professor kriengsak chareonwongsak greater expenses

When the state has greater expenses than income due to increased payments on its national debt, it is left with little option but to raise taxes. However, since most farmers are poor and are therefore exempt from income taxes, the tax burden would fall on parties aside from the poor farmers of the agriculture sector.
The long-term effects of a debt moratorium would also be negative. Public dissatisfaction would rise as people realized that even non-farming Thais, with tight economic constraints, would be have to support the farmers generously as well. In the long term, rootless business people may move their investments and wealth to other countries with lower taxes than Thailand. At the same time, foreign investors may not be willing to establish much of their business ventures in a nation where higher taxes are possible. Investors may fear the government would impose a debt moratorium in other sectors as well and no matter how widespread the effects would be, the overall effect would be costly for Thailand.

Farm debt moratorium more trouble than it’s worth
 Professor Dr. Kriengsak Chareonwongsak
Executive Director, Institute of Future Studies for Development
kriengsak@kriengsak.com, http://www.ifd.or.th