- Photo: The Nation/ANN
BANGKOK: Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has expressed confidence that she will be able to clear herself if the opposition files a complaint with the Revenue Department seeking a probe into alleged tax avoidance.
She stated that the opposition was free to take legal action against her, as part of the normal justice process, because she had never violated tax laws.
Opposition accuses Paetongtarn of tax evasion
Upon arriving at Parliament at 10.25am for the second day of the censure debate, Paetongtarn was questioned by reporters regarding allegations made by the People’s Party.
The opposition accused her of evading a gift tax of over 218 million baht by allegedly forging share purchase agreements despite having received the shares for free from five family members.
Additionally, they alleged that Paetongtarn had assisted her mother and sister in avoiding an 18-million-baht gift tax on shares they had received from her.
Paetongtarn welcomes investigation
When asked about the opposition’s threat to call for a tax investigation and an ethics probe against her, Paetongtarn responded:
“They can proceed according to the legal process so that the truth will be revealed. I have complied with all the regulations. They are welcome to investigate anything because I knew, before entering politics, that I would be subjected to scrutiny.”
Shinawatra family’s financial transparency
Paetongtarn emphasised that since the military coup that ousted her father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, in 2006, all financial accounts of the Shinawatra family had been managed with full transparency.
“There have been no false statements in any accounts—big or small. We have also strictly followed the rules when declaring our assets,” she stated.
Thaksin’s health allegations addressed
Regarding opposition claims that Thaksin faked his illness to avoid imprisonment, Paetongtarn clarified that Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong would address these accusations.
She explained that since Thaksin returned from self-imposed exile in August 2023 and was released on parole in February 2024, she had not yet taken office as Prime Minister.
Therefore, she argued, it was not her responsibility to answer the opposition’s questions on the matter.
Censure debate responses
Paetongtarn expressed confidence that she had provided clear answers to the opposition’s questions during the first day of the censure debate, even if her responses had been brief and to the point.
On allegations that her family had acquired land near Khao Yai in watershed forest areas—where commercial land deeds cannot be issued—to build a hotel, Paetongtarn pointed out that Social Development and Human Security Minister Varawut Silpa-archa had already addressed the issue.
She stated that there was no need for her to waste valuable debate time responding to these claims again. - The Nation/ANN
