According to Reuters, Thailand is studying taxing online gold price trading activities and considering measures to limit gold trading volumes, in the context of a strong price increase of the baht, a senior official said.
Since the beginning of the year, the baht has increased by about 10% against the USD, becoming the strongest currency to increase in price in Asia. The baht is now at its highest level against the USD in more than four years.
Mr. Lavaron Sangsnit - a senior official of the Ministry of Finance - said that the Tax Department will study the possibility of applying a special business tax on gold trading activities conducted through online platforms.
The agency will also consider measures to limit gold trading volumes, Mr. Lavaron said at a press conference with the media.
The ruling bank of Thailand, Vitai Ratanakorn, said the baht against the US dollar is being dominated by very large gold price trading volumes, and this increase is not in line with the fundamental factors of the economy. He made the above assessment at the same press conference.
According to Mr. Vitai, the central bank will strictly manage online gold trading activities, and the authorities will control unusually large-scale gold transactions conducted in baht.
Mr. Vitai added that the maximum trading volume limit will be set for large gold traders.
Previously, the Central Bank of Thailand said it had implemented measures to curb the baht's rapid increase, including requiring tightening supervision of foreign exchange transactions related to gold transactions and directing commercial banks to closely monitor foreign currency flows.
Previously, Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas commented that the baht is too strong and is at a disadvantage for the Thai economy.
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