anrcaccount

This is a great example of why all these tax threads provide little/no benefit, in fact they cause harm. Posters encouraging this endless tax discourse, are responsible for: Posters like this wasting their time , and Posters wasting their time and money restructuring their finances based on speculation in this forum, and In more extreme cases, taking actions like leaving the country to avoid spending 180 days in a year. All of which are completely unnecessary actions until such time as the facts are clarified, this has not occurred yet. The better safe than sorry" brigade have a a lot to answer for. They should consider the way their discussion contributes to people taking action in the real world.

This is EXACTLY why all this forum tax discussion, is of little to no value. In fact, tax discussion on this forum, ends up wasting peoples time by causing them to worry, then troop down to the local RD office, where the answer is and will continue to be, the same as you get at HomePro - MAI MEE, MAI DAI !!! Don't worry!

Don't try and minimize his statement by calling it a public opinion of "one Thai doctor". He is the Thai government's Chief Medical Adviser on covid. He's the "top virologist" in Thailand, was in the news throughout the pandemic.

Here's their rationale: Source: https://thethaiger.com/coronavirus/most-dont-need-latest-covid-19-booster-says-thai-virologist Most people do not need a booster against the latest strain of Covid-19, except for vulnerable groups and the unvaccinated as symptoms are relatively mild, and the vaccine must be paid for, claimed a virologist. When questioned on the distribution of covid vaccines, Yong mentioned that the National Health Security Office (NHSO) no longer receives a government subsidy to distribute them free of charge. Due to its relatively high price, he highlights that getting booster shots for healthy individuals is not necessary, said Yong. “Anyone wishing to be vaccinated must pay for it out of their own pocket, and the vaccine is expensive. “The demand for the vaccine has dropped, so supplies are limited, driving up retail costs.”

Poor reporting. Not factual. There are very few Russians with Elite ( Thai Privilege ) visas. As of March 2024, there were only 1132 out of 36000. Just over 3% Source- TPC from article in a publication that cannot be linked to.

Agree to disagree here. I think by your (albeit well intentioned) information sharing, you've caused people more stress and anxiety than you've prevented. You read of people on here, making decisions to stay or not stay in the country, based on what they've read in your guide. Nobody should be doing that- until more information comes to light. Additionally, you've encouraged people who may register for a TIN to report on the "success" of that registration. You've speculated that Thai authorities will require "tax clearance" certificates and speculated it's likely tax status will be linked to immigration status in the future. You've created and fostered hundreds of pages of discussion, consisting of mostly speculation, about a topic that yet has little clarity. You then have defended anyone calling this "fear mongering". With respect to your intentions, it's debatable whether your efforts have caused more harm than good.

Fair enough. "Ignorance is bliss" is an old truism , and trying to help may have in fact not done so. I do respect your efforts, but do wonder if Alison Krauss/ Ronan Keating may have had a better strategy.... "You say it best, when you say nothing at all".

I think you and the poster you comment on are actually both saying the same thing. It is the same as it ever was, until it isn't. All these posters talking about how they used to "rely" on the prior years inbound fund rule, in reality never had to rely on anything,..as they were never asked the question. The new "ruling" doesn't change that. Time will tell.

Really? Doesn't seem logical given your actions. Why did you go to all the effort of trying to create a "simple" tax guide only after the foreign income guidance tweak then? Why not do it a few years ago? If you don't think the risk has changed ( I happen to agree with you on that), why all the effort now?

A firm link? A legacy law that hasn't been operationalized or enforced in many many years? Do you know of anyone who has completed one of these in the last 10-15 years, and in what circumstance it was required? As you state in your simple guide, there is no current link between Thai RD taxation and visa filings( for the vast majority of foreign visa holders). That there may be a link in the future, is an assumption. This is not the point made. Your statements above are unrelated to taxation and concern financial proof required for certain visas. The point was, there's no current general link between Thai RD taxation and banks. That there may be a link in the future, is an assumption.

A TIN (Tax Identification Number) must be applied for from the Thai Revenue before you can file a tax return. The poster might be hinting that if you never get a TIN, you can transfer the money and they wont know who you are so you wont have to pay tax or file a return. (like your Bank and Immigration don't know!!!)) Mike, here you appear to show some assumption bias that needs to be challenged. Do you have a source for insinuating "like your bank and Immigration don't know"? ( Sarcasm implying that of course, they're aware) There's currently no link between Immigration and the Thai RD for the majority of foreign visas. So, "immigration don't know" would be a logical statement. Regarding Thai Banks. Of course, they are aware of transactions, but again, there's very little/ arguably no linkage between transactions and any individuals Thai taxation, including info sharing with the Thai RD. So, "bank don't know" would also be a logical statement. I get you're taking the position that "of course they could find out if they tried hard enough", and that's also logical, but it's also not reflective of the current reality.

The video gives absolutely no evidence that this will be the case. K Nathanan at 29:30 discusses the existing practice relating to only a small number of visa categories, those that have a work permit attached, where you currently need to provide evidence of tax paid as part of the extension process. He specifically mentions eligibility for a work permit. He then goes onto an different discussion on LTR visas, and doesn't address Non O Visas or Elite Visas. There is no evidence that any type of tax return will be required, for most visa categories.

Putting aside the kidnapping, you have to say that a 23 year old Belarusian having $30 M THB ( approx $840K USD) in Crypto, in the first place, is impressive. That's the high net worth quality tourist Thailand is looking for. Now if the authorities can just keep them from getting abducted, all will be well!

Fair enough. 1. Your Mother paying school fees will not be a a taxable event. 2. Inheritance. Exempt from PIT. See these links, but for amounts under 100 Million THB (plus a bunch of other exceptions) , no need to worry about any Inheritance Tax: https://thailand.acclime.com/guides/inheritance-tax/ https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/thailand/individual/other-taxes#:~:text=Heirs are subject to the,where the rate is 5%.

Well said, on both counts. LTR has been a complete flop vs the stated projections, from the perspective of the BOI. Most approved applicants already reside in Thailand, and while being good for them ( a simpler , easier visa- fully support those who have it on this thread, good on you) , it certainly hasn't been attracting many new "high potential" foreigners. "Changing the visa type of people who already live here" wasn't the goal of the program, yet it has been the main outcome. On the Elite, a rock-solid source shared that applications have absolutely plummeted since the price changes. We're talking less than 100, since the price changes. Apparently ,Elite Mgmt might need a year or 2 to "save face", before the program is modified again. The same source, did not believe the govt made a decision to limit Elite to truly rich / well off folks, the changes were just poorly planned / executed, and were not based on customer feedback.

A frustrating thread to read. Fact - thousands of those residing here have (for many years) been bringing foreign sourced income into Thailand, in the same year that it was earned. The vast majority of them, don't pay tax to the Thailand RD. In theory, these people could have tried to rely on the "income was earned the year before" exemption. In reality, this isn't tested, as tax returns are not filed at all. In reality, many inbound remittances have been earned the same year. The "income that was earned the year before" exemption is the only things that's changing. If you're worried about this new interpretation, you should have been worried every year for the past 10!

What a world we live in. Absolute, insanity.

Exactly, replace "kids" with "teenagers",and school with "7-11, Makro" and there you have it....absolute futility! Surely, even you can see this now.

Extremely good post. Best in this thread.

All the talk over the potential new tax law interpretations, pales in comparison to what they can raise by just checking on a few situations like this..... gotta tax a LOT of inbound foreign income to raise 2 BILLION THB........

Anyone taken BOLT FROM the Airport to their Phuket destination yet? If yes, where were you picked up?

I don't think many of those posting here or many who live here, actually realise that Thailand is now the last country in the world where mask wearing is still commonplace in public. Even Japan and China have rapidly ditched them over the past few months. As you stated very well, unless you suspect you actually have Covid, or want some protection form pollution, there is no rational reason to wear a mask.

"GET TO DA CHOPPA!"

The situation you described is very common. It's a massive issue here, clogging up hospitals with people who don't need to be there . With respect, objectively there is deeply embedded hypochondria in much of the population, add in covid , has only exacerbated that.

Spot on. With respect to ThailandRyan Pib etc, who I can completely see why this visa is great for them, the overall scheme has been a flop from the BOIs perspective. Attracting "wealthy pensioners" who already resided in Thailand, to change their visa category, to get a smoother admin ride, was not the goal of the BOI in the LTR program. The number of approved applications overall is minuscule after nearly a year in operation, with many of these being the above type. The program needs a serious overhaul, if it is to attract "new" foreigners who actually wish to relocate.