A Spark of Hope for Financial Help Might be Rao Chana

It’s a good move for the Ministry of Finance as it plans to reconsider the eligibility conditions for obtaining financial assistance under the Rao Chana (We Win) system which stipulates that a taxable income of no more than 300,000 baht per year should be available to recipients.

The We Win program that was approved in January, aims to provide 31 million people with 210 billion baht of financial handouts to relieve difficulties caused by the recent outbreak.  On it’s first day the ministry started to pass money to 13.8 million cardholders of state welfare with a total disbursement volume of 9.4 billion baht.

Along with this, a taxable income of no more than 300,000 baht a year, or a monthly income not exceeding 25,000 baht, is the main requirement for those seeking the 7,000-baht financial remedy for two months, with 1,000 baht disbursed per week. For this reason, money does not exceed 500,000 baht in bank deposit accounts and starting on Feb 8, the ministry will enable these unemployed individuals to apply their annual income.

The 2019 tax filing data is used by the ministry as the key reference point since the tax database is not completely complete. The 2020 tax filing deadline was extended by the Revenue Department to June 30, 2021. They will have to file at a later stage for those who have been laid off this year and are not covered by Section 33 of the Social Security Act. The government is willing to assist any segment affected by the pandemic crisis, Mr. Arkhom reiterated, but they will need to register themselves.

Consequently, To reach 41 million people, the government intends to provide financial assistance. Of the number, 13.8 million are state welfare cardholders, 17 million through the Pao Tang app are beneficiaries, 9 million are those protected by Section 33 of the Social Security Act and the remaining 1.2 million are listed as other categories.

Morever, Starting next month, the 9 million individuals protected by Section 33 are supposed to receive a weekly payment of 1,000 baht, up to a limit of 3,500-4,500 baht and for the coming weeks this package is scheduled for cabinet approval that’s why people looking forward to it.