The proposed inheritance tax will not cover properties that are willed to the spouse of a deceased to ease the burden on the grieving party, MR Pridiyathorn Devakula said on Wednesday evening.
The deputy prime minister said the inheritance tax would be applied at the rate of 10% for assets worth more than 50 million baht. For assets worth less. it will be waived.
For a couple who have stayed together for a long time and purchased property when the price was low, other rules will apply. In an area like Sukhumvit, the appraised price of a property could have risen dramatically to a very high level, so the government would waive the tax on assets inherited by a spouse.
When a spouse dies and the assets go to the next generation, the inheritance tax will be collected again.
"For example, if an asset worth 60 million baht is handed down to the next generation, the tax will be only one million baht as the taxable amount is only 10 million baht," he said.
MR Pridiyathorn said the waiving provisions will be announced before the draft inheritance tax bill is put before the parliament.