TroubleandGrumpy

That makes sense - but that does not mean that it will happen that way (TiT). At the very least the Thai Govt will instruct the Thai Banks to ensure that they report all foreign sourced deposits (probably over an arbitrary amount) much more rigorously than they did in the past. But as I said, the Thai Govt may instruct the banks to be much more 'proactive' and to get involved in the process of identifying foreign deposits that may be subject to taxation under the revised interpretations from 1 Jan 2024. You could be right - I hope so - but there is no details yet provided either way, and it still does not mean I do not have potential tax issues in Thailand. Until they clarify all the details (like this one), I am going to look for the potential problems and stay acropss the matter, and be open to all potential problems people mention - then when the time is right I will seek professional advice, before making my decision (leave or stay). To me it is a game changer - if I have tax liabilities in Thailand on my private funds from supoerannuation investments in Australia being brought into Thailand, then we are out of here.

Jumping in on this issue and raising a related one - it seems to me getting and providing a Tax ID number to their Thai Bank/s might be a wise thing to do for an Expat. In Aust if you dont provide your tax number (TFN) to a bank, they will tax all your interest earned at the highest rate, but if you give them a TFN thery apply no tax and merely report your earnings and balance to the Taxation Office. Then it is up to you to declare the interest as income in your tax return. Perhaps they follow the same/similar process here in Thai Banks - anyone know?

You are right - and unlike in the 'west' where the taxation rules are clear, and usually applied consistently across Offices, and you have recourse to appeal (Tribunals etc.), and you can lodge compaints (Onbudsmen etc.) - here in Thailand things are as clear as mud, the rules are applied very inconsistently, and there is SFA recourse to appeal/complain even for a Thai citizen, let alone an Expat. Yes the majority of Thai Govt 'officials' are OK to deal with and usually nicer than in the west, but if things end up going against you here, there is nothing you can do about it. As you said, they will be under pressure to get more money in to pay for the Govt vote buying schemes, and being caught up in their net now or sometime in the future is a huge worry.

Nail on the head hit. Because of the very strong likelihood of 'errors of interpretation' by Thai Revenue Dept Officers and/or Thai Banks, this is a massive issue for Expats in Thailand. If it is not cleared up quickly and clearly, with the Thai Govt publicly stating that Expat's pensions and savings will not be taxed, the obvious reality is that they will be taxed. Even if the Thai Govt did not intend that to happen, there will very likely occur situations where Expats incoming funds are 'taxed' - and the Expat will have to prove to the satisfaction of the Thai Revenue Officer (or Thai Bank Officer) that the funds were taxed in the country of origin in the previous years - which in many cases will be even more impossible than getting the owners/CEO of a foreign health insurance company to certify that their policy meets the Thai Immigration requirements (remember that??). If I bring over 5-10 million baht to buy a property, will the Thai Bank 'withhold' 30% as potential due tax? Will the Thai Revenue Dept demand I prove the funds were taxed in order to have them released? There are so many other potential issues/problems - and they are potentially very big ones. The fact that this has happened and none in the Thai Govt has stated anything yet, gives me pause to reconsider whether living here long term is a good idea. Malaysia (Penang) is looking good right now - Plan B.

Sorry - you are wrong. Any person who resides in Thailand for more than a total of 180 days in any tax year (Jan1 to Dec31) is a tax resident of Thailand. Freely provable with a Google search.

You are probably right. But how will someone prove that the money in their Aust Super Fund, and which was moved into a Aust Bank account, and then into a Thai bank account, was taxed 2 to 30 years ago. Will I be forced to pay tax if I am unable to prove that the funds I brought over to buy a property were previously taxed. I think that is the big issue - the amounts involved in Pensions remitted to Thailand will not be an issue IMO - but the Millions of Baht remitted to pay for a property/car will IMO 'attract their attention'.

Most do not - my bank accounts (Bangkok Bank and Kringsri) pay me no interest. They are 'old' ones though - opened when I first came to Thailand over 12 years ago.

Yes - that is exactly the issue - will I have to 'prove' the money I brought into Thailand was not income, and what will the Thai Banks do with those funds while I provide 'proof'. Will the funds be 'held' in an escrow type arrangement, awaiting proof? Will Thai Banks merely report the transfer and later the Thai Tax Department demands an explanation and requests me to come in and 'discuss' the situation? Yes I know, that is unlikely, but fining Expats 1900 Baht because a hotel failed to complete the TM30 happened to many people.

So far, from reading most of these posts and other internet opinions, it looks to me that the intent is to tax income brought into Thailand that was generated in previous Tax years, as opposed to the current situation where they taxed only the income generated overseas in 'this' tax year. Many people appear to have been 'holding' their income generated overseas in past years, and then bringing it in when it will not be taxed. That is not the issue for most Expats (eg. rental received from proprrty overseas). The question I have is - will my Pension and/or Savings be taxed when I bring them into a bank account in Thailand. I think this will be clarified soon enough - and I hope the answer is 'no' - otherwise we will be leaving Thailand. Another concern about this for me, which seems to have been overlooked, is will the Thai Banks apply the 'applicable' tax rate to funds received from overseas into the account of a non-citizen tax resident. Thai Banks do not pay interest to non-citizen tax residents on funds in their standard bank account, because of the taxation complications involved. I also am concerned about what Thai Banks might do with this 'taxation complication' when funds are transferred into Expats bank accounts from overseas. I assume until we get a formal/legal explanation of exactly what this 'rule interpretation' means, we are all in a state of limbo - and it is very serious, because many will leave if they do tax our pensions/savings. I am reminded of what happenned when the Junta decided to 'enforce' (interpret) the Immigration Laws a lot more harshly than they previously did. Their clampdown/enforcement of the TM30 rule (reporting overnight stays) was the last straw for me and we left Thailand earlier than planned (to get the Aust Pension). If this goes the way I am worried it will, then this time we will leave and never return (full-time). We came back after the Junta lost the election - I really hope that this is not the fire that we have jumped into (the pan was better).