The government is planning to roll out a number of measures as "New Year gifts" at the end of the year, including an extension of the "Khon La Khrueng" co-payment scheme and the "Shop Dee Mee Khuen" tax rebate scheme.
Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha assigned all ministries at the cabinet meeting yesterday to propose new measures as "gifts" to the public for cabinet consideration by the middle of next month.
The new measures aim to encourage consumer spending to maintain the momentum of the economic recovery, said Mr Anucha.
He said in addition to stimulating spending, the proposals should reduce the cost of living for people and facilitate travel during the festive season.
"However, the premier insists the new measures should not affect the country's financial and fiscal discipline, complying with all relevant laws," said Mr Anucha.
Deputy Prime Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow said the new measures are highly likely to include retreads of the Khon La Khrueng co-payment scheme, the Shop Dee Mee Khuen tax rebate scheme and the "We Travel Together" tourism stimulus campaign.
"The new measures must be considered by the Finance Ministry to see which are appropriate for the country's economic recovery," he said.
Mr Supattanapong said a portion of the supporting budget for the new measures could stem from the fiscal 2023 budget and the leftover budget from the emergency loan decrees allocated to the first phase of Khon La Khrueng and other aid schemes.
The government issued its first emergency loan decree in 2020 to authorise the borrowing of 1 trillion baht to fund its stimulus schemes to combat the pandemic. A second decree was issued last year to allow the government to borrow an additional 500 billion baht.
In a related development, the cabinet approved the allocation of 303 million baht from the central budget for fiscal 2023 to extend aid for cooking gas buyers through the welfare card scheme, with discounts up from 45 to 100 baht per 15-kilogramme standard cylinder per month for those with a state welfare card until December.
