loan
Can a political party in the U.S. (or in other countries) accept loans?
<p>There has been a political turmoil in Thailand where a political party was dissolved for taking a loan. This court ruling sparks controversies among Thai people, so I wonder if there is a similar law or court cases regarding income of political parties that cover loans in other countries.</p>

<h2>Yes</h2>

<p><a href="https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00105668/1379381/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">This</a> is a financial return for December 2019 of the Democratic Party of California. If you look at lines 13 and 14 of the Detailed Summary Page they say "All Loans Received" and "Loan Repayments Received". Now, this particular party doesn't have any loans but they can have them if they want them.</p>

<h2>What happened in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/09/why-thailands-top-court-just-dissolved-political-party/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Thailand</a></h2>

<p>The party was not banned for taking out loans which, AFAIK, political parties in Thailand can do. It was banned for taking political donations and <em>calling</em> them loans:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>But the Constitutional Court ruled that FFP leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit made political donations during last year’s elections, circumventing Thailand’s election laws. The Court categorized that money as “other benefits,” which are limited to contributions of 10 million baht (about $320,000).</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Now, there is a strong feeling in Thailand that the Constitutional Court was wrong in deciding that these were political donations rather than loans - they may be right. Indeed, it seems more than possible that the Court made a political determination on this rather than a legal one, however, the <em>legal</em> reason for the ban is illegal campaign contributions; not loans.</p>
