The Study On Tax Reform In Thailand After The East Asian Financial Crisis

After the East Asian financial crisis, the Thai government began with reforms on tax, aiming at resolving inadequacies in taxation, and recovering the national economy with tax cut and relevant economic measures. Reforms on tax types, tax administration and fiscal decentralization were included, which brought about dynamism into the Thai economy. However, the US sub-prime mortgage crisis led to a sluggish global market, dragging on the export of Thailand and the economy at large. Then, the Thai government came up with economy stimulus package in 2008 and further reforms on taxation. This article, against the two world financial crises, brief introduces tax system in Thailand and makes comparison with other countries. Moreover, it elaborates on the analysis of the post-crisis tax policies and reforms in Thailand, and makes objective comment on their effects and existing problems.This article consists of six chapters. This first chapter is the introduction, elaborating on the background, significance and framework of the work. The second chapter was about the relevant taxation theories since the 1950s and the two leading theories which influenced tax reforms in Thailand. The third chapter introduces the tax structure, the structure of tax revenues at all government levels and tax system before and after the East Asian financial crisis. The fourth chapter reviews on the Thailand tax reforms after the East Asian financial crisis, the background, aims, measures, tax administration reforms and decentralization since 1999. The fifth chapter deals with the background of tax reforms in Thailand after the sub-prime mortgage crisis, the detailed policies, and makes a comparison with the previous crisis. The sixth chapter makes some comments on the results of the reforms, and further analysis of the problems in the tax mechanism. Finally, it puts forward the direction for further reforms.