Revenue explains Thaksin tax let off

The Revenue Department has explained its decision not to pursue a tax claim against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra on huge profits gained from the 2006 sale of ShinCorp shares to the Singapore government-owned Temasek Holdings.
Department chief Sathit Rangkhasiri said on Thursday the shares were sold on the stock market.

The department therefore could not pursue the capital gains tax claim against the former prime minister.

The department had not appealed a judgement by the Central Tax Court dismssing a 12-billion-baht tax assessement against Pinthongta and Panthongtae Shinawatra for the Shin Corp sale following a ruling by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions that the two were not real owners of the shares, but were instead acting as nominees for their father, Thaksin.

Because of the court’s ruling, the actual owner of the Shin Corp shares was Thaksin, said Mr Sathit. The ousted prime minister was not required to pay tax because he sold his shares to Temasek Holdings on the stock market, not outside the market.

Former finance minister Korn Chatikavanij has slammed the Revenue Department for its failure to pursue the tax claim against Thaksin, saying he had asked it several times to clarify its position.

The shares were sold to Temasek immediately after the Thaksin caretaker cabinet changed the law by ministerial regulation to allow the sale of the family's entire 49 per cent share in ShinCorp to a foreign entity, far in excess of the previous level.

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