Finance minister seeks extended property stimulus measure; Silom ‘walking street’

BANGKOK, May 25 (TNA) – Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij on Monday revealed he would ask the Cabinet to consider plans extending the property stimulus measure for another month and to close Silom Road, the capital’s main business area, and make it a walking street this weekend as part of an effort to relieve the hardship riot-affected entrepreneurs are facing

He said he would propose to the Cabinet on Tuesday extending the property stimulus package from the end of May to the end of June.

Due to the recent political protest, buyers and sellers wanting to transfer house ownership by the end of this month were unable to do so as they feared it was unsafe to travel to do the business.

At the same time, some commercial banks closed their branches and failed to consider loan approvals in time.

Mr Korn said the extended measure still had the same incentives such as a reduction of the ownership transfer fee from 2 per cent to 0.01 per cent of the official assessment price and the registration fee for property mortgage from 1 per cent to 0.01 per cent.

In addition, he would come up with additional measures to rehabilitate the people affected by the political rally.

For instance, the riot-affected entrepreneurs, who continued hiring employees, are able to bring the employment cost for deduction from tax payments so that they are encouraged to continue employing their staff.

To ease the hardship entrepreneurs are facing from the political violence, he said, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva assigned the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, the Commerce Ministry, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, and the National Police Bureau to conduct a walking street on Silom Road this Saturday and Sunday so that small entrepreneurs registering for help from the government place their goods for distribution. (TNA)