What are the 6 new laws that will be introduced in 2020? And who is involved?
No.1) New Land and Building Tax Act, in force since 1st January 2020. However, the tax payment for people owning lands or buildings is postponed on 31st August 2020. According to the new law, the remaining schedules are postponed by 4 months from the original dates, i.e. the creation of a register of lands and buildings from November 2019 to March 2020 and the tax assessment (sending tax assessment form) from February 2020 to June 2020.
No. 2) The Super Savings Fund (SSF) and the Retirement Mutual Fund (RMF) The tax incentives for the SSF are different from the ones of the LTF, which was expired in 2019. According to the new law, it is possible to deduct a maximum of 30% (but not exceeding 200,000 Baht) from the income tax for purchasing SSF and to retain the investment for at least 10 years with the condition when it is combined with other types of retirement saving funds (RMF, PVD and GPF). The total reduction is capperd at 500,000 Baht. RMF has revised criteria for tax benefits. The percentage can be deducted from the income tax charges, from 15% to 30% for amount of 500,000 Baht. In addition, the minimum purchase of 3% of RMF in the previous law is cancelled to help middle-income people buying RMF.
No. 3) e-payment Tax or Regulations for financial institutions (commercial banks, government financial institutions and electronic-money service providers) The following categories are subject to the e-payment tax: 1) Regardless of the amount of money, more than 3,000 transactions (bank counters, ATMs and Internet Baking) each year combining all accounts per bank; or 2) For amount exceeding 2 million Baht, more than 400 transactions each year combining all accounts per bank. This data has been collected since March 2019 and will report to the Revenue Department on 31st March 2020.
No. 4) Under the Deposit Protection Law, in force from the 11th August 2020, the deposit coverage limit has been reduced to 1 million Baht. Under this law, protection occurs when financial institutions, i.e. commercial banks, finance companies and credit companies, close their businesses. Depositors with the above mentioned financial institutions benefit from a deposit coverage of a maximum amount of 1 million Baht.
No. 5) Personal data protection law was announced on 27th May 2019. The law comes into force immediately, including the creation of the Committee and the Office of the Personal Information Protection Commission and some transitional provisions. However, for what concern personal data protection rights of owners of data, complaints, and various liability categories, they will come into force after one year of the announcement of the law or on 28th May 2020. Various sections of the new law do not apply to the data collected prio to its entrance into force, this data can be kept for the same purpose it was collected. Once the law comes into effect (28th May 2020), it has to be published and it has to provide the annulment of the consent of the collection of data and the permission to continue request the collection of data.
No. 6) The Drafting and Evaluation, implemented since November 2019. In 2020, government agencies aimed to modernize the existing structure according with the economic changes and shifting social context. The government has to listen to the needs of a society, analyze the impact of the new law and consider before introducing the new law. Starting from 2020, all laws announced by the government have to be reconsidered every 5 years from the moment they come into force in order to reinforce their effectiveness.