Tax campaign for children
Bangkok Post – 29 June 2009
WICHIT CHANTANUSORNSIRI
For many adults, filing out an annual tax return is something to be endured, akin to a visit to a dentist or standing in a queue for baggage at the airport _ necessary, boring and potentially painful.
But the Revenue Department, hardly the most beloved of government agencies, is seeking to change public attitudes about tax duty and civic responsibilities through an educational programme aimed at children.
''Children represent the country's future taxpayers,'' said Satit Rungkasiri, a policy adviser to the department.
The department's ''tax camps'' are targeted at elementary students nationwide, and involve officials making field trips to schools to give presentations on tax principles.
The goal is to win ''hearts and minds'' and, officials hope, encourage the development of a positive attitude about each citizen's responsibility to the state.
The new programme, to begin at the St. Francis Xavier Convent School, the Sainampung School and the Rama IX Kanchanapisek School, will eventually expand across the country. Students will also be encouraged to join a ''RD Youth Club'' online.
The Revenue Department initiated its outreach programme over four years ago, focusing first on adults and university students before moving to secondary schools.
The department, responsible for collecting value-added, personal income and corporate tax, is the major revenue source for the government. For the first eight months of the fiscal year to May, it reported tax revenues of 1.1 trillion baht, or 10% below its target.
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