TL;DR
- A House sub-committee chaired by MP Pawoot Pongvitayapanu says Thais paid foreign digital providers THB 261,912 million in 2025, up from THB 199,562 million in 2022.
- Online ads were the largest 2025 category at THB 115,827 million (44%), ahead of cloud, software and AI at THB 56,343 million and e-commerce at THB 51,627 million.
- The state collected about THB 18,330 million in VAT on these payments but no corporate income tax, because the platforms have no permanent establishment in Thailand.
- Proposals include registering 181 out-of-system foreign platforms and a Digital BoP account linking Bank of Thailand and ETDA data; the full report has not been published.
Thai people and businesses paid foreign digital service providers THB 261,912 million in 2025, and THB 115,827 million of that, or 44%, went on online advertising, according to figures released by a Thai House of Representatives sub-committee on digital competitiveness chaired by MP Pawoot Pongvitayapanu. The figures were reported by Prachachat Turakij on 17 October 2026, after an earlier report by Spacebar on 14 October. The sub-committee says the numbers come from Revenue Department and Bank of Thailand data. The full report itself was not published or located for this article, so everything below rests on what the two outlets reported.
Who released the digital deficit figures and how they were built
Pawoot Pongvitayapanu chairs the sub-committee on increasing Thailand's digital competitiveness, which sits under the House committee on communications, telecommunications and digital economy and society. Prachachat describes him as an opposition MP. In the Prachachat report of 17 October 2026, he said the figures came from the Revenue Department, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) and several other agencies.
The method matters for anyone reading the numbers. Pawoot told Prachachat that the sub-committee arrived at the figures by analysing tax the state collected as value added tax (VAT), about THB 18,330 million. His explanation was that Thai companies buying services such as Facebook advertising or cloud services from abroad record those payments as company expenses. In other words, the totals are derived from tax records of payments to foreign providers. They are not an ad-industry survey and not a measure of what any single platform earns in Thailand.
Spacebar, which reported the study earlier, on 14 October 2026, also attributes the findings to the House sub-committee and describes them as compiled from Revenue Department and BOT data.
Payments to foreign digital providers, 2022 to 2025
According to Prachachat's 17 October report, payments by Thai people and businesses to foreign digital service providers were:
- 2022: THB 199,562 million
- 2023: THB 216,880 million
- 2024: THB 246,319 million
- 2025: THB 261,912 million
The sub-committee describes this as 36% growth in three years. Including intellectual property (IP) charges, the total reaches about THB 380 billion, according to the same report. Spacebar published the same four yearly figures and the same THB 380 billion figure including IP.
A note on arithmetic, which is this article's own calculation and not the source's: the published 2022 and 2025 figures imply growth of about 31% (261,912 divided by 199,562). Neither article explains the difference from the 36% figure. Readers quoting the growth rate should cite it as the sub-committee's figure.
Pawoot also put the scale in everyday terms. He told Prachachat that the outflow is close to THB 300 billion a year, or almost THB 4,000 per person per year, and compared it with Thai rice exports of 8 to 9 million tonnes a year that bring in roughly THB 200 to 230 billion.
The Bank of Thailand's digital services balance
A separate measure comes from the BOT's balance of payments. Prachachat reported that, under the BPM7 balance-of-payments standard, Thailand's Digital/ICT-related services balance for 2025 was negative THB 384 billion, a deficit that grew by more than THB 84 billion compared with 2022. Both outlets also report that Thailand's digital deficit equals 2.6% of GDP, the highest in ASEAN, without saying which of these figures that percentage is based on.
The THB 261,912 million in payments and the THB 384 billion BOT balance are different measures from different datasets, and the articles do not reconcile them. Spacebar's 14 October article describes the deficit as about THB 260 billion, closer to the payments figure. Both outlets report the same THB 261,912 million payments figure and the same THB 380 billion figure including IP; they differ only in which number their headlines call the deficit (Spacebar about THB 260 billion, Prachachat THB 380 billion). This article labels each number by what it measures.
Where the money went in 2025: online ads lead
The sub-committee broke 2025 spending into five categories. The table below lists them as reported by Prachachat on 17 October 2026; Spacebar reported the same five figures on 14 October.
| Category (2025) | Paid to foreign providers | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Online advertising | THB 115,827 million | 44% of the THB 261,912 million total |
| Cloud, software and AI | THB 56,343 million | New category; tax traces link it to digital ad providers |
| E-commerce | THB 51,627 million | Online purchases from foreign providers |
| Streaming, film, music and games | THB 29,393 million | Entertainment subscriptions and purchases |
| Accommodation and travel booking | THB 6,949 million | Hotel and ticket booking platforms |
Pawoot's own summary, as quoted by Prachachat, was that money flowed to online ads at THB 115,827 million, or 44%, meaning Thai businesses pay foreign companies more than THB 100 billion a year for ads.
The cloud, software and AI line deserves a closer read. Pawoot told Prachachat that it is a newly added category and that, when the sub-committee checked the tax-base traces, the payments were linked to digital advertising providers. The report does not say how much of the THB 56,343 million is advertising-related, so it cannot be added to the ad figure.
The five categories add up to THB 260,139 million, about THB 1,773 million less than the THB 261,912 million total. This is again this article's own calculation; the source does not say what the remainder covers.
Tax: VAT collected, no corporate income tax
According to Prachachat, the state collected about THB 18,330 million in VAT on these flows. Pawoot said that beyond VAT, Thailand collects no corporate income tax on the profits, because the technology companies are based abroad, revenue is booked elsewhere when payments are made by credit card or other means, and without a permanent establishment in Thailand they cannot be required to declare it. He added that thousands of foreign platforms remain outside the Thai tax system.
Prachachat also described the Revenue Department's existing tools: data matching (special platform accounts plus the e-Payment law) and the e-Service tax, under which foreign platforms serving Thai customers, with Facebook and Google ad fees and streaming services such as Netflix and Spotify given as examples, must charge 7% VAT. Prachachat wrote that the new forms of tax collection have raised up to THB 31,000 million from the digital economy, about 1.2% of the Revenue Department's total revenue. The article does not state the period for that figure.
What the sub-committee proposed
Pawoot told Prachachat that the sub-committee is proposing several measures it says the government should take immediately:
- Digital sovereignty. Relevant agencies should invest in Thai AdTech, cloud and software to replace imports. Spacebar's report names BOI, depa and NIA as the agencies.
- Local First procurement. The state should stop spending tax money on foreign big tech first and buy from Thai startups as a priority. Pawoot said the sub-committee has spoken with the Comptroller General's Department and the Bureau of the Budget about checking digital service and innovation catalogues before approving purchases.
- Closing tax gaps. Bring 181 foreign platforms that are outside the system into registration, and adjust income tax rules to be fair to Thai operators.
- A Digital BoP account. Link BOT and Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) financial transaction and tax data so cash flows are visible.
These are proposals from a parliamentary sub-committee. The reports do not say the government has adopted any of them.
Related policy: the platform bill and a digital services tax
Prachachat placed the figures alongside two stalled policy tracks. Deputy Digital Economy and Society Minister Nan Boonthida Somchai had said earlier that the ministry was drafting a digital platform economy bill to require multinational platforms to register companies in Thailand, which would give the state more power to oversee service fees. Prachachat reported that the draft has been taken out of parliamentary consideration and returned to the ministry for redrafting.
The second track is a digital services tax (DST), a direct levy of 1 to 3% on foreign platforms' revenue. Prachachat said it has been proposed for more than four to five years, and that countries studying it have delayed it because the United States regards such taxes as unfair and has said it will retaliate against countries that impose them.
The article also opened with the 2026 IMF-World Bank Group Annual Meetings, where, it reported, developing countries were encouraged to use small AI to create jobs and help with digital deficits.
Why this is not the same as Thailand's ad spend figures
The THB 115,827 million online advertising figure should not be read as Thailand's total digital ad market. The sub-committee's number is derived from tax data on payments to foreign providers in 2025, so it covers only money paid to providers abroad.
What this means for Thai marketers
For advertisers, the useful takeaway is scale rather than any change to how campaigns run. The sub-committee's data puts payments for online ads to foreign providers at more than THB 100 billion in 2025, the largest single category of digital services bought from abroad. The report does not break the figure down by platform, so it cannot show how the money splits between search, social, video or other channels that Thai businesses buy through tools such as Google Ads campaigns and paid social campaigns.
Three practical points follow from what was reported, without going beyond it:
- VAT on ad invoices is already in place. The e-Service rules mean foreign platforms charge 7% VAT on ad fees billed to Thai customers. Finance teams can check that invoices from each ad platform show the VAT treatment they expect.
- Policy is still at the proposal stage. The platform bill has gone back to the ministry and the DST has been stalled for years. Nothing in these reports changes ad costs today, and the sources do not predict what any future rule would do to prices.
- Budget plans can use this as context, not as a benchmark. The number describes money leaving the country, not reach, results or cost per click. Teams planning Facebook ads or search budgets for 2027 should still work from their own account data.
What the sources did not say
The full sub-committee report was not published or located; Prachachat and Spacebar are the only sources read for this article. Neither outlet gave a breakdown by platform, so no figure here describes the Thai revenue of Meta, Google, TikTok or any other company. Neither explained the gap between the 36% growth figure and the yearly totals, the difference between the five category totals and the overall total, or how much of the cloud, software and AI category is advertising-related. Spacebar also gave a per-day figure of THB 712 million; multiplied by 365 (this article's calculation) it matches the five-category sum rather than the THB 261,912 million total.
FAQ: Thailand's digital deficit and online ad payments
How much did Thai businesses pay foreign platforms for online ads in 2025?
THB 115,827 million, according to the House sub-committee figures reported by Prachachat on 17 October 2026. That was 44% of the THB 261,912 million paid to foreign digital service providers in 2025.
Where do the figures come from?
The sub-committee says they come from Revenue Department and Bank of Thailand data, with the totals derived by analysing about THB 18,330 million in VAT collected. The full report has not been published.
Is the THB 115.8 billion figure the same as Thailand's digital ad spend?
No. It measures 2025 payments to foreign providers, derived from tax data, not Thailand's total digital ad market.
Will this change advertising costs in Thailand?
Nothing reported changes costs now. The proposals, including registering 181 out-of-system platforms and a Digital BoP account, are sub-committee recommendations, the platform bill is being redrafted, and the digital services tax remains stalled.
Do foreign ad platforms already charge VAT in Thailand?
Yes, under the e-Service tax foreign platforms serving Thai customers must charge 7% VAT, with Facebook and Google ad fees among the examples Prachachat gave.
The sub-committee's numbers give a rare tax-based view of how much Thai businesses send abroad for advertising. Relevant Audience can help teams in Thailand turn that context into a grounded 2027 media plan built on their own account data.
