Showing 1 - 10 of 64
VAT hikes alone won't narrow deficit
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 27/11/2025
» This article is not meant to attack Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas’s Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) for the fiscal years from 2026 to 2030. It is meant to emphasise the fragility of a Thai fiscal position that requires multiple revenue enhancement measures.
Grasping the VAT nettle
Oped, Editorial, Published on 24/11/2025
» The proposal to raise value-added tax from 7% to 8.5% in 2028, and to 10% in 2030, by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas is a display of political courage rarely seen in a political landscape where politicians are quick to spend money in the name of "economic stimulus" but stay mum when asked how to finance the schemes.
Asean's moment of truth is now
Oped, Mari Elka Pangestu & Tan Sri Rebecca Fatimah Sta Maria, Published on 05/11/2025
» For decades, integration into the global trading system has been vital to economic growth and development. Now, however, integration implies vulnerability, as powerful actors -- beginning with the US -- wield tariffs, export restrictions, and financial sanctions. For Southeast Asia, this turn of events represents both a warning and a call to action: countries must work together to shape their own destiny or others will decide their fate for them.
Time to focus on climate funding
Oped, Rakesh Mohan & Janak Raj, Published on 04/11/2025
» Discussions about climate finance often focus on the most vulnerable countries, such as small island developing states -- and for good reason. But the nine major emerging-market economies (EMEs) -- Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, and Turkey -- also have significant climate-finance needs, which must be met if the world is to have any chance of achieving its climate goals. Nowhere are those needs larger than in China.
What to learn from enforced errors of the past
Oped, Jacques Attali, Published on 28/10/2025
» Every generation believes it is living in an unprecedented era with unique challenges. But time and again, the same patterns and motivations have weakened and even destroyed civilisations, or strengthened them and enabled them to flourish. To learn from the past requires recognising its symmetries and resonances.
A paradigm shift for animal tests
Oped, Peter Singer & Sankalpa Ghose, Published on 17/10/2025
» Even in an era of intense political polarisation, there are still moments when a bipartisan consensus can emerge around important ethical issues. One such moment is happening now. Last April, the United States Food and Drug Administration released its "Roadmap to Reducing Animal Testing in Preclinical Safety Studies". The FDA said that it was taking "a groundbreaking step" that would advance public health and limit wasteful expenditure by replacing animal testing with "more effective, human-relevant methods".
Misguided policy
Oped, Postbag, Published on 22/09/2025
» Re: "B10,000 fine for drinking in pubs after hours", (Online, Sept 17)" & "Alcohol plans baffle industry", (Editorial, Sept 21).
Dharma not drama
Oped, Postbag, Published on 21/08/2025
» Re: "MPs face flak for Buddhism comments", (BP, Aug 19).
Can the 30-baht health scheme survive?
Oped, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 19/06/2025
» I recently met Dr Jadej Thammatacharee, secretary-general of the National Health Security Office (NHSO), at the home of a mutual friend to ask questions, of which I had many, about the so-called 30-baht scheme -- also known as the "gold card" scheme.
Thaksin could still escape jail time
Oped, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 16/06/2025
» What does it mean for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra now that Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin's last-ditch attempt to shield his master from the prospect of being sent back to jail to serve his one-year jail term was crushed by the Medical Council of Thailand at a crucial meeting last Thursday?