from the epidemic situation of COVID-19 still in crisis This caused the government to raise protection measures in the most restricted areas. Thai Retailers Association has made a letter to Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha about proposing measures to heal and restore the economy To provide urgent assistance to SMEs in the retail and service sectors
At the moment, there are over 200,000 SMEs in the system that are about to shut down and 1,000,000 – 1,500,000 employees will have to lose their income and have no work. It also has a heavy impact on financial institutions. Because it will cause bad debts of hundreds of billions of baht. Mr. Yon Poksub, president of the Thai Retailers Association, said that this epidemic has severely damaged the Thai economy as a whole.
While vaccination and distribution of vaccines have not yet met It greatly affects the confidence of the people and the business sector. Therefore, it is imperative that the government urgently heal the affected groups and restore the economy. The association proposes 4 measures as follows
public health measures
Accelerate the procurement and distribution of vaccines By using the area of vaccination points prepared by the retail and service sectors a total of 93 points, divided into 25 in Bangkok and 68 in other provinces throughout the country for maximum benefit and efficiency. Ready to add Rapid Antigen Test service to the public Allocating vaccines to personnel in the retail and service sectors especially the distribution centers of the retail and service groups. To support the needs of the people and prevent shortages of products.
Measures to heal SME entrepreneurs and the people
Accelerate financial institutions to approve Soft Loan for SMEs faster because in the past 30 days, only 10% of SMEs have been approved for loans of more than 30 thousand loan applications for SMEs who are debtors with financial institutions in current Ask for a suspension of debt and Stop charging interest for at least 6 months.
Reduce costs, reduce water and electricity bills by 50% for a period of 6 months.
In the event that the operator has additional employment Apply for a temporary waiver to hourly employment. to alleviate the burden of entrepreneurs and reduce the unemployment rate In order to add more money to circulate in the system Request to increase the minimum assessable income for natural persons to be taxed from 150,001 baht to 250,001 baht.
In 2021-2022, restaurants in shopping centers are allowed to provide delivery services in order to help SMEs to support their business. And the employees still have work to do.
economic recovery measures
Bring back the “Shop Dee Mee Back” project again. by increasing the limit to 100,000 baht to stimulate people with high purchasing power Ask the Thai private sector to receive tax benefits from the government and BOI as well as foreign investors receive Because the private sector with large businesses is still strong. can invest more but may lack confidence and motivation along with helping to create continuous employment
Measures to support the new economy (New Economy)
Set clear policies and laws to regulate certain businesses. Foreign investors are strictly prohibited and some businesses can do it. but with conditions To protect the career and business of Thai people without destroying the industry and the Thai economy in the end Promote fair competition Collect import duties and VAT on e-commerce businesses. from the first baht and do not sell below cost price
push to do Digitalization of government agencies for various licenses to be E-Form, E-License, E-TAX and E-Invoice and reduce the process of issuing licenses to only 1 license (Super License) from the original merchant Retailers or wholesalers have to apply for more than 43 different licenses. Adjust the service model of government agencies that provide services to the people to be Cashless Payment (electronic financial transactions) to help reduce paper, reduce paperwork, reduce procedures, reduce time and can check back documents from the system
“Thailand is facing a germ war that has severe economic damage. and affect the lives of the people like never before We are in a crisis over a crisis. that all sectors must work together seriously To overcome this challenge, the association is ready to cooperate fully with the government in pushing various measures. to turn the Thai economy back and drive the country forward again,” concluded Mr. Yon.
The post The Retailers Association asks the Prime Minister to extend the breath of more than 200,000 SMEs and help more than 1-1.5 million unemployed people with 4 measures. appeared first on Thumbsup.
