Bannapot pays 543 mln baht tax surety

Bannapot pays 543 mln baht tax surety.

(BangkokPost.com)

Bannapot Damapong, brother in law of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has paid the Revenue Department 543 million baht in revenue tax for the 738 million baht worth of Shin Corp shares he received from Thaksin's wife, Khunying Potjaman, more than nine years ago.

Viroj Laohaphan, head of the panel probing the Shin Corp shares controversy, said today that he was notified by the Revenue Department of the tax payment by Mr Bannapot. He said that Mr Bannapot had appealed against the tax payment ruling, and placed 543 million baht as a surety for the appeal.

Mr Bannapot received the Shin Corp shares on Nov 7, 1997 as a wedding gift from Khunying Potjaman, allegedly to avoid taxation.

The Revenue Department then ruled the gift was not taxable.

But Mr Viroj's panel recently ruled that the gift was meant to avoid taxation and that it was taxable under the Revenue Code.

The former revenue department director-general and four other officials who were responsible for the ruling in favour of Mr Bannapot were recently penalised for failing to perform their duties properly.

BREAKING NEWS
Bangkok Post
Monday January 15, 2007