Ex-Thai PM Thaksin cites personal safety in tax challenge

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has requested a temporary injunction from a court to halt the revenue department's plan to seize his assets in order to settle a tax dispute. The Supreme Court's Tax Division ruled in November that the revenue department was owed $504 million from the 2006 sale of Thaksin's telecoms company.

Thaksin's lawyer stated that the assets at stake were valued at over 17 billion baht. During a hearing at the Central Tax Court in Bangkok on Wednesday, Thaksin claimed that his assets included five vehicles, two of which are bullet-proof, citing his personal safety as a concern. Thaksin, 77, revealed that he had faced four assassination attempts while serving as prime minister from 2001 to 2006.

He was initially elected in 2001 and re-elected in 2005 before being removed from office by the military in 2006. Thaksin also argued that he had already fulfilled his obligation to pay the tax bill for the tax-free sale of Shin Corp to Singapore's Temasek Holdings, a deal that netted the Shinawatra family $1.9 billion and sparked widespread protests against his government. The tax court is scheduled to announce its decision on November 16.