Thailand to launch AI to scrutinise taxes

Bangkok – Thai Director General of the Revenue Department Lavaron Sangsnit hass aid the department is using artificial intelligence (AI) to examine tax payments, enabling deeper scrutiny and preventing tax evasion.

Lavaron said as social media plays a key role in personal communications and trade, AI can check what social media users post on the network about their trading activities.

A department source who requested anonymity said the department randomly checks information on social media such as Facebook where users display evidence of money transfers, or live-streams of merchants that promote products.

The goal is to analyse whether they are paying tax on their income, said the source.

The department also gathers information from websites, such as e-commerce sites, and analyses the data to ascertain tax payments.

It analyses taxpayers' revenue based on information sent to it by financial institutions, according the relevant laws.

Financial institutions must provide the department with information on deposit accounts with more than 3,000 transactions per year, or deposit accounts with more than 400 transaction s per year and a total value of more than 2 million THB (57,000 USD).

Besides, the system includes an e-filing channel for tax forms, the My Tax Account platform for taxpayers to see their tax information, an e-withholding tax channel, as well as e-tax invoice and e-receipt channels.

Lavaron emphsised that the e-tax system shortens tax return processing from around one month to seven days.