Thailand’s Revenue Department To Clamp Down On Tax Evasion With Blockchain

By Kapil Gauhar

Thailand’s revenue department is planning to adopt new technologies like machine learning and blockchain to probe cases of tax evasion, according to the chief of the department.

The development was first reported by Bangkok Post. Director General of the department, Ekniti Nitithanprapas said that blockchain technology would be used for monitoring whether the tax had been paid, as well as to speed up the refund process.

As indicated by Nitithanprapas, the agency also has plans for leveraging machine learning to gain comprehension of how taxes were being evaded, and help revenue officials to track such cases and create transparency.

The official had mentioned earlier that the adoption of new technologies to digitize the tax collection process was high among his priorities.

Thailand has surfaced itself as one of the most blockchain as well as crypto friendly nations across the globe. The country has been quick for realizing the potential of the technology and the economic advantages that it can bring.

For attracting startups planning to raise funds via ICOs, Thailand earlier in July put ICO regulations in place. Also, the government has legalized seven cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Ripple, Litecoin, and Stellar.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the financial regulatory body of the nation, has been vigilant in making sure about the compliance to laws and keeping the Thai investors notified about the non-compliant firms as well as ICOs.

The government is not just eager to encourage investment in the nation, but also keen to embrace blockchain technology. The Bank of Thailand had earlier declared its aim of using distributed ledger technology to develop and issue their own CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency).

The project has been named – Inthanon – and it is anticipated that the first phase would be completed by the beginning of the next year.