mtraveler

Thank you so much, and thank you for the amount of work you've put into making this document. Wow, I was really misinformed. Just to make sure I understand this: Any money that is brought into Thailand during 2024 that was earned before January 1, 2024, will be "managed by the previous interpretation of the rules", which means that it will not be taxed, since it was earned in a different year. Only income earned beginning January 1, 2024, can possibly be considered assessable income for money brought into Thailand from January 1 forward. So, if I bring money into Thailand in 2024, I must determine whether any part of it is assessable income or not. In the case of money that is part principal and part gains or interest, only the portion of the money that is INCOME (either capital gains or interest) would be assessable, not the principal. And so, in net effect, any money that I had on January 1, 2024, if brought it into Thailand, would not be assessable income. Of course, if I earned any interest or capital gains on that money during 2024, and it was part of the money brought in, that portion of the money brought in would be assessable. Did I get that correct?

The current law states that if money is brought in, it will be taxes as income. And the amount of tax due will be based on the Thai tax chart (0-150,000 Baht @ 0%, 150,000-300,000 Baht @ 5%, etc....). The law also says that if there's a tax treaty with another country, the amount already paid can be deducted from the amount of tax due. I assume that means that if the tax due is 50,000 Baht, and you've already paid 30,000 Baht in taxes in the other country (e.g., USA), then the amount due when the money is brought in is 50,000 - 30,000 = 20,000 Baht. Now for my question: how is the tax ALREADY PAID calculated on that money brought in? Is is based on the last tax return? Is it based on the average percent tax paid for all income earned during that year? What if the money was earned in a different year, and the percent tax was higher? It seems very unclear and arbitrary. I've already asked an accountant, and have not received an answer. Maybe someone here can shed some light.

1- I think that it's a good solution to let offending countries know that Thailand will ban imports. Will those countries find other outlets for their products? Who knows. But at least you're doing the right thing. 2- To the person who looked at the map, and said that even if there were no fires in Thailand, there would still be a problem... a- Local smoke still affects people locally. Even if there were none coming over the border, if you're living next to an offender, you're breathing bad air. b- When I look at the map, fires in Thailand look pretty awful. Maybe not as concentrated as Northern Burma or Cambodia, but there's a lot of fires. c- You make the assumption that all the smoke from those fires are blowing into Thailand all the time. Which I doubt.