Retail and mall executives sat down with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha (second right) on Thursday to present various proposals for reviving the retail sector.
Top retail and shopping mall executives on Thursday proposed economic and tourism stimulus plans to the government in hopes of revitalising the 3.6-trillion-baht sector and the country’s overall economy during the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Yol Phokasub, president of the Thai Retailers Association (TRA), said the retail and service sectors play a vital role in national development, creating over 1.3 million small businesses in the trade sector, directly creating over 6.2 million jobs and generating tax revenue of over 500 billion baht a year.
“If the retail and service sector is strong, the rest of the country and Thais in every sector will follow, from upstream to midstream to downstream, to grow together sustainably,” Mr Yol said.
The executives proposed short-term measures such as the government allowing businesses to offer hourly employment; stimulating consumption through tax break measures, with minimum spending worth up to 50,000 baht for over a 60-day period; and stimulating consumption among shoppers with high spending power through import duty reductions for four months.
The government is also being urged to speed up providing soft loans at 0.1% interest through large retailers to enable SMEs to survive by using 25 billion baht from the 500-billion-baht fund allocated by the government.
The association also proposed the government come up with guidelines for transparent business operations.
For measures to regulate e-commerce in the areas of price and tax, for instance, they suggested that the government collect import duties and value-added tax (VAT) from the first baht and forbid e-commerce operators from selling below cost.
The current arrangement severely impacts SMEs and Thai retailers. This proposed tax method would enable governments to generate tax revenue from e-commerce of over 20 billion baht a year while dealing with black-market products that have sprung up as a byproduct of the e-commerce boom.
The government was also urged to ensure transparent and fair regulations for all retail channels, not just brick-and-mortar retail.
“Supervision should not be limited to brick-and-mortar retail, which pays tax in full compliance, while online retail and travel retail still lack clear regulatory criteria,” Mr Yol said. “The enforcement of fair trade laws is necessary to create a level playing field for all retail channels. This would also maintain 6.2 million employees at brick-and-mortar retailers and allow Thai SMEs in the conventional system to prosper.”
The Thai Shopping Center Association (TSCA) proposed in the short term that the government offer low-interest loans to help SMEs resume trade, maintain employment and boost spending; and promote shopping and tourism through the Taste-Shop-Spend scheme, giving away 3,000-baht vouchers and allowing retailers at food centres to participate.
The TSCA also called for remedial measures and the extension of a 90% reduction in land and property taxes until 2023.
In the medium term, they proposed the government include shopping centre businesses in the national development master plan, allowing them to invest in the country’s special development zone and promote tax measures to encourage investment.
For the long-term, the TSCA proposed to put forward Thai shopping centres as world-class tourism destinations and increase the competitiveness of the country. The plan urges the government to enhance the quality and design of Thai products to attract tourists while gradually reducing import taxes to increase competitiveness against Asean neighbours.
The TSCA suggested the government organise nationwide campaigns to promote “Attractions and Unique Products” in shopping centres and increase government-hosted national cultural events (such as by the Culture and Commerce ministries) in order to promote the art/music/food of Thailand at shopping centres.
Source: bangkok post