BANGKOK — A new land and building tax bill passed Friday by the junta-appointed National Legislative Assembly that will come to effect January 2020.
The new tax covers agricultural, residential, commercial and undeveloped property. It was passed 169-0 with two abstentions.
Farmland will be taxed on a graduated scale based on its value. Those owning farmland worth up to 50 million baht will be taxed annually at 0.02 percent of the land’s estimated value.
Those with holdings valued at 75 million to 100 million baht will pay 0.03 percent, while those with land worth 100 million to 500 million baht will be taxed at 0.05 percent.
Hardest hit are owners of undeveloped tracts, who will be taxed at 0.3 percent of the value per annum. That rate will tick up an additional 0.3 percent every three years the land remains used until it caps at 3 percent.
Residential land and houses worth up to 50 million baht will pay a 0.02 percent annual tax on the property’s value, an equivalent of 200 baht per every 1 million baht. Homes and land worth 50 million to 75 million baht will be taxed 0.03 percent. If worth 75 to 100 million baht, the annual rate will be 0.05 percent. If more than 100 million baht, the annual tax rate increases to 0.1 percent.
Primary residences worth no more than 50 million baht will be exempt. If owners own only a building, tax will be exempt if the estimated price is not over 10 million baht.
Owners of commercial property valued under 50 million baht will be taxed at the rate of 0.3 percent. If it’s valued between 50 million to 200 million baht, it will be subjected to a 0.4 percent tax, or 4,000 baht per 1 million baht in value. Commercial property worth between 200 million and 1 billion baht will be taxed by 0.5 percent. Those between 1 billion to 5 billion baht will be taxed at 0.6 percent, while those over 5 billion will be subject to 0.7 percent tax.
In the first three years after the law comes into effect, ordinary land and building owners as well as agricultural land owners will remain exempt.
