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Anusorn Warns of Welfare Exclusion Errors and Fiscal Risks

Anusorn Warns of Welfare Exclusion Errors and Fiscal Risks

Matichon•Economy•40m ago

Reader Briefing

Associate Professor Dr. Anusorn Thamjai proposes a Negative Income Tax and data integration to resolve welfare exclusion errors and fiscal sustainability issues.

  • •Anusorn Thamjai identified an exclusion error where real poor people are missing out on state welfare due to rigid screening and lack of integrated data.
  • •The budget for the state welfare card in 2027 is 42,000 million baht, a decrease of 14,400 million baht from the 56,400 million baht allocated in 2026.
  • •Anusorn Thamjai suggested implementing a Negative Income Tax and reforming state revenue to ensure long-term financial sustainability.
  • •The Care formula for pensions will benefit 570,000 people immediately by calculating averages from total contribution periods rather than the last 60 months.

Overview

  • •Anusorn Thamjai stated on July 19, 2026 that poverty verification processes are problematic due to a lack of data integration and decentralization.
  • •Anusorn Thamjai noted that out of 18.82 million applicants for the state welfare card, only 9.51 million passed the criteria.
  • •Anusorn Thamjai warned that public debt has exceeded the ceiling if semi-fiscal measures under Section 28 of the State Financial and Fiscal Discipline Act are included.
  • •Anusorn Thamjai argued that the reduction in the 2027 state welfare card budget to 42,000 million baht reflects the government's intent to reduce spending and address inclusion errors.
  • •Anusorn Thamjai proposed four strategies to resolve poverty, including creating economic democracy and reforming state revenue and taxes.
  • •Anusorn Thamjai reported that the income gap between the poor and the rich in Thai society is approximately 1,500% or 15 times.
  • •Anusorn Thamjai stated that the adoption of the Care formula will make pension payments fairer by reflecting lifetime income.
  • •Anusorn Thamjai predicted that by 2033, as Thailand becomes a Super-Aged Society, elderly welfare spending will exceed 1 trillion baht.

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Source: Matichon (Original)

Key Entities

Person

Anusorn Thamjai(อนุสรณ์ ธรรมใจ)
MP for Bangkok from the People's Party and Vice Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Fiscal, Financial Institutions and Financial Markets.

Organization

People's Party(พรรคประชาชน)
The political party to which Anusorn Thamjai belongs.
House of Representatives(สภาผู้แทนราษฎร)ℹ️
The legislative body where Anusorn Thamjai serves as a member and committee vice chairman.
Social Security Office(สำนักงานประกันสังคม)
The agency responsible for the social security fund and pension formulas.
Ministry of Labour(กระทรวงแรงงาน)ℹ️
The ministry overseeing the Social Security Office.

Policy

State Welfare Card(บัตรสวัสดิการแห่งรัฐ)
A government welfare program facing issues with exclusion and inclusion errors.
Negative Income Tax(ระบบภาษีเชิงลบ)ℹ️
A proposed tax system to provide financial assistance to those with income below a minimum threshold.
Care Formula(สูตร Care)
A pension calculation formula that averages contributions over the working period to ensure fairness.

Law

State Financial and Fiscal Discipline Act(พรบ วินัยการเงินการคลัง)
The law whose Section 28 relates to semi-fiscal measures and public debt calculations.
ILO Convention 87/98(อนุสัญญา ILO 87/98)
International conventions regarding the right to organize and collective bargaining.
ILO Convention 102(อนุสัญญา ILO 102)
An international convention aimed at reducing inequality in access to social security.