Karma80

Rents in Phuket will continue to rise thanks to the DTV and the Russian sub-economy that exists here now. Can't blame them. I would do the same thanks to the current world <deleted> show.

I agree. The DTV is a tourist-class visa introduced as an emergency measure to stimulate the economy. Nothing stops it from being amended, cancelled, or the conditions of each entry changing down the road. That's not to say that it isn't good news for many people, but I would certainly be wary of living long term in Thailand on it. Take a peruse of the digital nomad forums, and there are plenty of people openly looking to use it to pay zero tax. I can't imagine Thailand will accept that or be allowed to by the OECD countries it seeks to court and be taken seriously. How that all ends up for the future of the DTV, who knows. The streamlining of the more permanent visa types has not yet been fully announced, and it will be interesting to see how it fits. But, TiT - anything is possible.

I would not be so certain. Thai Elite is a government-owned company with contractual obligations, which they faced recently when they tried to make changes and had to backflip. It also costs considerable money and is marketed to the high-end as making Thailand your home. DTV is just a tourist visa, and it can be cancelled or amended anytime someone feels like it. I wouldn't want to go all in on living in Thailand on the back of it.

Chill out. You do not need to deposit 500k into a Thai bank account. Follow the instructions provided by the embassy where you will apply for the visa, which will require you to show evidence that you have the prescribed equivalent funds in your local currency in your overseas account.

That's not really true. Thailand has already started CRS data exchange, and you've already declared yourself a remote worker under the visa application and provided the details of your employment. Should you become a Thai tax resident, the question becomes one of motivation for enforcement rather than ability. It would be far better for someone to structure well rather than rely on blind faith that nothing will happen down the road if they evade taxes.

Thanks. It literally is a five-year visa to live in Thailand for 180 days each entry then for 10,000 THB. Wow.

Well, it seems the floodgates have opened, then. Thailand will be awash with remote workers and digital nomads. Most will already be working through their corporate vehicle as contractors anyway, so it's trivial to magic up a contract.

Nobody is the least surprised that absolute chaos ensues. A 5 year resident visa, providing you exit every 6 months, for learning to cook pad thai with a tax exemption, if you would believe any of the "government" presentations to date on DTV. But at the same time reform tax by a process of unoffical announcements and intent by RD top officials. And, then on the ground the situation is likely entirely different anyway. I have no idea why I am bothering with a Non-B and WP at this point. Should just be gaming the system like half the people seem to be.

Permenant Establishment - When a company has a remote worker positioned in a Thailand, the question of creating a permenant establishment arises. The classic example would be a remote worker who owns a company overseas which is their vehicle for employment, and invoicing clients, and a very common scenario for contractors. If that remote worker manages his overseas business from within Thailand, and his work from within the country is Thai sourced (which is likely is - because he's on a laptop working from his leased condo), then it could be argued that the company has created a permenant establishment, and the company could be liable for Thai taxation to the extend of the income derived by the PE. Double Taxation agreements usually define a PE. I doubt Thai RD would be much interested in it. But it's a consideration for remote workers, if for some reason they were audited by the RD overall.

It's my understanding that if a remote worker performs work in Thailand (e.g., on a laptop) and funds are remitted overseas, it's still Thai-sourced income and is taxable if they are a tax resident (ie spending over 180 days per year). There is also the question of creating a PE for an overseas employer and any DTA for the individual and businesses concerned. Enforcement is another thing - TiT. It could all be sorted out when they release the visa details, and maybe some tax exemption as the LTR has. But I don't imagine the intent will be to create a five year visa for effectively tax free residence.

Why don't they only allow you to spend it on government fees, RTP "donation points", or politician campaign funding - just cut out the middleman 😉 Exactly. This shows the lack of thought behind this whole circus, which is descended into facesaving for this pathetic government.

Actually, that would be pretty terrible. The model presented here would collapse all other visa types and make them irrelevant, except LTR and those needing a WP employed directly by a Thai business. The entry bar is so relatively low that Thailand would immediately become the dumping ground for remote workers everywhere looking for lower CoL, tax benefits, or as an easy exodus from countries that are seeing outflows - Russia, China, and who knows, even the USA in a post election world. Rental prices would soar as we saw after the Russian-Ukraine invasion and tensions rise. I also don't believe for a moment there would be a tax exemption written into the visa. There's just some giant sized, and incorrect, assumptions being made by the speaker based loosely on the current tax evironment.

I think you just multipurpose the headline - Uncertainty surrounds Everything TIT.

No. Thirteen pages of conjecture and speculation. Nobody knows how this will finally look.

No. All appeals must be heard, especially if a country is so backwards as to have capital punishment still. Miscarriages of justice happen. Or perhaps you think that we should take a leaf out of the Chinese court system book and have mobile death vans stationed outside every kangaroo court.

Good enough for Thai Prime Ministers and politicians to do a runner, good enough for anyone!

Australia, UK, India, Malaysia, NZ, South Africa, USA, to name a few.

Because up until this year, as a Thai taxpayer, you didn't pay tax on income remitted into the country in a different year it was earned. Essentially, this left you paying nothing in Thailand personally. Because there are no CFC rules, if your company was incorporated in a jurisdiction with low or no corporation tax, you could easily drive your tax obligation to no/single digits. The remittance rule change could leave you not too worried and worked around, but worldwide taxation is a different beast entirely. And more than that, what comes next in the land of instability? CFC Rules?

It hasn't changed, let me assure you. Relatively low cost, lack of laws or enforcement for the sex/drugs trade and an open door visa policy. What could possibly go wrong.

Nobody ever asks why when I tell people I'm moving from Phuket this year. The quality of the visitors is in the toilet nowadays, quite literally it seems.

He's just a man of the people connecting with the public..lol Whoever came up with this campaign strategy needs to have been fired in about 1998.

Need to grab all the Chinese and HK money somehow I guess. Worked out so well for everywhere else that's done this...

Tell me it's Thailand, without telling me it's Thailand - When the weed shop gets raided, not for drugs, but rather e-cigarettes, in areas which are just surrounded by organised crime, drugs, prostitution and corruption.

Funny stuff. The country that barely scrapes number 50 in the democracy rankings telling the country at the 130 spot out of 157 countries to be democratic. https://www.idea.int/gsod/2023/countries/ But aside from that, this was all so very predictable and openly orchestrated to weaponise the law to keep those in power in power. And nobody is the least bit shocked. I guess it beats the usual tanks rolling into Bangkok.

Do you really think that Thailand is taken seriously by anyone? The latest circus government has come off the back of a 2014 military coup and is still nothing but a kleptocracy at every single level, from police and local bureaucrats to the top.