According to the refurbished Crown Property Act passed by the government of Thailand, the king of Thailand, Maha Vajiralongkorn, will have direct authority and control over all the royal assets, which are worth multi billions of dollars. The law was sanctioned on July 16th, and came into effect on the following day – July 17th.
On the day the law was passed, a palace statement said that three laws which were in effect since 1936 have been replaced. It was also stated that it was the first amendment pertaining to crown property in decades.
The new law has vested more powers with the king, who ascended the throne in December after the death of his father, Bhumibol Adulyadej, who served as king for seven decades.
Not only will King Maha Vajiralongkorn be administering his private property, but also will manage the ones under the Crown Property Bureau. The law also states that at any point of time, the king can appoint to the Crown Property Bureau any person or agency to handle the property. As per the new law, both the king’s private property and the Crown property will be subject to taxes.