More tourism stimulus possible
He said the Finance Ministry held discussions with the Tourism and Sports Ministry on whether additional tourism stimulus measures are required, with the latter expressing interest in implementing further measures beyond the current "Tiew Thai Khon La Khrueng" (half-half) co-payment scheme.
The government may want to rev up tourism stimulus to increase consumer spending, said Mr Julapun.
"While the tourism industry is expected to perform well in the lead-up to the high season at year-end, the low season requires additional support and incentives," he said.
Mr Julapun expressed confidence that the recent cabinet reshuffle would improve the tourism sector, especially in terms of tourist safety, which remains a major concern affecting confidence in Thailand as a travel destination.
As for the co-payment scheme, the Tourism and Sports Ministry reported allocation of 500,000 entitlements as of July 11, with more than 400,000 of these entitlements still available.
The Revenue Department previously issued tax incentives to support domestic tourism, particularly for travel to secondary cities during the low season.
For individuals, personal income tax incentives ran from May 1 to Nov 30, 2024. The incentive applied to travel within 55 designated secondary tourist provinces.
Individuals could deduct actual expenses for tour packages, hotel accommodation, resorts or homestays, up to a maximum of 15,000 baht.
Only electronic tax invoices (e-tax invoices or e-receipts) were accepted for tax deduction purposes.
For legal entities, corporate income tax incentives covered the same period in 2024.
Companies could treat expenses incurred for organising domestic seminars, such as seminar room rental, accommodation, transport or related tour services, as deductible business expenses.
The deduction could be twice the actual amount if the seminar was held in a secondary tourism province or another designated tourism area announced by the Revenue Department.
A deduction of 1.5 times the actual expenses applied if the seminar was held in other provinces or if the location was not clearly classified.
Documentation was required to be full-format e-tax invoices and e-receipts.
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