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Economists warn that short-term handouts are creating a fiscal trap for Thailand, threatening a credit downgrade and a heavy tax burden for the middle class.<\/p>\n
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Leading economists have issued a stark warning over the proliferation of short-term populist campaign pledges, asserting that these policies are laying a “fiscal trap” that threatens Thailand\u2019s long-term economic sovereignty and its international credit standing.<\/p>\n
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Speaking at a seminar hosted by the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) entitled \u201cThey Hand Out, But We Pay: Time to End Populism,\u201d Dr Athiphat Muthitacharoen of Chulalongkorn University\u2019s Faculty of Economics warned that the nation is entering a “deeply concerning” fiscal phase.<\/p>\n
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He argued that the middle class\u2014specifically salaried earners whose income is easily monitored by the Revenue Department\u2014will be forced to shoulder the resulting debt through inevitable tax increases.<\/p>\n
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The \u2018Short-Termism\u2019 Trap<\/p>\n
Dr Athiphat criticised the “political formula” of deploying immediate stimulus measures, such as the Digital Wallet, the \u2018First Car\u2019 scheme, and the \u2018Half-and-Half\u2019 co-payment programme.<\/p>\n
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While these schemes provide a transient boost to consumption, they fail to address structural economic weaknesses.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThai politicians have become experts in short-termism,\u201d Dr Athiphat said. \u201cThese handouts do not build new skills for the workforce, nor do they encourage small businesses to enter the formal tax system sustainably. In reality, we are simply cannibalising future budgets. The money distributed today is a liability for tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
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