MangoKorat

I've had a read through the excellent guide provided by @Mike Lister - as excellent as it might be, to those of us with a 'less than financial' mind, it all seems mind boggling. I fully understand that any and all income remitted to Thailand by a tax resident may well attract taxation but how about someone who is not tax resident? Say for example that whilst you are NOT tax resident in Thailand, you remit funds to your Thai bank account, funds that would not normally be taxable in the country where you reside for tax purposes, is that money taxable or does it even need to be declared. For example: If say I sent 5 million baht from the proceeds of a house sale in the UK to my Thai bank account whilst still living and being tax resident in the UK, is that taxable in Thailand? Would I even need to declare it? For the purpose of clarity, let's say that the source of the money was the sale of a sole residence - not normally assessed for capital gains tax in the UK. Does anything change if I then move to Thailand during the next tax year?

So for example, those working pay less tax than those getting income from investments?

I thought that foreigners earnings were always assesable and the only change was that the loophole of earnings from the previous tax year was the only thing being changed? It was my understanding that that became law on 1st January 2024. (not talking about the new 'Global Income' proposals)

I wouldn't be stupid enough to remit those funds by transfer - there are other ways.

Yes but my interpretation (probably wrong) is that you don't pay tax on the first 50% of your salary (up to 100,000). If that is correct then why not apply it to the tax threshold in the first place?

So what you are saying is that you deduct all your allowances and the remainder is your assesable income. Then the first 150,000 of that income is not taxable?

Can someone please explain what this means - I'm baffled. Employment Income Deduction You can deduct 50% of your employment income, up to a maximum of 100,000 baht, from your taxable income. However, you can’t claim business-related expenses against this. https://www.expattaxthailand.com/thailand-expat-tax-rates-allowances-and-deductions/

Yes, I didn't say anything about interest, I am aware that interest is income. I still doubt, even if this new proposal comes to fruition, that it will be able to be applied retrospectively so selling assets before you move should protect the original proceeds - providing they stay put.

From some of your other posts I had wondered if you are serious or just trolling. Others had questioned your sincerity in different threads - I was suspicious but gave you the benefit of the doubt - until now. You claim to be relatively new to Thailand, asking questions about property and business etc. yet you now purport to have knowledge of Thai society. However, your knowledge is seriously flawed and also limited to only a section of Thai society. We have more money - when Thai guys are rich, they are seriously rich. Thai women falling over themselves to get a farang - only the section you deal with. Most middle class or rich Thai women won't date a foreigner as they are looked down upon by their peers. There are exceptions - I'm talking about most. Thai women are open to a big age gap - again, that depends on which section of society you are talking about. It also depends on their intentions. There are some girls, some not many, for whom age is not a barrier but ask your average Uni girl what age group she's looking at when choosing a boyfriend and you'll soon see the error of your ways. Put yourself in their position, would you, as a 25 year old, be looking at 60 year old women? There is a reason why SOME Thai girls will accept, even look for, a much older guy.

I looked at the original 'new taxation' arrangments where income remitted to Thailand would be taxed and was OK with that. As for the latest proposal - to tax global income.............. Firstly, I doubt this will actually be enacted - there are a hell of a lot of influential Thai's that would be affected. Then there is the matter of your home country sharing your financial information with a foreign authority. Granted the anti money laundering regulations mean that many countries share information but would that include your entire position? Say I sold my sole dwelling in the UK (in 99.99% of cases tax free) prior to moving to Thailand and left the money in my UK bank account - why would my country see reason to give that information to the Thai Revenue Department? Provided I timed it right, why would any of my financial dealings in a tax year when I was resident in the UK be any of Thailand's business? I haven't checked the DTA between the UK and Thailand so I'm not sure if that's covered by it. That would be a game changer for me, I have no problem paying income tax - provided its the same as Thai people would pay but as for paying capital gains tax on the sale of my UK home - no way. I would have to have a rethink on my plans to move to Thailand and find an alternative.

With respect, you do not know my story and I'm not about to tell it here. I have trusted many times and each time been kicked in the balls. I find the best way is not to trust at all - for me trust is earned, not given. Anyway, this is not about me, I have posted my thoughts on relationships with bar girls - let's leave it at that. I didn't notice anything in the OP where it said all comments will be disected and the poster questioned as to their knowledge. All the OP calls for is people's opinions on whether marrying a bar girl can work or not.

Sadly I look at everything as a lie now - its a starting point I place there for protection - not really that I can spot a lie. Many years ago when I wasn't sure of a girl I was dating but thought I could, I bought her a phone for christmas. What she didn't know was that the phone had Flexispy installed on it. I expected I'd catch her out, I just wanted proof so that I didn't finish with her simply because of an unfounded suspicion. Flexispy at the time was pretty cheap and I figured it would save me a lot of time and money in the long run. However, the level of her deceipt was unbelievable, there wasn't just one guy - there were many + one night stands. She's also met one of her 'conquests' (that's how she saw them) at the airport after waving me goodbye 😀. That girl gave me a grounding in Thai girl lying and it went downhill from there.

High thoughts? I have no 'high thoughts' at all. I think you need to learn to read instead of skim reading. Nowhere did I say 100% and nor did I say I was immune. I said it would be very difficult for any woman to get a lie past me. That's not something I'm particulary proud of - I learned they hard way, and much harder than most. I'm not about to spill my life story here but there are members here that know me personally and they know. And no, before you speculate, I'm not one of the idiots that comes to Thailand and loses every penny he's ever had. My story is about far more than money - it came very close to me losing my life. So next time you critcise someone and think you know far more than them - take the time to consider that there are people out there that have been seriously wronged!

I'm not sure that is correct. The basic allowance is 60,000 + another 190,000 for over 65's. If his wife isn't earning there is a further 60,000. I also think you are looking at it the wrong way. My understanding is that you take your total income, in this case 300,000, then take your allowances off - the remainder is taxable so in the example you give, he would have 140,000 of taxable income. He would actually get 250,000 of allowance (+ possibly another 60k for his wife), so his taxable amount would be 50,000 and taxed at 5% so without any further allowances his tax would be 2500. At least that's the way I read the way the system works in Thailand. I could be wrong. There are also various other allowances.

Wrong, they pay the 200 baht because they don't have a licence.

Naa, you'd have to have been there. You're not talking to a newbie - quite the opposite. I've been around long enough and heard enough to know when someone's genuine or not. I was also married to a girl who'd have won gold for her country if lying was an olympic sport and another who had a Thai boyfriend since the day we met. Nobody's infallible but it would be difficult for any woman to get a lie past me - not something I'm particularly proud of, the learning curve was very hard.

I was once in Pattaya for the 'stag night' of a friend who was marrying a Thai girl. I was in a relationship at the time and wasn't interested in 'participating' but that can be difficult - the girls want customers. At one go-go bar I sat right up to the dance floor trying my best not to make eye contact - knowing what that would lead to but course you want to look, what normal male wouldn't? After a while one girl bent down and asked me if she could come and sit with me, I relented and told her 'one drink' - I have a girlfriend. This girl sat with me for about 45 minutes until my group left. During that time I stuck to my guns and only bought her the 'one drink'. She told me she was tired of dancing and would buy her own drinks if she could continue sitting with me - which she did. This girl like many, had a story and I found it totally believable. She was 35 but like a lot of Thai girls, looked much younger (make up also helps). She'd worked in hotels in Bangkok after finishing university until she was 'knocked up' by her Thai boyfriend - like many, he legged it as soon as he found out she was pregnant. She was from somewhere in Isaan, can't remember exactly where and as is common, had been brought up by her grandparents whilst her mum and dad worked in Bangkok. She'd decided that she was going to do her best not to repeat that story and went home to 'the village' to have her baby with the intention of staying. She said it hadn't been easy but with family help, she'd managed until recently but as her child grew older, so did the expenses. She'd had a few relationships with Thai guys after the birth on her child but none of the guys she met were interested in taking on a girl with a child, they just wanted sex. A few girls from her area had gone to 'work bar' in Bangkok and Pattaya and some met 'farangs' through their work. Some had married and moved to live in their husband's country. Faced with growing expenses she was left with a choice - go to work in Bangkok, leaving her child with her parents - probably forever or like the other girls, go to work bar - maybe she could also meet a foreigner. She'd been in the bar for around a month and already had lots of offers - not surprising, she was a good looking girl. She had been with quite a few customers and it seemed she was struggling with it. She was under pressure from her boss to go with more and also to sell more 'lady drinks'. She told me that although she'd received offers, she just couldn't bring herself to enter into a relationship with a much older, often fat, foreigner - simply for the money. She seemed a really nice girl and true to her word, separated her drinks from my 'bin' when I left and put her share in. I think that her story was true - I've heard similar many times before but this girl accepted that I would only be buying one drink and would not not be taking her out of the bar. She was not pushy at all and I think that like she told me, she just wanted to sit down. I left as our group moved on but often wonder what happend to her. Did she meet Mr Right in the bar (doubtful) or did she become a hardened hooker? Sadly, I think the latter is most likely but it seems to me that it is possible to enter into a relationship with a bar girl - if you catch her early enough. The relationship I was in at the time was with a girl who had never worked bar but who turned out to be a massive liar and serial cheater - would I have been any worse off with a girl like the one I'd met in the bar?

Refreshing to hear a truthful story. Unlike many on here that claim they've never been with a bar girl - the temple goers.

Make sure the executors of your will have details of all your bank accounts.

All this information sharing/anti money laundering aimed at 'normal' people must cost the governments/financial institutions of the countries involved, trillions! Probably far more than they actually retrieve. How dare us 'normal' lowlifes try to avoid paying tax on money we have probably already been taxed on? How dare Brits try to maintain a UK address to avoid their pension being frozen? Meanwhile, the real tax evaders, the 'fat cats' and 'oligarchs' - even country leaders, employ armies of 'advisers' and accountants to move their money around using networks of 'shell companies' and 'tax havens' to avoid paying tax. Global companies locate their registered headquarters in zero/low tax domains then send 'management charges' forward that negate any profits made by their subsidiary companies in the countries where their actual income is received. I suspect that a 'shop floor' worker in such companies probably pays more tax than their chairman. All of this mind, is totally legal and the countries where the money is 'hidden' do not share information with anyone. Anyone remember The Panama Papers? Drug cartels shift their money through unregulated crypto currencies to avod detection and then 'wash' it by forming companies that buy and sell properties on a massive scale. Don't they then have to pay tax on any 'washed' profits they make? See the paragraph above. Never mind though, we can all sleep easy knowing our law enforcement/tax authorities are busy working away to locate those nasty tax evading expats living just above the breadline in countries such as Thailand. The same people that have probably paid tax all their lives! One only has to glance through The Panama Papers to see what goes on above the heads of us minions.

Yes you can but depending on the individual office, if your friend has a signed lease, he should be able to register TM30 himself. I suggest he contacts the local office and asks what they require. As for being fined, it may or may not happen, I would just go ahead and register and see what happens. I had lots of problems with my initial registration (which is now defucnt and I have to start again) but eventually got it sorted and registered myself. I'm lead to believe that immigration are a lot more easy going now and they just want to see that someone is properly registered.

Unless things have changed, as far as I remember, providing you return to the same address when you return, you don't have to make a new TM30 registration.

Agreed. In such a situation, I wouldn't attempt doing it online. Once I got past the pedantic I.O at Korat and they accepted that I could register myself, I was handed over to one of the students they have working there. She spoke English fairly well and made things much easier. I know it can be a PITA going in person (its 100km for me) but once its done you will have login details that you know will work. They also seem to have specific staff that deal with TM30 so the OP might not have to join the usual immigration queue. Another tip I would suggest. If possible, take the device you intend to use to access your registration with, along with you. Before you leave the office, make sure you can actually login to your account. Much easier that trying to sort problems on the phone.

My earlier post refers to a past registration. I'm not sure if things are the same now or not but previously, Nakhon Ratchasima Immigration would not accept an online registration by someone who was not the registered owner. I had to do my initial registration in person and even then had problems because I wasn't the registered owner of the property. For a while they insisted that the owner had to visit them in person but I eventually got them to back down on that. It certainly wasn't accepted in minutes. I think immigration in general now accept that the main point is just to get the registration done - whether that's by the owner or the occupier. I will find out shortly as something went wrong/was changed during/after Covid. My registration no longer exists and I will have to do it all again - hopefully it will be a lot easier this time.

You will probably experience different requirements at each office. The registered owner of my house does not have their name in the Tabien Baan (bizarrely there are no names in the book). Their name is on the Channote though. I was eventually allowed to register TM30 myself but needed to produce: Copy my passport. Copy of my Usufruct Agreement. Copy of the Tabien Baan for my house. Copy of the Tabien Baan for the house where the registered owner lives. Copy of the registered owner's ID card. Original + Copy of the property's Channote The copies of the registered owner's Tabien Baan and ID card had to be signed and include their telephone number.