Not my usual topic, but this one has to be named.
Found on that nasty old men forum Thaivisa. So here it goes.
================================================================
Phuket: "State sponsored extortion" forces prices for tourists up, claims top businessman
One of Phuket's leading businessmen has gone online to claim that state sponsored extortion is forcing prices up for tourists. And the charges are forcing businesses out and tourists to leave.
Peechawut Keesin - the chairman of real estate giant Pisona Group - went on Facebook under the name "Prab Keesin" to say that an 11% "extra tax" had been levied on Patong businesses by the state.
He said it was inevitable that prices for tourists would rise.
He said in his post that it was already very quiet in Patong and this would make matters worse.
In a series of hashtags he claimed:
People were running scared.
Tourists and investors were disappearing.
Extortion was 11% up.
The local authority have clearly never been businessmen.
The people are sad and leaving in droves.
They don't want fools in the local authority.
He also laid the blame at the door of several government ministries including the Ministry for Tourism and Sports.
Thaivisa notes that Preechawut's Pisona Group is referred to online as "a powerhouse corporation with one of the strongest property portfolios in Southern Thailand".
The company is said to be the leading real estate investment organization on Phuket.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/yxchfp8s
