News from Thailand – December 31, 2013

The new year starts in Bangkok with another big rally. Roads are expected to be blocked in twenty places, mainly in the business centre.

The police will not hinder the demonstrators and will limit themselves to regulating traffic and maintaining public order. The protest movement is being consulted about the dates [apparently there will be more] and locations, so that security there can be strengthened.

On Sunday, the police arrested Phichit Chaimongkhon, spokesman for the Network of Students and People for Reform of Thailand (NSPRT). An arrest warrant was issued against him and, incidentally, against the other action leaders. Phichit was in charge of the State Department siege. The Department of Special Investigation (DSI, the Thai FBI) ​​will ask the judge to refuse bail because he was also involved in other attacks on government buildings.

NSPRT adviser Nitithorn Lamlua says he escaped an attempted kidnapping by men with guns around midnight on Sunday. The driver of his car managed to shake off the men and drove Nitithorn hurriedly back to the rally location.

– The Electoral Council is making frantic efforts to find new locations in the South where district candidates can register for the elections on 2 February. In 38 constituencies, registration is blocked by demonstrators.

As previously reported, the government has proposed moving the registration to military bases or police stations, but the Electoral Council fears an increase in protests and prefers civilian locations. Meetings took place yesterday between Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul, head of the Center for the Administration of Peace and Order, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defense, the Chief of the National Police and the Secretary General of the National Security Council.

Opposition party Democraten (which is not participating in the elections) has offered to arrange a meeting today between the Electoral Council and the protest movement (PDRC). The PDRC has not yet responded to that offer. A meeting between the Electoral Council and Democrats is also on the agenda.

Electoral Commissioner Somchai Srisuthiyakorn says that the elections will continue anyway, even if registration in the constituencies concerned fails definitively. Today and tomorrow are the last days for candidates to apply. The government should call new elections in those districts if there is nothing to choose on February 2.

Some party members of Pheu Thai, party leader Charupong Ruangsuwan and minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul have criticized the Electoral Council for proposing to postpone the elections. The Electoral Council should concentrate on organizing the elections, they say. Electoral Commissioner Somchai threatens: 'If the criticism continues, we can resign. Just think carefully about what can happen if there is no Electoral Council.'

So far, 642 candidates have registered for the election. They are chasing one of the 375 seats in the 500-seat House of Representatives. The rest are distributed via national electoral lists.

– A resident of Surat Thani sells body armor made from X-rays in a stall on Ratchadamnoen Avenue. According to him, a vest with 40 layers of film offers good protection. The man already sold them in 2008 during the demonstrations of the People's Alliance for Democracy (yellow shirts). He has now sold two thousand, he says. They cost 700 baht each.

The guards at the protest locations are happy about it, especially since a guard was shot dead. Barriers made of sandbags and tires have also been built around the protest sites to protect against attacks.

– Minister Wichet Kasemthongsri (Environment) made no bones about it during his visit to Kui Buri National Park, where eighteen dead gaurs were found. When the animals are poisoned as a result of internal conflicts, those involved will be severely punished. The minister has urged a speedy investigation into the cause of death. The horns of one gaur were missing, which is suggestive. The head of the park and others possibly involved have been temporarily transferred.

– The number of road fatalities rose by 75 to 161 on Sunday in the first three of the so-called 'seven dangerous days'; 1.390 persons were injured. The death toll is 9,52 percent higher than in the same period last year. Nakhon Ratchasima is the province with the most deaths, injuries and accidents. Alcohol consumption and speeding remain the main causes of accidents.

– Three roads around the CentralWorld shopping center will be closed today at 18 p.m. to make room for the traditional Countdown: Ratchadamri, Ploenchit and Rama I. At Asiatique, where the countdown is also taking place, Charoen Krungweg will close in one direction from 16 p.m. Parking is prohibited on some roads.

– Due to the political unrest, a tradition will be canceled this year: the media giving sarcastic names to politicians. The names are coined each year by a group of parliamentary reporters. In recent years, the naming has been dropped twice.

– Prime Minister Yingluck and we would almost forget also Defense Minister will wish Happy New Year with the top of the armed forces Prem Tinsulanonda, chairman of the Privy Council. That is also tradition. Prem is suspected by the red shirts of orchestrating the 2006 coup.

– Vendors on the Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai have blocked a road to the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep temple for some time because private transport was banned since Friday. Visitors had to song taew take, but they did not stop at their stalls. In addition, visits to the temple declined.

As the number of protesters increased, authorities scrapped the ban that should have been in place until Wednesday. The blockade was lifted when the song taew shuttle stopped, but that created another problem of tourists who couldn't go back.

Economic news

– The ceiling for deductions will increase from 2015 to 60.000 baht from tax year 120.000. The aim of this operation is to alleviate taxpayers' living costs and to encourage more small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to file tax returns.

The extra deduction can only be claimed when receipts are submitted for purchases from SMEs, whose annual turnover is no less than 30 million. Receipts are not currently required. The current maximum is 40 percent of taxable income or 60.000 baht per year.

A previously announced measure consists of expanding the number of tax brackets from five to seven. The middle class in particular will benefit from this. The rate of the highest bracket will be reduced from 37 to 35 percent of taxable income. This percentage is the highest in Southeast Asia. As the number of taxpayers increases, income taxes are likely to fall further.

– Thai AirAsia will start a non-stop daily flight from Chiang Mai to Hangzhou in February. TAA already flies from Chiang Mai to Hong Kong and Macau. TAA hopes to attract more Chinese tourists to Thailand with the new line. Conversely, Hangzou is a convenient place to travel to Shanghai, which takes less than an hour by high-speed train.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post

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