IF you live in Thailand and pay income tax, you are in a small minority. “Driving a cab like this, no one comes to collect taxes from me,” said one Bangkok taxi driver, who earned around Bt8,000 (US$192) a month. “And even if I wanted to pay taxes, I wouldn't know where to go to do that.”
Street vendors hawking fruit or T-shirts, house maids, families running shophouse factories in Bangkok's bustling Chinatown and go-go bar girls, who often earn more than the average civil servant, are among 80% of the labour force not paying income tax.
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