Planning for Thailand's return to fiscal discipline
By Jon Fernquest
What
goes up must come down.Governments must increase spending (fiscal stimulus) during an economic downturn to jump start the economy and bring it back to life.
When the economic downturn ends governments must eventually return to normal levels of spending.
This, in short, is the theme of todays' article.
The article also contains another surprising fact:
"Personal income tax...is
currently paid by just 5-6 million people each year [in Thailand],
while the country has a labour
force of 38 million and a total population
of 67 million."
Reclaiming the lost tax revenue of people who do not pay their taxes won't be easy, we can assume.
Today's article begins after the vocabulary:
discipline - making
people follow rules and standards of behaviour and punishing them when
they do not
fiscal discipline - when the government spends money in a controlled way (if it borrows too much too quickly it may not be able to borrow in the future)
fiscal stimulus - a temporary increase in government spending (or tax cuts) to get the economy moving and growing again after an economic slowdown (where people's incomes declines)
economic downturn - when an economy slows down with negative growth, people lose jobs and incomes fall
jump start - start quickly (when you use the battery of another car to get your own car started with jumper cables)
eventually - at the end of a process or period of time in which many things happen
theme - the main subject of a book, discussion, writing, etc...
personal income tax - a tax that people must pay on the money they earn from their job or from their investments (See Wikipedia)
labour force, workforce - all the people who are working and earning money in an economy
population - all the people who live in one country, area or place กลุ่มที่อาศัยอยู่ในบริเวณหนึ่ง
reclaiming - getting back something that was taken from you
assume - imagine something is true คิดว่าเป็นจริง
fiscal discipline - when the government spends money in a controlled way (if it borrows too much too quickly it may not be able to borrow in the future)
fiscal stimulus - a temporary increase in government spending (or tax cuts) to get the economy moving and growing again after an economic slowdown (where people's incomes declines)
economic downturn - when an economy slows down with negative growth, people lose jobs and incomes fall
jump start - start quickly (when you use the battery of another car to get your own car started with jumper cables)
eventually - at the end of a process or period of time in which many things happen
theme - the main subject of a book, discussion, writing, etc...
personal income tax - a tax that people must pay on the money they earn from their job or from their investments (See Wikipedia)
labour force, workforce - all the people who are working and earning money in an economy
population - all the people who live in one country, area or place กลุ่มที่อาศัยอยู่ในบริเวณหนึ่ง
reclaiming - getting back something that was taken from you
assume - imagine something is true คิดว่าเป็นจริง
Economics
ECONOMY
Finance to improve fiscal discipline
Wichit Chantanusornsiri2/03/2010
The Finance Ministry is developing a new revenue and expenditure plan covering the next decade to help reinforce the country's commitment to medium-term fiscal discipline.
Ekniti Nitithanprapas, director of the ministry's macroeconomic policy planning section, said an item-by-item review is needed of both revenues and expenditures to facilitate a return to a balanced fiscal position.
improve
- to make better ทำให้ดีขึ้น
fiscal - connected with the government budget, i.e., public money เกี่ยวกับงบประมาณ
discipline - making people follow rules and standards of behaviour and punishing them when they do not
fiscal discipline - when the government spends money in a controlled way (if it borrows too much too quickly it may not be able to borrow in the future)
revenue - income from taxes or business activities รายได้
expenditure - money paid for things by a company, government or consumer
decade - a period of ten years ทศวรรษ
reinforce - to make stronger by adding to something เสริมกำลัง
commitment - a promise to do something in the future (willing to give your time and energy to something that you believe in; a promise or firm decision to do something การมอบความไว้วางใจ)
term - a period of time ช่วงเวลา
medium-term - during a period of time that is 2-10 years into the future
policy - a set of plans or action agreed on by a government, political party, business, or other group นโยบาย
review - formal checking and examination by authorities to see if corrections or improvements are needed
item-by-item review - check the details, check every item (in the budget or accounting records)
facilitate - to make it possible or easier for something to happen ทำให้สะดวกขึ้น
balanced fiscal position - when government deficit and borrowing are not too much (note: experts would probably not agree on exactly what this is)
fiscal - connected with the government budget, i.e., public money เกี่ยวกับงบประมาณ
discipline - making people follow rules and standards of behaviour and punishing them when they do not
fiscal discipline - when the government spends money in a controlled way (if it borrows too much too quickly it may not be able to borrow in the future)
revenue - income from taxes or business activities รายได้
expenditure - money paid for things by a company, government or consumer
decade - a period of ten years ทศวรรษ
reinforce - to make stronger by adding to something เสริมกำลัง
commitment - a promise to do something in the future (willing to give your time and energy to something that you believe in; a promise or firm decision to do something การมอบความไว้วางใจ)
term - a period of time ช่วงเวลา
medium-term - during a period of time that is 2-10 years into the future
policy - a set of plans or action agreed on by a government, political party, business, or other group นโยบาย
review - formal checking and examination by authorities to see if corrections or improvements are needed
item-by-item review - check the details, check every item (in the budget or accounting records)
facilitate - to make it possible or easier for something to happen ทำให้สะดวกขึ้น
balanced fiscal position - when government deficit and borrowing are not too much (note: experts would probably not agree on exactly what this is)
Spending programmes need to be reviewed and prioritised to ensure that funds are used for maximum benefit and are in line with national development plans.
Health care benefits for civil servants, for instance, have jumped by 25% over the past several years to more than 60 billion baht per year and are projected to rise above 100 billion unless financial controls are tightened.
prioritised - sorted
putting the most important first and least important last
ensure - to make certain that something happens or is done รับรอง ให้ความมั่นใจ
funds - money needed or available to spend on something เงินทุน
maximum - the most possible ที่สูงสุด ที่มากที่สุด
benefit - to get help or an advantage from something ผลประโยชน์
in line with - agree with, follow
national - for the whole country
health care benefits - medical treatment paid for by companies or the government
civil servants - people who work for the government
X projected to Y - experts say that Y will happen to X in the future
financial controls tightened - stricter rules about how money is spent (in the government or a company)
ensure - to make certain that something happens or is done รับรอง ให้ความมั่นใจ
funds - money needed or available to spend on something เงินทุน
maximum - the most possible ที่สูงสุด ที่มากที่สุด
benefit - to get help or an advantage from something ผลประโยชน์
in line with - agree with, follow
national - for the whole country
health care benefits - medical treatment paid for by companies or the government
civil servants - people who work for the government
X projected to Y - experts say that Y will happen to X in the future
financial controls tightened - stricter rules about how money is spent (in the government or a company)
Government policies to raise welfare benefits would also put greater pressure on the public purse.
The Abhisit Vejjajiva government last year raised education spending to offer free schooling to students and also increased pension payments.
welfare
- help given, especially by the state or an organization, to people who
need it; good care and living conditions สวัสดิภาพ
put greater pressure on the public purse - make government finances more difficult (have to borrow money to pay for more government spending)
pension - a system that companies have in order to help their employees save for retirement
put greater pressure on the public purse - make government finances more difficult (have to borrow money to pay for more government spending)
pension - a system that companies have in order to help their employees save for retirement
While tax revenues have picked up in recent months thanks largely to the economic recovery, the ministry said taxes in Thailand, at 17% of gross domestic product, remain relatively low when compared with other countries in the region.
Increasing the tax base and tightening enforcement should help raise revenues without the need to actually hike tax rates, according to the ministry.
tax revenues - tax
money collected by the government
picked up - went faster, increased at a faster rate
recovery - the process of becoming normal and healthy again ฟื้นฟูสภาพ
gross - extreme and unreasonable เลวร้าย
domestic - relating to a person's own country ภายในประเทศ
GDP, Gross Domestic product - a measure of economic activity in a country, the value of the country's output of goods and services. GDP is defined roughly as: GDP = Household Consumption + Business Investment + Change in Inventories + (Government Spending - Taxes) + (Exports - Imports) (See Economist Glossary)
relatively - somewhat; in comparison with someone or something similar ค่อนข้าง
tax base - the people and companies paying taxes in a country (many avoid paying taxes)
enforcement - the process of making sure that people obey a law or rule การบังคับใช้กฎหมาย
tightening enforcement - increasing the enforcement of rules and laws
hike - increase เพิ่มสูงขึ้น
picked up - went faster, increased at a faster rate
recovery - the process of becoming normal and healthy again ฟื้นฟูสภาพ
gross - extreme and unreasonable เลวร้าย
domestic - relating to a person's own country ภายในประเทศ
GDP, Gross Domestic product - a measure of economic activity in a country, the value of the country's output of goods and services. GDP is defined roughly as: GDP = Household Consumption + Business Investment + Change in Inventories + (Government Spending - Taxes) + (Exports - Imports) (See Economist Glossary)
relatively - somewhat; in comparison with someone or something similar ค่อนข้าง
tax base - the people and companies paying taxes in a country (many avoid paying taxes)
enforcement - the process of making sure that people obey a law or rule การบังคับใช้กฎหมาย
tightening enforcement - increasing the enforcement of rules and laws
hike - increase เพิ่มสูงขึ้น
Personal income tax, for instance, is currently paid by just 5-6 million people each year, while the country has a labour force of 38 million and a total population of 67 million.
Authorities hope that the proposed land and building tax will also help reduce the burden on the central government to support local administrations.
personal income tax -
a tax that people must pay on the money they earn from their job or
from their investments (See Wikipedia)
labour force, workforce - all the people who are working and earning money in an economy
population - all the people who live in one country, area or place กลุ่มที่อาศัยอยู่ในบริเวณหนึ่ง
proposed - suggested, put forward an idea plan for people to think about and decide upon เสนอ
land and building tax, property tax - tax that property owners must pay on the value of their property (See Wikipedia)
burden - a serious or difficult responsibility that you have to deal with ภาระ
local - in or related to the area that you live, or to the particular area that you are talking about ท้องถิ่น
local administrations - local governments
labour force, workforce - all the people who are working and earning money in an economy
population - all the people who live in one country, area or place กลุ่มที่อาศัยอยู่ในบริเวณหนึ่ง
proposed - suggested, put forward an idea plan for people to think about and decide upon เสนอ
land and building tax, property tax - tax that property owners must pay on the value of their property (See Wikipedia)
burden - a serious or difficult responsibility that you have to deal with ภาระ
local - in or related to the area that you live, or to the particular area that you are talking about ท้องถิ่น
local administrations - local governments
The new tax, which is expected to take effect within the next several years, will impose an annual tax on landowners based on rates set by local authorities and the actual use of the land itself .
Revenues gained from the tax will revert to the local authorities to help finance development plans and public services.... (Rest of article here)
expected - what
people believe will happen in the future
take effect - the time when a new law or policy starts
impose - to introduce something such as a new law or new system and require people to accept it การกำหนด นำกฎหมายมาบังคับใช้
annual - happening once a year ประจำปี
authorities - government officials, people who have the power to make decisions or enforce the law เจ้าหน้าที่ผู้มีอำนาจ
actual - real; existing in fact จริง
revenues revert to Y - the money that is received will be given to Y
finance - to provide money for something จัดหาเงินทุนให้
take effect - the time when a new law or policy starts
impose - to introduce something such as a new law or new system and require people to accept it การกำหนด นำกฎหมายมาบังคับใช้
annual - happening once a year ประจำปี
authorities - government officials, people who have the power to make decisions or enforce the law เจ้าหน้าที่ผู้มีอำนาจ
actual - real; existing in fact จริง
revenues revert to Y - the money that is received will be given to Y
finance - to provide money for something จัดหาเงินทุนให้
(Source: Finance to improve fiscal discipline, Wichit Chantanusornsiri, 2/03/2010, link)
