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This chapter examines Thailand’s tax laws relevant to businesses. It explains key corporate tax rates and regulations, tax holidays and incentives, and other important areas. It also contains a viewpoint from Andrew Jackomos and Paul Ashburn, Co-Managing Partners, BDO.

Although Thailand in recent years has focused on creating a more forward-thinking, modern economy, ranking second only to Singapore in financial clout within the ASEAN block, the country’s agricultural sector still remains a crucial cog in the engine driving the country forward. It continues to capitalise on its long-standing farming tradition and favourable climate as it retains its enviable position as a key exporter of products – including widely consumed agricultural commodities such as rice, sugar and rubber – around the world. Agriculture, particularly rice, is still the dominant economic activity in many of the rural regions of the country, in places where other economic development efforts have not yet made a significant impact. This chapter contains an interview Chatchai Sarikulya, Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives.

Selected headline numbers generated by the Thai education sector have been encouraging. The country has a high rate of literacy, an increasing number of top-rated universities, long school-life expectancy, a strong history of education and a large education budget. Globally and regionally, it compares well by these measures. The country also has ambitions to become a major educational centre, undertaking cutting edge research and attracting students from ASEAN and beyond. Meanwhile, Thailand delivers health care effectively, fairly and at a relatively low cost. Its Universal Coverage Scheme, together with two other national programmes provide good basic benefits to all Thais, and now to most residents of the county. Because of its success Thailand is sometimes regarded as a health care model in the developing world. This chapter contains interviews with Teerakiat Jareonsettasin, Minister of Education; Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai, President, Asian Institute of Technology; Dipak Jain, Former Director, Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration; and Virapatna Thakolsri, Managing Director, Biopharm Chemicals.

Tourism remains one of the primary drivers of economic growth in Thailand. While manufacturing and exports are sluggish and consumer demand weak, visitor numbers were up in 2016 and are expected to hit new records in 2017. After a slight dip in 2014, the upward trend seems to have been re-established. Looking ahead, tourism will remain an important part of the Thai economy and is expected to become an increasingly large component of GDP. Thailand is an attractive destination drawing guests from a diverse range of countries. Chinese and Russian tourists continue to come in great numbers, but at the same time more visitors are coming from ASEAN member states. Flows from the US and Europe are holding steady. Thailand’s government remains highly supportive of the sector, making visits easier, investing in infrastructure and, importantly, choosing policies to encourage inflows. This chapter contains interviews with Weerasak Kowsurat, Chairman, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau; and Leanne Harwood, Vice-President of Operations for South-east Asia and Korea, InterContinental Hotels Group.

Thailand is quickly going from being a secondary player in the world of technology to a regional, if not global, leader. The relevant sectors are rapidly beginning to take off with the introduction of 4G and the build-out of fixed-line assets. Greater bandwidth, higher speeds, lower latency and increased consumer demand have led to a burst of activity. The country is now arguably the centre of ICT in ASEAN, with a significant percentage of regional traffic and the most active smartphone users. Meanwhile, the government is supporting technology with official policies and programmes. Its goal is to transform not only specific sectors, but also the economy and the country as a whole. This chapter contains an interview with Sanpachai Huvanandana, President, CAT Telecom.

An important engine of growth for Thailand, the construction sector is acting as a hedge as many other sectors face challenges in the form of global economic weakness and tepid consumer demand. Together with tourism and, to an extent, finance, construction is keeping the slowdown from becoming too severe. The Thai real estate market is decidedly split. In general, buyers are increasingly constrained and finding it difficult to fund or finance purchases. However, in the centre of Bangkok and at the high end, the story is very different. Demand remains firm, new stock is being taken up nearly as fast as it is offered, and prices are rising to record levels. The market is bifurcated, with the lower end lagging and the upper end forging ahead. This chapter contains an interview with Naporn Sunthornchitcharoen, President, Land & Houses.