Minister clarifies tax concerns for digital wallet programme

Deputy Minister of Finance Julapun Amornvivat insists that sales data from stores participating in the digital wallet programme will not be submitted to the Revenue Department, but stores must file taxes if their sales increase significantly.

Julapun addressed concerns yesterday from merchants about joining the digital wallet programme due to tax issues. He assured that the Ministry of Finance would not send sales data from participating stores to the Revenue Department.

However, if a store’s sales increase to a certain threshold, they are obligated to file taxes as usual. For instance, if a store’s annual sales increase from 100,000 to 200,000 baht to 1.8 to 1.9 million baht, they must correctly file value-added tax (VAT), said Julapun.

“We cannot force anyone to participate, but no one should miss this opportunity. The programme will circulate over 1 trillion baht within the system, providing a chance for all stores to increase their sales. Meanwhile, the government will educate merchants about the tax system, which is not as daunting as it seems. Once they join, they can deduct various expenses.”

Julapun highlighted that preparations are underway but some merchants are not ready. For example, certain enterprises have not fully registered with the relevant supervisory agencies. Efforts are being made to complete their registrations so they can join the programme without issues.

Overall, the response has been positive. Initially, 40,000 to 50,000 small business representatives were expected to show interest, but hundreds of thousands have already expressed their willingness to join. The postponement of the digital wallet registration announcement for merchants was merely to avoid confusion, as the registration for citizens is currently ongoing.

Julapun also mentioned that the proposal for the digital wallet programme will not be presented at the Cabinet meeting today. There is still time to submit the proposal for Cabinet approval before the budget is utilised. The overlapping budget can be established, and this has been clarified several times. Civil servants have confirmed that it is feasible, reported KhaoSod.