BANGKOK: Thailand's cabinet approved on Tuesday plans to issue government savings bonds worth 100 billion baht ($3.04 billion) in January, and measures to help small and medium businesses and low income families.
The savings bonds would be offered to individual investors in two tranches -- five and ten years of 50 billion baht each, with the sale scheduled for Jan. 12-20, Finance Minister Sommai Phasee told reporters after the cabinet meeting.
Thailand's military-led government came to power after an elected civilian government was ousted in May.
The proceeds from the five-year tranche would be used to finance losses incurred from a rice scheme run by the civilian government, while funds raised from the ten-year lot would help to finance the government's fiscal budget deficit, he said.
The cabinet also approved tax cuts for small businesses, and micro financing licenses for non-bank lenders to help deter people from turning to loan sharks, he said in a press briefing.
"They are measures aiming to help enhance production efficiency and competitiveness of small businesses over the medium- to long-term ... and measures to help those poor people who are indebted and lack funds to do businesses," he said.
Micro financing licenses will enable qualified investors to offer loans up to 100,000 baht per borrower at a maximum annual lending rate of 36 percent, with the project due to be started by February, he said.
Loan sharks currently charge between 10 to 20 percent a month.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) would enjoy lower corporate income tax rates from 2015, with a tax waiver for annual earnings of 300,000 baht or less, 15 percent for annual earnings of more than 300,000 baht to up to 3 million baht and 20 percent for earnings of more than 3 million baht, he said.
SMEs are currently subject to a tax rate of 20 percent for the earnings of 1-3 million baht, he said.
The cabinet also approved a custom tax reform which involved tax waivers and tax rate cuts for a set of import items which would help lower import costs of SMEs, he said.
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