such a move.

The source said the committee would ask the Anti-Money Laundering Office to ban access to the assets of all involved in the Shin Corp share sale and the controversial Ratchadaphisek land purchase.

Sak said the AEC would file a defamation complaint against Thai Rak Thai Party caretaker leader Chaturon Chaisang.

Sak alleged Chaturon accused the AEC of being a "kangaroo court".

Budsarakham Sinlapalavan,

Bancha Khaengkhan

The Nation

Quote:Tax shock for Thaksin children

Must pay B21bn extra over Ample Rich deal

Panthongtae and Pinthongta Shinawatra, two grown-up children of deposed prime minister Thaksin, have been ordered to pay almost 21 billion baht more in outstanding taxes and fines relating to the sale of Shin Corp, the Assets Scrutiny Committee (ASC) ruled yesterday.

The panel decided the two siblings must pay another 20.89 billion baht in corporate income tax on behalf of Ample Rich, of which they were directors, for reaping the profits in Thailand.

The ruling means the Shinawatra family will have to pay 27.42 billion baht in total. This sum includes personal income tax of 5.69 billion baht the siblings were already ordered by the military-appointed panel to pay for the Shin share deal they made via Ample Rich last year, along with other charges.

Citing Article 76 of the Revenue Code, Viroj Laohaphan, chief of the panel's tax probe team, said despite being registered in the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven, Ample Rich could not escape tax liability in the kingdom because its operations took place in Thailand.

As Mr Panthongtae and Miss Pinthongta were directors of Ample Rich, they had to pay the company's taxes, he said.

A large chunk of the corporate income tax stemmed from dividends the firm had earned over the past four years, plus fines for failing to submit its tax payments on time, and profits on selling Shin shares to the siblings on Jan 20 last year, said Mr Viroj. Other charges include distribution of profits outside the country, he added.

The biggest profits Ample Rich made were from its sale of Shin shares to the siblings, when they were its directors, at one baht apiece while the market value was 49.25 baht, the probe team said.

The team said taxation of the two on behalf of Ample Rich did not overlap with their personal income tax.

ASC secretary Kaewsan Atipho, citing Article 65 (bis) (4) of the Revenue Code, explained that the firm is still liable to pay tax on its part because the law imposes the liability as punishment for unreasonably selling the shares to individuals at a price much lower than their real value.

The ASC said the hefty tax amount was imposed as "punishment" for the tax evasion attempt.

"Ample Rich colluded with the buyers [the siblings] to sell the shares at a cheaper price to help them evade tax. So, the firm must be punished by imposition of tax to set a precedent for similar cases," the probe team said.

The share purchase by Mr Thaksin's two children took place days before the Shinawatra and Damapong families sold their stakes in Shin Corp to Temasek Holdings of Singapore _ a deal which sparked street protests against the then prime minister.

Had Ample Rich sold the shares directly to Temasek in the stock market, they would not have been forced to pay such hefty taxes, said Mr Kaewsan.

The panel will order the Revenue Department to proceed with collecting taxes on Ample Rich.

The ASC also decided to file a defamation lawsuit against acting Thai Rak Thai leader Chaturon Chaisaeng for allegedly calling the agency "a semi-kangaroo court". It also set up a subcommittee headed by Udom Fuangfung to look into the digit lottery, a project launched when Mr Thaksin was in power.

"The ASC is legally authorised [to investigate]. It is not a kangaroo court. The ASC does not mind criticism of its members, but it will not endure criticism against the agency as an [established] authority," said ASC spokesman Sak Korsaengruang.

Bangkok Post April 24, 2007
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