Bangkok: The Constitutional Court has unanimously dismissed a petition filed by Ms. Ratcha Vilaisakulyos against Mr. Lawan Saengsanit, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance. The request sought to challenge the tax collection policy established under his authority.
According to Thai News Agency, Ms. Vilaisakulyos argued that the policies and projects devised by Mr. Saengsanit, which included tax deductions based on progressive tax rates, were not aligned with the principles of personal income tax collection. She claimed that these measures, particularly the Revenue Department's method of calculating personal income tax under the Ministerial Regulation on Tax Exemption, unfairly benefited high-income earners over lower-income taxpayers like herself. Ms. Vilaisakulyos asserted that this approach violated her rights and freedoms, contravening Sections 3, 26, 27, and 62 of the Constitution.
The Court examined the petition and related documents, noting that the petitioner had previously filed a lawsuit with the Administrative Court. The Supreme Administrative Court had upheld the Central Administrative Court's decision to reject the petition, citing a final judgment or order had already been issued on the matter. As per the Organic Act on Constitutional Court Procedure 2018, Section 47 (4), and Section 46, paragraph three, the Constitutional Court is mandated not to accept petitions in such cases. Consequently, Ms. Vilaisakulyos's petition was deemed inadmissible under Section 213 of the Constitution.