According to some critics, the government's 30-baht healthcare scheme could come under attack from the free-trade agreement between Thailand and the United States. There are concerns whether the agreement could affect the universal healthcare coverage when it comes into effect, as the US is pushing for the inclusion of intellectual property rights in the agreement. That could possibly restrict Thailand's application of compulsory licensing, which permits the production of cheap medicine by developing countries for poor people to gain access to essential drugs.

A request to amend the immigration laws has been made by the Marine Alliance of Thailand (MAT) to facilitate long stays by private yacht owners. Currently, boaters who want to spend time in Phuket are not able to get back to their yacht when their visa expires. They would have to fly back to their countries to get a new visa and fly back to Thailand. As the government is actively promoting Phuket as a luxury tourist destination, revising the visa regulations would aid the cause. However, the process may require some time as many agencies such as the immigration, customs and the port authorities are involved.

The cabinet has approved raising the personal income tax exemption by 25 per cent for the first 100,000 baht of taxable income. This measure will save every taxpayer up to 1,000 baht in annual taxes. Small businesses also benefited from the lower tax rate on the first million baht in net profits. More than 24,000 small companies with sales under 1.8 million baht per year will be waived from entry into the value-added tax system. The measure also saw deductions for taxpayers caring for elderly parents doubled to 30,000 baht per parent per year. The small business tax change, retroactive to Jan 1, is applicable to 220,000 companies, each with under five million baht of paid-up capital. The first one million baht in net profit will be taxed at 15 per cent, with profits of one to three million taxed at 25 per cent and profits over three million at the standard rate of 30 per cent. The Revenue Department had disclosed that these measures would result in 8.2 billion baht of state revenue loss for fiscal 2005. This is almost equivalent to one per cent of projected personal, corporate and value-added tax collections for the year. Authorities, however, expect the measures to eventually give rise to other gains when more companies enter the tax system.

The government has announced that tax cuts on personal income and small businesses are in the pipeline, some of which may be implemented ahead of the general election due in February 2005. Sources from the Revenue Department has disclosed that the first Bt100,000 of net income will not be taxable, thus exempting all six million taxpayers from the five per cent tax. Currently, net annual income up to Bt80,000 is exempted from tax, income between Bt80,001 and Bt100,000 is taxed at five per cent, between Bt100,001 and Bt500,000 at 10 per cent, between Bt500,001 and Bt1,000,000 at 20 per cent, between Bt1,000,001 and Bt4,000,000 at 30 per cent, and amount exceeding Bt4,000,000 at 37 per cent. There are also plans to grant tax reduction on profits for businesses with registered capital of below Bt5 million. The measure will levy a 10-per-cent tax on profits less than Bt1 million, down from 20 per cent based on the current law. Profits above Bt1 million and not exceeding Bt3 million will stay at the 25-per-cent tax rate, and the tax on profits more than Bt3 million will also remain. Sources from the Finance Department said that there are proposals to exclude small shops and other small businesses with an annual turnover of less than Bt1.8 million from the value-added tax system.

An elderly couple from the Ayutthaya province was compensated with Bt2.5 million for damages and loss of belongings sustained during a botched drug raid by the police. The police had been misinformed that the house was a hideout for methamphetamine-pill producers and fired bullets into the house, injuring the husband. The wife had threatened to sue the police for defamation.

Indian companies are setting up their manufacturing bases in Thailand even before the Thai-Indian free-trade agreement (FTA) has been signed. A spokesperson from the World Trade Organization division of the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry had pointed out that many Indian firms are eager to invest in Thailand. The signing of the FTA would provide better market access, an influx of foreign direct-investment as well as cost reductions resulting from lower-priced raw materials acquired from Thailand. Under the Early Harvest Scheme (EHS), tariff reductions on 82 items have been agreed upon between Thailand and India. These include canned seafood, jewellery, plastics, air-conditioners and parts, electronics, cars and automotive parts.

The Thai government has been urged by the National Human Rights Commission and Aids advocacy groups to hasten the patent law amendment, in order for people living with the Aids/HIV virus to gain better access to anti-retroviral treatments. The groups had mentioned that the government should amend the law so that it is compliant with the Aug 30, 2003 Doha Declaration on Trips (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) and Public Health. An amendment to article 51 of the Patent Act has been proposed by the same groups prior to the current call. If they succeed, importing generic drugs to help treatment of Aids, cancer and other maladies would be possible; the same would also apply to the exporting of locally-produced drugs to neighboring countries. It is reported that approximately one million Thais are HIV/Aids carriers and out of those classified as patients, only five per cent receive anti-retroviral drugs.

The Board of Investment (BoI) and the Confederation of Indian Industry agreed upon a plan to facilitate business opportunities in each other's countries through the new free trade area (FTA) agreement that was signed last year. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) is designed to provide trade and investment information to potential investors in both countries. BoI representatives suggest that Thai investors could capitalize on India's cheap labor, particularly involving automotive components, information technology, software, and food processing. Indian investors look to invest in chemicals, plastics, paper, and garment services. The BoI suggested that IT is a promising area of investment for both sides as each have different strengths in the sector. Currently investment between the two countries is relatively low, amounting to less than 1 billion US dollars in either direction. However, the FTA, which went into effect September 1, 2004 for certain products, is expected to increase investment between the two nations. The agreement will cut import duties from each country 50% in the first year, another 25% the following year, and eliminate them altogether by 2006.

Thai bio-diversity advocates are calling the cosmetic applications patent of the indigenous Thai herb, kwao kreu, by two Japanese companies an act of "biopiracy". They are claiming that the Japanese companies have violated the UN Convention on Bio-diversity and two Thai laws on bio-diversity protection and traditional medicine. The patent, registered in the US in 2002, encompasses about 20 procedures for kwao kreu extraction and production. The advocates are saying that the patent could seriously hinder local research on the herb found in the North of the country. At present, patents for kwao kreu products have been issued in the US, Japan and South Korea. Thai advocates are aware that some patents could have originated from Thai research but were registered by foreign companies.

Instructions have been issued by the Bank of Thailand, asking financial institutions to clarify their procedures for loan write-offs to avert potential fraud and malpractice. In a notification dated in November, the central bank has asked financial institutions to allow bank examiners to have access to the criteria set for loan write-offs. The write-offs would also have to be approved by bank directors, senior executives, shareholders and related parties. Financial institutions would be required to write off the entire amount of the outstanding loans. In cases where the borrowers are unable to service the debt following the judicial process and no personal guarantee or collateral was pledged against the debt, the central bank would allow a partial write-off.