Ease of Paying Taxes in ASEAN and a Comparative Study of Taxation Policy on Electronic Payments in Thailand vis-à-vis Singapore

Abstract

The objective of this article is to study the Public Finance Policy and Management mechanisms of government revenues in the area of taxation of taxpayers in ASEAN countries. It presents through the Ease of Paying Taxes indicator, which is one of the ten aspects of the World Bank's assessment of the Ease of Doing Business report. In comparison, 2017 was the first year of the ASEAN Information and Communication Technology Master Plan. At the same time, it is also in the period of formulating Thailand's national strategy compared to the current year (2020) to reflect the overall development of the region. It was found that the overall score of ASEAN has improved in all aspects. The only exception is the post-filing index score that needs to be improved. However, the CLMV countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam) are still relatively low compared to those in the Member States and the world. While in Thailand, although there is much improvement in this regard. Nevertheless, it still ranks farther away from Singapore. Both countries' electronic tax payment system policies are focused on the application of digital technology to facilitate, and the savings for the taxpayers are not much different, so it is a policy issue that needs to accelerate the confidence of citizens and businesses in the use of electronic service systems. Moreover, it provides a digital infrastructure that facilitates efficient electronic transactions, including public relations and creating incentives for the use of electronic tax payment systems under the context of Thailand.