Pheu Thai split over explanation of digital handout scheme owed to EC
Pheu Thai is split over its submission to the Election Commission (EC) explaining its policy for 10,000-baht digital handouts, a source familiar with the matter has revealed.
The party’s economic and legal teams were at loggerheads over details of the digital handout to be submitted to the EC by Monday (April 17), as per election law, the source said.
Pheu Thai has pledged to give 10,000 baht via a digital wallet system to all Thais aged 16 and over if it returns to power after the May 14 election.
The money would have to be spent at businesses within four kilometres of the recipient’s registered address, according to Srettha Thavisin, one of Pheu Thai’s three prime ministerial candidates.
The party, which expects a landslide win next month, has so far given only vague details of how it would fund the scheme – by increasing tax collected and cutting unspecified social-welfare benefits.
The source said that Pheu Thai’s legal team advised the party to unveil all budget details for the scheme to the EC, or it would risk breaking election laws that could lead to party dissolution.
Meanwhile, the economic committee proposed a budget cut for all ministries to fund the scheme, which is expected to cost 500 billion baht.
According to the source, some party executives complained that most ministries would not agree to this as their budgets had already been cut substantially during Covid-19 pandemic.
Furthermore, budget cuts would yield only around 100 billion baht.
Pheu Thai wants to add 200 billion baht left over from the fiscal 2024 budget to fund the scheme, plus 50 billion baht from increased tax revenue. However, this only adds up to 350 billion baht, which is still not enough to fund the digital wallet policy.
The economic team advised the party to include a loan plan to fill the budget gap in its submission to the EC.
However, the legal team objected to that move, warning a loan would constitute a future obligation and could violate election laws.
The source added that Pheu Thai strategists were also discussing whether or not they would scrap the current state welfare card scheme if the digital handout was implemented, as running two subsidy schemes with tens of millions of recipients would create a significant burden on the country’s finances.
