KhunHeineken

This law does not discriminate. Thai or foreigner, if you are inside Thailand for 180 days, you WILL BE deemed a resident of Thailand for tax purposes. I am not sure where in my post you think I alluded to the law only being there for foreigners. Thailand has a large diaspora. Most remit money back to their family. I accept that, but not every Thai tax resident (over 180 days in country) are pensioners, are they? I'm not, and I'm living here. The difference is, whether they pay their tax or not, Thai's have a birthright to reside in Thailand. They are Thai citizens. On the other hand, foreigners who are tax residents and do not pay their tax, MAY be fined and / or deported. Big difference. It seems to me you are a "typical foreigner" believing that the stamp in your passport gives you a "right" to live in Thailand. It does not. It's nothing more than "permission" and can be revoked at any time, possibly due to an action that is your own fault, or possibly to a change in government possible which is completely out of your control.

I'd be surprised if they didn't. Why bother? They will make this one up on the run. It will evolve each year. You may never know where you stand in the system. Just the way the Thai's like it.

Yes. An agent. No, nor do I care. The agent has told me they will deal with it all. As said before, they very well may sting me this year, but not next year. I'll give them a chance. Don't know, don't care. That's why I will pay an agent. Yes, sure. I will wait until the 11th hour to file. If it all looks like going ahead, I'll be on the phone to the agent, if not, great, carry on as normal. All his BS about assessible, non assessible, pre 2024 savings, blah, blah, blah. The Thai's don't care. The Thai's want their money. Simple as that. I remember asking one member if he was prepared to go to a Thai Court to fight his case that is remittances were not assessable, he didn't post much on the thread after that. All these brave expat retirees posting how they will not pay, until they make a certificate a requirement of their extension and then watch them line up to pay tax. It's laughable. Yes, there will be chaos. Yes it will make no sense. Yes, you will probably not be paying the right amount of tax, up or down. However, at the end of the day, you will pay, where as , you never paid in the past. MONEY, MONEY, MONEY. Simple concept when talking about Thailand.

Philip9 says "air costs nothing." Who and what to believe? Seen it in other tourism sectors here. Why would diving be any different? Well, we wouldn't want to "defame" a diving company, would we? They can sue for defamation, which means gaol time. Thus, no freedom of speech around the incident, but hey, the Thai tourism industry must be protected at all and any cost. No, just not as naive as you, but then again, I guess you are the sort of guy that actually believes your girl is "different." Do try to think outside of the square sometimes. MONEY NUMBER ONE here. Go on the record. Do you agree or disagree with this term?

Some members have crunched the numbers for pensions, from different countries around the world. Basically, most pensions, if all of that pension is remitted each month, goes over the tax free threshold. As for "seek and find" make having a Clearance Certificate part of the documents required at extension time. No seeking, no finding. Farang go to the TRD like sheep. Yes, I know, rocket science for the Thai government. I'm sure there's no way they would have thought about it. You are forgetting there are some foreign high wealth individuals in Thailand. Not every expat retiree is a pensioner living on nothing. I don't trust you, because you are like the many that think this will all go away, and whilst I hope it does, I don't think it will. Time will tell.

I don't care about all of this BS on which you, and others are relying. Eg. assessabe, non assessagle, pre 2024 savings, blah blah, blah. In my opinion, the Thai's won't care about the difference, so I decided to minimize the equation in preparation. Yes, they will probably even be able to negotiate the amount. It's laughable, but hey, I'll have a Certificate of Clearance, and sleep well. Then, look at AN at all those stressing, some, if not all, who may become illegal after the 31st March. They want your money. Simple as that. Like so many other things here, refuse to give them the money and face the consequences.

Yes, come and "help" the Thai people by donating tax.

Do you not see the connection between government (immigration) knowing your passport number, and the Thai banks, who have your passport number in order open an account, and new passport numbers in order to keep the account up to date? Put the above two together and the TRD know how long you have been in Thailand in a tax year, and the bank knows how much you have remitted. Many are banging on about a TIN and the pink card number blah, blah, blah. Our passport numbers are linked to EVERYTHING we touch in Thailand. Simple as that.

Link please? They'll take every baht from everyone from everywhere, and why, because they can, and in relation to foreigners, it's because it's easy for them to do so.

Fair enough. I decided I wanted to tell them zero, so not for me. The 180 days is a great option. I have a feeling many will be using it in the future, If that was to happen sooner rather than later, that would make the LTR a waste of time and money, right?

Correct. It targets "tax residents" and foreigners staying over 180 days are tax residents. That's most of us.

They seem to enforce overstay quiet well. Have YOU ever overstayed? If not, why not, enforcement being a problem for them here and all? Yes, anything is possible. Who's panicking? If you have to pay, you have to pay. Or, leave for 6 months and give them nothing. Yes, I am waiting until the 11th Hour. If it's all a non event, great. If not, they will get me this year, but not again. I have a Plan B, but strangely enough, for many here, their Plan A seems to be it will just ll go away.

How do YOU know Mr. Carden is even in Thailand?

I have no doubt you are building up a lot "liquid."

Many countries are broke, including mine. Thailand is no different. All of these countries are chasing every bit of of revenue they can get, from everywhere, and from everyone. This is an easy money earner for them, especially if the simple pathway of enforcement is attaching it to the annual extension, and no votes lost at election time. You are asking, "Why would they chase it?" Perhaps you should be asking, "Why wouldn't they chase it?"

Tax is a federal or country wide policy, the same as immigration. We all know immigration is manipulated across Thailand, but tax might be a different thing. I'm not sure if this policy will allow for provincial "discretion."

Probably not, but I would be trading her in anyway.

Can you elaborate on your experience?

Ok, but why is just one bank doing it, and not even Thailand's biggest bank?

As I posted in another thread touting the same youtube video, what he doesn't understand is, detecting and arresting foreigners for breaching Thai labor laws costs money. Taxing foreigners makes money. Big difference.

I have my annual fee set to auto charge. It comes out of the account automatically.

I agree. For hose looking to set up their retirement here, come over, transfer a lump sum of money. Buy your condo, buy your furnishings, buy your cars, but leave on day 179 and don't come back for 6 months. Sounds crazy, but why risk paying this tax for he sake of staying out for just 6 months?

Incorrect. I'll explain my reason. Using an agent makes money for the agent and a corrupt payment for immigration. It's been going on for decades. Usually the agent has some family connection who works at immigration. I have already sourced an agent for this tax policy, but still shopping around for another agent. I haven't pulled the trigger yet. I'll wait until the 11th hour to file. Throughout 2024 I minimized my remittances. I also brought back wad of cash from the Singapore F1, and a friend coming here for a holiday also bought over a wad of cash for me. I know I'll have to pay "something." As I have said in the past, Thailand will get me this year. I threw my hands up. I stayed more than 180 days last year. Based on the cost, legit or otherwise, will determine if I continue being a tax resident of Thailand, or cease my tax residency by only staying 179 days this year. If none of it happens, than nothing to pay, carry on as normal, great. If they are serious about it, they'll get me this year, but then I will know where I stand and will make plans accordingly.

Give it time. You can hold me to it. I will gladly say I was wrong in the future, but in my opinion, if all this goes through, attaching tax compliance to immigration / visas / extensions is the logical thing for the Thai government will do. Time will tell.

The Thai banks know. Don't be so naive.