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The Efficient Thai Government

Posted by Stuart at 04:54 PM on March 19, 2008

I am about to do something I never thought I would do: praise the Thai Government for its efficiency. Ok, maybe the government as a whole is not the model of quick service. And no, I am not making a sarcastic comment about the PM's recent idea that he could get the new subway lines open in three years. (But while we're on the subject, let's open up the extension that is already completed first!)

But I digress. I am talking today about the amazing turn-around time I just witnessed on the money I overpaid on my income tax for last year. This year, I filed my return on-line, at the Revenue Department's website. That in itself is amazing enough. But to make it even more incredible, I filed my return last Friday and on Sunday I got an SMS saying that my rebate check had been sent. On Wednesday, the check arrived in the mail.

I am stunned. And sending me an SMS to notify me is brilliantly creative as well (even if was in Thai, I was able to figure out what it was about.)

But now I have the check, I am not even sure if I want to cash it. Is it really worth it to walk to the bank in the blazing sun, stand in line at the bank for who knows how long, and then walk back through the heat, for the 100 baht (US$3) that the check is written for?