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泰国经济持续下滑,国王巨额资产遭质疑

EAMON BARRETT
2020-11-04

一群示威者来到德国驻曼谷大使馆,请求德国政府调查泰王的纳税情况。

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今年10月14日,在曼谷市中心,泰国王室的车队穿过了在民主纪念碑周围聚集的层层抗议人群。一天后,严阵以待的泰国政府宣布进入紧急状态:在首都曼谷禁止大规模集会。聚集的抗议者提出的要求是让泰国总理下台,但当王室车队经过的时候,人群嘲讽的是:“我们缴的税!我们缴的税!”

泰国政府今年为王室划拨的预算超过10亿美元,尽管国王玛哈•瓦吉拉隆功是全世界最富有的统治者之一,他的资产价值接近400亿美元。以前这笔财富属于王室所有,并不归统治者个人,但瓦吉拉隆功在2018年掌管了内库。

泰国法律禁止批评王室,违者将被判处15年监禁。但瓦吉拉隆功的奢靡无度和对王室400亿美元资产的独占,使其备受批评。今年,泰国经济可能收缩7.8%,在这种情况下,抗议者史无前例地要求调查国王的纳税记录。

“德国人”

2019年,在父王逝世三年后,瓦吉拉隆功正式加冕成为新任泰王,他的王朝名称为拉玛十世。但让泰国人不满的是,国王还有另外一个绰号“德国人”,因为过去十年,瓦吉拉隆功一直居住在距离泰国约9,000英里的德国。

据德国媒体称,今年夏天泰国疫情最严重的时候,68岁的国王拉玛却带着大队随从和许多美女,包下了巴伐利亚阿尔卑斯山脉的一家高档酒店。这家酒店获得了特别许可招待国王和他的随从人员;德国其他酒店都因为疫情被迫停业。

在泰国,企业也被迫关闭,因为泰国政府执行了严格的封锁措施,对国民实行宵禁,禁止销售酒精饮料,并且限制公共集会。国王离开祖国去享受奢华生活的新闻,与臣民们遭受的苦难形成了鲜明对比,引起了人们的不满,尤其是越来越多的人认为瓦吉拉隆功奢侈的生活是纳税人在买单。

王室

2018年以前,泰国王室的财富一直由王室资产管理局(Crown Property Bureau,CPB)负责管理。王室资产管理局是一个半政府机构,管理该机构的委员会成员,大部分都由国王亲自任命。王室资产管理局的投资所得不需要缴税,并且用于供养整个皇室,而不是国王一个人。但2016年,瓦吉拉隆功接任父亲成为国王之后,开始加强他对王室内库的掌控。

2017年,国王任命他的私人秘书取代财政部长,担任王室资产管理局的委员会主席。同一年,政府通过了《王室资产法》(Crown Property Act)修正案,授权国王完全掌控王室资产管理局。2018年,王室资产管理局发布声明,确认其已经将所有资产“返还给”国王,使他可以“酌情”管理资金。

京都大学(Kyoto University)东南亚研究中心副教授帕温•查查瓦尔旁彭表示,国王与王室在财务上经常没有明确的界限。他表示,这种模糊允许以前的国王挪用王室资产,但不会受到惩罚,同时又维持了国王节俭的形象。但拉玛十世成为王室财富的唯一裁决者,却已经越线。

帕温表示:“显而易见,国王这样做的目的就是为了自己享乐。”他提到了国王在巴伐利亚阿尔卑斯山奢华的生活方式作为证据。 “现在人们更容易质疑国王的挥霍无度,因为他不能再说自己的消费是为了整个王室。”

纳税人

如今已经落到国王手里的王室资产管理局资产,价值预计达到400亿美元,但由于泰国的不敬罪法律,人们很难讨论王室的资产并提出批评。国王名下的资产包括超过16,000英亩土地,大部分都是一流房地产,还有与开发商签署的40,000多份租赁合同。

暹罗百丽宫(Siam Paragon)、暹罗发现中心(Siam Discovery)和暹罗中心(Siam Center)等曼谷知名的购物中心,都租赁了王室的土地。据媒体披露,国王名下仅在泰国首都持有的资产至少价值300亿美元。

国王还持有泰国一流贷款机构之一暹罗商业银行(Siam Commercial Bank)23%的股份,持有泰国规模最大的工业企业暹罗水泥集团(Siam Cement Group)33%的股份。国王在这两家公司的股份合计价值约90亿美元。

据《金融时报》报道,在9月的一次集会中,泰国抗议活动的核心领导人之一帕里特•奇瓦拉克呼吁泰国人抵制暹罗商业银行。奇瓦拉克称该银行是“封建制度的钱罐子”。他说:“你们在给德国人送钱。”这位学生领袖在今年的抗议运动中至少被捕了两次。

投资回报

国王掌控王室资产管理局的资产,可能有一点好处。虽然王室资产管理局的收入可以免税,但国王却没有这种待遇。从2018年王室资产管理局宣布将资产转交给国王之后,现在,王室400亿美元资产的投资收益需要缴税。

然而,泰国禁止批评国王的不敬罪法律非常严格,导致任何人要求查看国王的纳税单,都要面临风险。对国王的任何批评都将受到处罚,最高可判入狱15年。但抗议者对这条法律发出了挑战。

周一,一群示威者来到德国驻曼谷大使馆,请求德国政府调查泰王的纳税情况。特别是在拉玛九世国王逝世之后,现任泰王继承了父王的财富,抗议者质疑他长期在德国居住,是否应该为这笔遗产缴纳德国继承税。

帕温表示:“以前人们相信国王不会犯错。更重要的是,泰国宪法中也写明了国王不会犯错。但学生们认为国王也会犯错,这时候,人民需要有机会表达不满。”(财富中文网)

译者:刘进龙

审校:汪皓

今年10月14日,在曼谷市中心,泰国王室的车队穿过了在民主纪念碑周围聚集的层层抗议人群。一天后,严阵以待的泰国政府宣布进入紧急状态:在首都曼谷禁止大规模集会。聚集的抗议者提出的要求是让泰国总理下台,但当王室车队经过的时候,人群嘲讽的是:“我们缴的税!我们缴的税!”

泰国政府今年为王室划拨的预算超过10亿美元,尽管国王玛哈•瓦吉拉隆功是全世界最富有的统治者之一,他的资产价值接近400亿美元。以前这笔财富属于王室所有,并不归统治者个人,但瓦吉拉隆功在2018年掌管了内库。

泰国法律禁止批评王室,违者将被判处15年监禁。但瓦吉拉隆功的奢靡无度和对王室400亿美元资产的独占,使其备受批评。今年,泰国经济可能收缩7.8%,在这种情况下,抗议者史无前例地要求调查国王的纳税记录。

“德国人”

2019年,在父王逝世三年后,瓦吉拉隆功正式加冕成为新任泰王,他的王朝名称为拉玛十世。但让泰国人不满的是,国王还有另外一个绰号“德国人”,因为过去十年,瓦吉拉隆功一直居住在距离泰国约9,000英里的德国。

据德国媒体称,今年夏天泰国疫情最严重的时候,68岁的国王拉玛却带着大队随从和许多美女,包下了巴伐利亚阿尔卑斯山脉的一家高档酒店。这家酒店获得了特别许可招待国王和他的随从人员;德国其他酒店都因为疫情被迫停业。

在泰国,企业也被迫关闭,因为泰国政府执行了严格的封锁措施,对国民实行宵禁,禁止销售酒精饮料,并且限制公共集会。国王离开祖国去享受奢华生活的新闻,与臣民们遭受的苦难形成了鲜明对比,引起了人们的不满,尤其是越来越多的人认为瓦吉拉隆功奢侈的生活是纳税人在买单。

王室

2018年以前,泰国王室的财富一直由王室资产管理局(Crown Property Bureau,CPB)负责管理。王室资产管理局是一个半政府机构,管理该机构的委员会成员,大部分都由国王亲自任命。王室资产管理局的投资所得不需要缴税,并且用于供养整个皇室,而不是国王一个人。但2016年,瓦吉拉隆功接任父亲成为国王之后,开始加强他对王室内库的掌控。

2017年,国王任命他的私人秘书取代财政部长,担任王室资产管理局的委员会主席。同一年,政府通过了《王室资产法》(Crown Property Act)修正案,授权国王完全掌控王室资产管理局。2018年,王室资产管理局发布声明,确认其已经将所有资产“返还给”国王,使他可以“酌情”管理资金。

京都大学(Kyoto University)东南亚研究中心副教授帕温•查查瓦尔旁彭表示,国王与王室在财务上经常没有明确的界限。他表示,这种模糊允许以前的国王挪用王室资产,但不会受到惩罚,同时又维持了国王节俭的形象。但拉玛十世成为王室财富的唯一裁决者,却已经越线。

帕温表示:“显而易见,国王这样做的目的就是为了自己享乐。”他提到了国王在巴伐利亚阿尔卑斯山奢华的生活方式作为证据。 “现在人们更容易质疑国王的挥霍无度,因为他不能再说自己的消费是为了整个王室。”

纳税人

如今已经落到国王手里的王室资产管理局资产,价值预计达到400亿美元,但由于泰国的不敬罪法律,人们很难讨论王室的资产并提出批评。国王名下的资产包括超过16,000英亩土地,大部分都是一流房地产,还有与开发商签署的40,000多份租赁合同。

暹罗百丽宫(Siam Paragon)、暹罗发现中心(Siam Discovery)和暹罗中心(Siam Center)等曼谷知名的购物中心,都租赁了王室的土地。据媒体披露,国王名下仅在泰国首都持有的资产至少价值300亿美元。

国王还持有泰国一流贷款机构之一暹罗商业银行(Siam Commercial Bank)23%的股份,持有泰国规模最大的工业企业暹罗水泥集团(Siam Cement Group)33%的股份。国王在这两家公司的股份合计价值约90亿美元。

据《金融时报》报道,在9月的一次集会中,泰国抗议活动的核心领导人之一帕里特•奇瓦拉克呼吁泰国人抵制暹罗商业银行。奇瓦拉克称该银行是“封建制度的钱罐子”。他说:“你们在给德国人送钱。”这位学生领袖在今年的抗议运动中至少被捕了两次。

投资回报

国王掌控王室资产管理局的资产,可能有一点好处。虽然王室资产管理局的收入可以免税,但国王却没有这种待遇。从2018年王室资产管理局宣布将资产转交给国王之后,现在,王室400亿美元资产的投资收益需要缴税。

然而,泰国禁止批评国王的不敬罪法律非常严格,导致任何人要求查看国王的纳税单,都要面临风险。对国王的任何批评都将受到处罚,最高可判入狱15年。但抗议者对这条法律发出了挑战。

周一,一群示威者来到德国驻曼谷大使馆,请求德国政府调查泰王的纳税情况。特别是在拉玛九世国王逝世之后,现任泰王继承了父王的财富,抗议者质疑他长期在德国居住,是否应该为这笔遗产缴纳德国继承税。

帕温表示:“以前人们相信国王不会犯错。更重要的是,泰国宪法中也写明了国王不会犯错。但学生们认为国王也会犯错,这时候,人民需要有机会表达不满。”(财富中文网)

译者:刘进龙

审校:汪皓

On Oct. 14—the day before Thailand’s embattled government declared a state of emergency to prohibit mass gatherings in the capital—a royal motorcade passed through a crowd of protesters thronging around Democracy Monument in central Bangkok. The protesters had gathered to call for the prime minister’s resignation, but as royalty passed through, the crowd turned and jeered, “My taxes! My taxes!”

Thailand’s government has budgeted over $1 billion to finance the monarchy this year, despite the fact that King Maha Vajiralongkorn is one of the world’s wealthiest rulers, with an estimated $40 billion in assets. That wealth used to belong to the Crown—the institution, not the ruler—but Vajiralongkorn took control of the privy purse in 2018.

Although criticizing the monarchy is illegal in Thailand, with violators sentenced to 15 years in prison, Vajiralongkorn’s lavish spending and appropriation of the crown’s $40 billion portfolio has opened the monarch up to criticism. As his kingdom’s economy is set to contract 7.8% this year, protesters are making unprecedented demands to have the king’s taxes investigated.

The German

When Vajiralongkorn was officially coronated in 2019, three years after his father’s death, the new king was given Rama X as his regnal name. But among Thailand’s discontent, the king has another moniker—the German—because for the past ten years Vajiralongkorn has been living in Germany, some 9,000 miles away from his kingdom.

According to German media, as the pandemic raged this summer, the 68-year-old King Rama ensconced himself in a luxury hotel in the Bavarian Alps that was rented entirely for himself, a retinue of servants and a bevy of women. The hotel was given special permission to host the king and his entourage; other hotels in Germany were forced shut due to the pandemic.

In Thailand, too, business were forced to close as the Thai government enacted a strict lockdown, setting a nightly curfew for residents, banning the sale of alcohol, and limiting public gatherings. News of the absent King’s lavish lifestyle provided an unwelcome contrast to the suffering of his subjects­­—not least of all because Vajiralongkorn’s life of luxury is increasingly seen to come at the taxpayer’s expense.

The Crown

Until 2018, the wealth of Thailand’s monarchy was managed by the Crown Property Bureau (CPB)—a quasi-governmental agency managed by a board majority appointed by the king. Revenue generated by the CPB’s investments is exempt from taxation and is supposed to serve the royal institution—the Crown—rather than the king. But since succeeding his father as King in 2016, Vajiralongkorn has moved to consolidate his grasp on the Crown’s coffers.

In 2017, the King appointed his private secretary as chairman of the CPB’s board, ousting the Minister of Finance from the seat. The same year, the government passed an amendment to the Crown Property Act, giving the King full control of the CPB’s portfolio. In 2018, the CPB issued a statement confirming it had “returned” all its assets to the King so that he may manage the funds “at his discretion.”

The line between the king’s finances and the crown’s was always blurred, says Pavin Chachavalpongpun, an associate professor at Kyoto University’s Centre for Southeast Asian Studies. That ambiguity, Chachavalpongpun says, allowed the previous monarch to spend with impunity, while maintaining an image of frugality. But when Rama X became sole arbiter of the Crown’s wealth, he crossed that line.

“It has become too obvious that the King is doing this for his own self-indulgence,” Chachavalpongpun says, pointing to the King’s lavish lifestyle in the Bavarian Alps as proof. “It’s now easier to question the king’s spending because Vajiralongkorn cannot claim that what he’s spending is for the institution.”

The Taxpayer

The CPB’s assets—now the King’s—are estimated to be worth $40 billion, but due to Thailand’s lèse-majesté laws, critical discussion of the Crown’s portfolio is difficult. Included within the King’s new portfolio is over 16,000 acres of land—much of it prime real estate—and over 40,000 rental contracts with developers.

Bangkok’s popular Siam Paragon, Siam Discovery and Siam Center malls are all built on land leased from the Crown. The King’s portfolio reportedly includes at least $30 billion of property holdings in the capital alone.

The King also owns a 23% stake in one of Thailand’s leading lenders, Siam Commercial Bank, and a 33% stake in Thailand’s largest industrial conglomerate, Siam Cement Group. Taken together, the King’s shares in the two companies are worth roughly $9 billion.

According to the Financial Times, one of the protest’s more prominent figures, Parit Chiwarak, called on Thais to boycott the Siam Commercial Bank during a rally in September. “You are replenishing money for the German,” Chiwarak said, calling the bank a “money pot of feudalism.” The student leader has been arrested at least twice during this year’s protests.

ROI

There could be a silver lining to the King’s seizure of the CPB’s assets. Although revenue earned by the CPB is exempt from taxation, the King’s earnings are not. Any return on investment within the crown’s $40 billion portfolio should now be subject to tax, as the CPB stated in 2018 when transferring the assets.

However, the strict lèse-majesté laws that prohibit criticism of the King make demanding a review of the monarch’s tax payments a risky order. Any perceived criticism of the King is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. But protesters are defiant.

On Monday, a crowd of demonstrators marched to the German embassy in Bangkok and petitioned Berlin to investigate the King’s taxes. In particular, protesters question whether the King’s long-standing residence in Germany would make him liable to pay German inheritance tax on the wealth he received when his father, King Rama IX, died.

“In the past people believed the monarchy can do no wrong. More than that, it’s written in the constitution that the monarchy can do no wrong,” Chachavalpongpun says. “But the students are arguing that the monarchy can do wrong and, when it does, the people need to be able to complain about it.”

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