The Ministry of Finance has revealed the expenditure figures for the cost of living reduction measures and economic recovery from the impact of COVID-19 in 2021 from 4 projects with a total of 41.5 million beneficiaries across all 4 projects, accumulating total expenditures of 254,281.7 million baht. They are looking to improve the system for the co-payment project to support the launch of Phase 4 of the co-payment project in March 2022.

 

           Mr. Pornchai Thirawet, Director of the Fiscal Policy Office as the spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance disclosed preliminary figures on the expenditure for the cost of living reduction measures and economic recovery from the impact of COVID-19 in 2021, which concluded all 4 projects on December 31, 2021. These include the project to increase purchasing power for holders of the state welfare card, Phase 3, the project to increase purchasing power for those needing special assistance, the co-payment project, Phase 3, and the 'Spend More, Get More' project. A total of 41.5 million beneficiaries participated across all 4 projects, with total expenditures amounting to 254,281.7 million baht.

In summary, the expenditure results are as follows:

1.  The project to increase purchasing power for holders of the state welfare card, Phase 3 had approximately 13.55 million beneficiaries, with total accumulated expenditures of 24,010 million baht.

2.  The project to increase purchasing power for those needing special assistance had approximately 1.51 million beneficiaries, with total accumulated expenditures of 2,183.3 million baht.

3.  The co-payment project, Phase 3 had a total of 26.35 million beneficiaries from 27.98 million eligible individuals, with over 10.87 million beneficiaries having utilized the full 4,500 baht. The total accumulated expenditures amounted to 223,921.8 million baht.

Of this, the amount paid by citizens totaled 113,936 million baht, while the government contributed 109,985.8 million baht.

Accumulated expenditures by type of store include: restaurants and beverages 88,712.9 million baht, Blue Flag stores 36,037 million baht, OTOP stores 10,843.2 million baht, general stores 84,160.7 million baht, service shops 3,900.1 million baht, and public transport businesses 267.9 million baht.

4.  The 'Spend More, Get More' project had 91,952 citizens participating from over 490,000 eligible individuals, with total accumulated expenditures from citizens amounting to 3,827.4 million baht. The total value of accumulated expenditures used to calculate e-Voucher rights was 3,064 million baht, resulting in a total accumulated e-Voucher value of over 353.8 million baht, with accumulated expenditures from e-Vouchers totaling 339.2 million baht. The total accumulated expenditures from citizens and e-Vouchers by type of store include: restaurants and beverages 197.6 million baht, Blue Flag stores 214.4 million baht, OTOP stores 441 million baht, general stores 3,167.6 million baht, and service shops 146 million baht.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Finance will use the results from the implementation of the cost of living reduction measures and economic recovery from the impact of COVID-19 in 2021 to consider improvements for designing projects suitable for future economic conditions. At the same time, the system for the co-payment project will be improved to support the launch of Phase 4 of the co-payment project in March 2022.

Additionally, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance mentioned the 'Shop Smart, Get Tax Back' measure for 2022, which starts today, January 1, 2022, until February 15, 2022. Individual income taxpayers can deduct expenses from purchasing goods and services registered for value-added tax, e-Books, and OTOP products under specified conditions, up to a maximum of 30,000 baht, from their personal income tax for the 2022 tax year, which will be filed and paid in early 2023.