The Finance Ministry is to meet relevant state agencies to discuss investment promotion following Thailand's introduction of a top-up tax measure, said a ministry source who requested anonymity.
Thailand is among the countries that have adopted the global minimum tax rules developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). They require large multinational companies to pay a minimum effective corporate tax rate of 15%.
The adoption of the rules will force participating countries to reduce the use of tax exemptions as a tool for attracting investment, although tax credits and subsidies will still be possible.
Thailand has already enacted an executive decree on the top-up tax, which allows authorities to collect additional tax from multinationals whose effective tax rate falls below 15%, bringing their total tax burden up to the OECD minimum.
The source said the Board of Investment is considering how Thailand's investment promotion would proceed in alignment with the top-up tax measure.
The cabinet recently approved Thailand's participation in an international tax information exchange framework to support adoption of the OECD-led global minimum tax on corporations.
The country's top-up tax measure took effect in 2025, but tax collection begins this year.
The source added that this type of tax is new. Many countries that adopt it have yet to understand what its impacts will be once implemented.
The Revenue Department believes the global minimum tax could generate around 10 billion baht in additional annual revenue for Thailand.
The OECD has set criteria to collect taxes from businesses in the digital era through a reform of tax collection, divided into two principles, or the two-pillar solution, to address the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy. The global minimum tax rules fall under Pillar 2.
Pillar 1 requires international companies with total revenues exceeding €20 billion to allocate at least 25% of their profits in excess of 10% to countries where their customers or users are located.
The source said that whether Thailand will adopt this Pillar 1 measure will depend on a clearer stance from the OECD and US positions.
The source said the US, which has many high-revenue multinational companies, has yet to agree to this measure.
