TroubleandGrumpy

I agree - and in the future the Thai Govt will address the issue. But I think they will not remove the gifting rule, but they will probably reduce it. After all, 20 million baht is a ridiculous amount that onyl the wealthy would utilise - which is of course why it was introduced in the first place.

Not impossible - but extremely unlikely. There must be millions of ATM transactions in Thailand every day - IMO there is currently no system to differentiate and report to the TRD those made by each and every Expat. They can report all the transactions made using an ATM from a Thai bank of course, but not for every ATM transaction from overseas banks - other than it total amounts - certainly not for each and every person. And even if they could, TRD would then have to sift through all those records to find those transactions just for Expats who are tax residents and those for tourists and those for Thais who have an overseas bank account.

I see now why some people have got somewhat angry about people discussing gifting - they see that as a way of evading taxes. But if the gift is from 'savings' or any other form of non assesable income, then the reason to do it is to evade dealing with the TRD bureacracy - legally.

That is why most people are not looking at Gifting as a method to evade income taxes on income earned overseas, but thery are looking to avoid being questioned by Somchai at the local Thai TRD about the amount of money (not income) they have remitted into Thailand to themselves. Trying to remit assessable income into Thailand by Gifting and evade taxation liability is not what most people (like me) plan to do. We are just looking at ways to avoid having to deal with the Thai TRD bureacracy - especially during the first few years.

IMO it is only taxable when the income is remitted and that it becomes taxable income if you are then at time of remittancxe a tax resident. Or is Thailand going to apply back-taxes to the income of anyone retiring in Thailand in 2030 for the 6 years from 2024 to 2030?? Obviously not and they cannot do that. BUT that does not mean that Somchai in the local TRD will not try to hit you for back-taxes under your scenario, because of the incompetent rules in the Thai Tax Code and the poor (if any) training provided. Stay away from them IMO.

Maybe take a look at Malaysia and Philipinnes - I understand that they both dont tax FSI (Foreign Sourced Income) that has been subjected to the taxation system of the country of origin, and there are other exclusion conditions too.

I hear you - and agree that Wise was a bad example as they send money into a single person's bank account.

Thanks - that is even more 'evidience' that gifting is a legitimate tax avoidance strategy (for now).

The TRD has allowed 20-30 million Thais not lodging tax returns, and they have done nothing about for many decades. Would they seriously target the partners of Expats alone and not all the other Thais - the social media outcry would be horrendous for the Govt politically.

Yes that is what I also think will happen - one year of 'issues' and then a lot more rational approach. In the meantime, IMO all Expats that are not earning money in Thailand (working etc) and are 'lineball' about whether they should get a TIN and lodge a tax return, should take the prudent approqach and keep their heads down. It is always the foolish ones who rush to be up front who get 'hit' when things are wrong - the wise ones hang back and wait and watch. This is the same sort of thing IMO.

The Burriram track is not big/wide enough for F1 and the facilities are not up to scratch either - OK for the MotoGp bikes, but not the 'big boys'. I doubt very much that the costs to upgrade the track and facilities would be worth it. F1 is a business and is all about making money from the countries that they take their 'circus' to - huge payments and costs are involved - not as much as the World Cup Football, but in that ballpark.

IMO it is something to be avoided in Thailand - both because of 'spending patterns and information', and also because of Thailand's incompetent abilities with regards to IT security measures.

Aint gonna happen - this bloke talks and smiles and talks and smiles and talks and smiles ............... The sad thing is that many Thais think he is doing a great job - all these new deals with overseas bigwigs that will bring in lots of money money money. I thought TAT was ridiculous - this is way beyond even their lunacy.

Deal Talker NOT a Deal Maker - nothing has actually happened and IMO never will.

2 months? Miscarriage because of that?? Give me a break - maybe miscarriage was from carrying drugs up there. Smoke Screen if you ask me - to divert attention away from the drug charges. As in, you drop the drug charges and I drop the lawsuit.

Hope you are correct - but I am worried it will take a year of 'financial disasters' and Court appeals by Thais, before they realise they need to back down and do something reasonable like follow Malaysia's path - the big one being to exempt all FSI that has been subjected to the overseas country's tax rules.

Good advice IMO. But everyone needs to make sure they keep an auditable paper trail of every transaction and transfer - and keep them in separate banks - both here and overseas. Plus of course the tax free limit is twice the amount when you have a partner, because joint tax returns are very easy to do in Thailand.

I would do the same if I was making any income/earnings this year and beyond. You are not the only one leaving for a short or extended period. Most others I know of have decided to spend 179 days in Thailand, and the rest in another place - Cambodia and Laos are easy in and out - Vietnam is also very close. Others have gone to Philippines or Malaysia and most dont intend returning - lots of Yanks now live in Philippines.

Did I also popint out that big companies like Expedia dont actually pay the Hotel for every visit? They have an Agreement and under that they make a single total payment (after fees etc) once a month to the hotel. Friends of a mate have 3 small units in Isaan (we stayed there a few times) and they stopped using them because of the fees and late payment.

So you are saying that every tourists that enters Thailand, after paying for their holiday at home, has a potential taxation liability as they have remitted assessable income into Thailand. Lets hope none of them stays for two trips of 90 days - they might be hit at the airport when leaving for not havinbg a tax clearance certificate 😉 The point is that at this time there is no reason to think that TRD considers a credit card transaction as a taxation event and that tax is payable, so therefore it is a legal way to avoid paying income tax in Thailand. However, if anyone was to use a CC for everything they pay for, then they MIGHT be asked one day to come and talk to the local TRD Office where they wiull be asked to explain how they pay to stay in Thailand. I am not a lawyer and I cannot give legal advice, but if I was single with no ties to Thailand and doing that, and was asked to 'appear' in the local TRD within 7 days (say), then my time would be up in Thailand. Not an ideal strategy for someone intending to live here long term and/or with a Thai partner - not ideal, but a legal loophole.

Big Difference. Wise must and does send it to a Thai bank account. Expedia sends it to the hotel's bank account.

Simple explanation that is true, but has nothing to do with incurring an income tax liability for the remittance of assessable income. If I am living overseas and I book and pay for a holiday to Thailand using my money in that overseas country, that money is not remitted to me in Thailand. Remember most of the booking sewrvices are global - I paid for a recent triopo and the money went to Denmark (I had a quick look at the Ts&Cs). That is the same for the airline flights and car rental and anythign else. The booking service I use pays for the hotel and anything else - I pay them. It does not matter if I am in Thailand or not - the money is not remitted to myself in Thailand. Sure it is a 'get around' if you want to call it that - but I prefer to call it a 'loophole' - same as the previous one they changed that allowed income earned overseas to be remitted 12+ months later and not incur income taxes. I see it is on the list of unknowns - lets hope TRD answers them all.

Therein lies one of the many issues still outstanding with this change and lack of detailed explanations by TRD. Hard to plan ahead right now for certain - other than doing what is OK to reduce/avoid income taxes (legally), unless specifically advised by TRD (or Court precedence), that it is not legal. Example - staying overseas for 185 days in a year is a legal method to avoid income taxes in Thailand.

I agree. If/when I pay for something like a hotel using an Amex card in Australia, the 'money' is not remitted into any of my Thai bank accounts. And the payment is made to Amex from my bank account/s in Australia. Nothing to do with Thailand banking at all. I can see a lot of Expats using credit cards from their home countries (paid for in their home countties) as a way around remitting money into Thailand, and that makes sense to me. Most of the 'hotel booking' websites are 'global' and when you pay using them, it is them that pays the hotel. Same will occur for a lot of other things that can be paid for using a credit card I would assume.

Absolutely - we will be doing the same for all our holidays in future (unless this idiocy changes). That way the money never enters Thailand.