BANGKOK, Thailand – Just 30,000 top earners pay a quarter of all income tax while nearly six in ten filers pay nothing at all.
New government data shows that of 12.57 million tax returns filed for 2024, less than 41 percent were actually taxable. The top one percent of earners alone contributed 50.1 percent of all personal income tax revenue.
Top earners: 30,000 people pay a quarter
Only 30,000 people in Thailand earned a net income above five million baht. That tiny group – 0.2 percent of all filers – handed over 71.52 billion baht to the tax office.
That sum accounts for 25.7 percent of the entire income tax take of 278.18 billion baht. Together with those earning between two and five million baht, the richest one percent shoulder half of all revenue.
Nearly 60 percent pay no income tax
A staggering 7.43 million people who filed returns for 2024 had zero tax liability. That is 59.1 percent of all filers.
Their income fell within the legal allowance of zero to 150,000 baht. Only 5.14 million taxpayers were actually taxable.
Government data reveals extreme imbalance
The data, released by the Budget Committee, comes from tax returns P.N.D. 90 and P.N.D. 91. It shows a clear gap between the working-age population and actual taxpayers.
The structure of the tax base is a major concern.
said the Budget Committee.
The tax burden rests on a narrow set of shoulders – with corresponding risks for the state budget.
46.99 billion baht flows back in refunds
At the same time, tax refunds for overpaid amounts totalled 46.99 billion baht. That sum further reduces effective revenue.
For the state, this creates a double squeeze: a small group pays the lion’s share while high refunds eat into the treasury.
Government faces reform pressure
The data underscores the difficulty of broadening the tax base. The vast majority of incomes stay below the taxable threshold.
For the government, reforming the revenue structure becomes a central challenge to put the budget on a stable footing long-term.