K2938

Yes, I think this was discussed before, maybe like a year ago, and they declined saying it is no passive income

Any views on the likelihood of Thailand actually going ahead with the announced plan to not only tax remitted, but global income regardless of remittance? Strangely all the big accounting firms do not mention anything about this. Thanks.

Any views on the likelihood of Thailand actually going ahead with the announced plan to not only tax remitted, but global income regardless of remittance? Thanks.

So what are the latest thoughts on which, if any, tax benefits will remain for the LTR visa once the taxation of global income is introduced as evidently planned by the Thai government (see article two days ago in the newspaper which cannot be mentioned)?

1) Is my understanding correct that obtaining a Thai TIN by itself does not change a person's obligation to file a tax return or pay taxes, i.e. if the person before did not have an obligation to file a tax return or pay taxes, then this remains unchanged when the person obtains a Thai TIN? 2) Is my understanding also correct that a person who stays in Thailand less than 179 days per year and has no Thai income apart from some small interest income from which withholding tax is automatically deducted does not have an obligation to file a tax return in Thailand? Thank you.

Thank you! And do I assume correctly that for this it does not matter how long you have stayed in Thailand, i.e. with this argument you should be able to get a Thai TIN even if you have not stayed in Thailand more than 180 days?

Does it matter how much tax has been deducted from the interest on the savings account or can it also be minimal amounts? Thanks.

In the "Introduction to Personal Income Tax in Thailand" guide you write that one of the conditions of getting a Thai Tax Identification Number (TIN) is "Employment contract (สัญญาจ้างงาน) or proof that you have tax liability in Thailand (e.g., proof of financial transactions)". What would be financial transactions that would qualify for getting a TIN? Is it enough to have a Thai savings account on which some interest is paid and therefore some Thai withholding tax is deducted to get a Thai TIN? Thank you.

Did you find out what is needed? And did you succeed? Thanks!

Do you know why they wanted the pages with entry stamps since the last 180 days?

Very very very difficult to find older women without kids.

For anybody not quite making the conditions of the LTR visa or not willing to disclose so much sensitive financial information, the new 5-year DTV visa looks like a great alternative as long as one does not need the LTR tax benefits: And anyobdy still thinking about buying a Thai Elite/Thai Privilege visa as an alternative is really wasting their money.

Where is that, please? The announcement in the gazette only has three pages: https://ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/documents/37565.pdf

What about the tax-exemption for foreign income? That applies regardless of how many days you spend in Thailand or only if you are there less than 180 days per calendar year because with 180 days you become a tax resident in Thailand?

Very grateful for your work! 🙏🙏🙏

Well, what they do would be consistent with them potentially knowing something bad they do not want to say (yet) and therefore hedging themselves. One would think that for them as a government entity it should be so easy to talk to the revenue service to get and publish the terms. But for some reason they do not do this...

You can buy reputable foreign olive oil brands in Thailand like for example Bertolli. And they do not put worse oil into their bottles for Thailand. So this is normal trustworthy olive oil.

The BOI is continuing its cryptic stance on tax exemption. That is what they just posted in response to questions on the facebook page mentioned by @statabove: "LTR Long-term Resident Visa Apologized for poor wording regard LTR visa tax exemption benefit which was in our answer earlier that may raise concern to you in this matter. According to Royal Decree issued under the Revenue Code No.743, THERE IS tax exemption for foreign income which was state in SECTION 5 but in order to use it which it state in SECTION 6 you must meet qualification and comply with rules, procedures, and condition as prescribed by the Director-General of the Revenue Department which is why we recommend you to check for detail and confirm your eligibility with the Revenue Department directly otherwise it'll come to SECTION 7 that you benefit will be suspended in that tax year. https://ltr.boi.go.th/page/laws-regulations.html" And since they now refer to Section 6 of the Royal Decree where it states: "Section 6 A foreigner who is entitled to benefits under Section 3, Section 4, and Section 5 must meet qualifications and comply with rules, procedures, and conditions as prescribed by the Director-General of the Revenue Department." this means that to change whatever tax benefits there are, the Royal Decree does not even need to be amended/revoked, but the Revenue Department can just change the qualifications and rules in whatever way it desires.

Thank you for posting this. While you are unlikely to be able to sue the BOI for damages in Thailand based on what a low level employee is telling you anyway, the answer you quoted should make you even more careful. Contact the revenue department for a formal answer meeting all legal requirements, but do not really expect to get it...

And that is what a 2024 study concluded: "The reprocedure rate of UroLift at 4 yr is double the rate of TURP and PVP. In appropriately selected patients, UroLift might be a suitable option for those who desire symptomatic relief from BPH with minimal erectile and ejaculatory side effects. However, the risk of secondary surgical intervention should be considered when considering BPH treatments." (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666168323025296)

Thank you for this, Sheryl. I was advised that the key 5 year underlying evidence is from a manufacturer affiliated study putting a question mark over its reliability. Moroeover, even this is just a single study and only 5 years. So I was advised that if one views this over a longer period, like 10+ years, one will most likely need a conventional operation on top of this as the prostate just continutes to grow over the Urolift implants with a later operation at older age being much more dangerous. The "EAU Guidelines on Non-Neurogenic Male Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS)" in their current, i.e. 2024, edition concluded as follows in view of the totality of the evidence currently available:

Urolift does not last very long. So unless your life expectancy is only a few years, this is unlikely to be a long-term solution

Nomad lifestyle will not work as any Western bank will most likely shut down your account if you are not providing them with an address and tax number

While a grandfathering is of course not impossible to exclude, I would see this as highly unlikely. We will see. But you are right, for 50k THB it might well be worth it if one already has everything prepared and is not concerned about disclosing his or her financial data.

The vast majority of LTR retirement visa holders on this forum and outside are pension rich, not asset/capital gains rich. So their situation is entirely different from yours. And the people who drew up the rules for the LTR visa also really largely only focused on pensioners and are evidently struggling to even really understand other people. Otherwise you would not have the most bizarre rules like the $100k for the insurance waiver cannot be in a brokerage account, capital gains are disliked etc. etc.