OPINION

PM pivots to tax

Re: "Opposition goes on offensive", (BP, March 25).

Prior to becoming PM, Paetongtarn Shinawatra had to divorce herself from having control over any companies, to comply with our constitution.

Her tax scheme was likely to have been professionally advised to "sell" her holdings to family members instead of giving them to her kin for free, which would make them subject to gift taxes. The scheme was cleverly investigated by the People's Party (PP). It was simply based on Ms Paetongtarn's public declaration of her assets and debts prior to the day she assumed the role of premier.

The findings were presented by the opposition party's deputy leader, Khun Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn, in parliament as "I accuse". He maintained the scheme was a case of "tax avoidance" and occasionally referred to it as "tax evasion" during the censure debate.

Mr Wiroj also stressed that any scheme to deceptively dodge taxes is a crime. The judgement would be based on substance or in form. Unfortunately for some, the public tends to prefer the former, especially when the standard of governance of our political leader is involved.

After watching Mr Wiroj's presentation, which lasted 40 minutes, I was taken aback by Ms Paetongtarn's statement that, despite her young age, she pays more tax than many other people. However this is to be expected as she is not only the premier but also the daughter of a multi-billionaire. In contrast, list-MP Wiroj is the son of a Thai-Chinese family that sells used goods. He struggled to gain a doctorate degree while also juggling his responsibilities as an MP and deputy leader of the PP. Chinese people are traditionally taught to be humble. In using wealth to beat logic, this feels like a punch below the belt rather than commendable sporting behaviour.

Lacking sparkle

Re: "Meghan Markle in 'With Love, Meghan'", (Life, March 17).

After watching two minutes of the Meghan Markle cooking show, just before switching to something more meaningful like the shopping channel, I learnt a number of things.

The first being that I have dud friends as they haven't prepared individualised bath salts for me when I visit. Also, bees are safe if you wear an astronaut suit and have a worker to collect the honey. And watching water being poured into a coffee plunger for too long is soul destroying. I must, however, give her some credit as she was able to prepare pasta without splashing any on her white top, a skill that I am still developing. The background music was also nice.

Band-aids only

Re: "Economy reeling", (PostBag, March 26).

It gets even worse than Paul's assessment about Thailand's economy at the grassroots level already being in the doldrums. A good observer would have noticed that many small and medium enterprises (SME's) have been shuttered.

Worst of all is that many houses, with or without signs, are for sale and/or for rent, because people are in desperation, presumably due to household debts. Thailand's corporate, national and household debt ratio to GDP in 2024 stood at 130%, 63% and 90%, respectively. Instead of overhauling the economy, the government keeps sticking to short-term Bandaids, like throwing helicopter money at people, (partially) bailing out debtors and enticing ever more tourists to come and spoil the environment.