Major parties battle TDRI claims of fiscal risks
The Democrat, Pheu Thai and Klatham parties have moved to defend their campaign spending plans after the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) warned their pledges could place an unsustainable burden on the country’s finances.
The TDRI said the policies reported to the Election Commission (EC) by five major parties contesting this Sunday’s general election, also including the People’s Party (PP) and Bhumjaithai (BJT), could cost the state up to 740 billion baht per year if fully implemented, raising concerns over fiscal discipline and long-term economic stability.
Responding to the findings, Democrat Party leader and prime ministerial candidate Abhisit Vejjajiva said comparisons between parties must consider differences in methodology, noting the Democrats reported the full four-year cost of their policies, making their figures appear higher.
The former prime minister cited the example of elderly welfare allowances, saying the party was required to report the entire programme cost, including the 600–800 baht per month already being paid, even though its proposal would raise the benefit to 1,000 baht. As a result, he said, the submitted figure included existing expenditure, meaning the actual increase was much smaller than widely perceived.
Pheu Thai deputy secretary-general Chanin Rungtanakiat said his party’s policies remained within fiscal rules. He pointed to the “millionaire maker” scheme, aimed at supporting nine entrepreneurs a day, as an example of where it has been misunderstood.
With an annual budget of just over 3 billion baht, the project was not a handout, he said, but an effort to bring informal economic activity into the formal system, broadening the tax base. Even a 1% increase in value-added tax collection could generate an additional 8 billion to 9 billion baht a year.
Klatham also defended its stance. “Mega projects require large budgets to execute, and many public projects can happen when funds are raised between government and the private sector,” the party’s strategic chairman Anudith Nakornthap said.
Source – Bangkok News
