Raising VAT to support the elderly not yet a policy

Pornchai Thiravej, director of the Office of Fiscal Economy, said the National Economic and Social Development Council had suggested that the government could increase funds necessary to support the elderly by raising the VAT from 7% to 10%.

The additional 3 percentage points could be saved and used to support retired people, the council said. However, the Finance Ministry has not drafted a policy to raise the VAT, Pornchai said.

The council has said that Thailand has about 13.5 million elderly people, about 20% of the total population, and that in one decade their number will rise to more than 18 million, or about 28% of the total population. By 2040, the number of elderly people is forecast to rise to 20.51 million, or about 31.37% of the total population.

Almost one-third of Thais will be elderly by 2040.

A significant number of elderly Thais lack sufficient funds to pay for…