ukrules

6 hours ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

Anyone bringing in a large amount of money in 2024, thinking that it will all be fine and good is being very unwise.  Likewise, anyone packing up and leaving Thailand before July 2024 is also being unwise.

You know, you can always pay a tax bill if needed, I'm sure it won't be a massive burden for a year or two.

Things can be arranged to minimise tax in due course once the new rules if any are applied.

For example, I will be sending much less money each month from January, if I then need to file a tax return I'll pay the 20k Baht in tax, no big deal. But I will cut my remittances in half to get to this level.

Their plans to attempt to tax all global income in the future is the real potential problem here - this current situation is nothing compared to that one which may be a couple of years down the road.

10 minutes ago, Yumthai said:

There is no clear statement saying that you have to be non tax resident in Thailand the year you sell to avoid a later tax in Thailand.

You just have to be non resident for tax purposes the year you remit money, simply because that year you declare nothing in Thailand.

How could RD check you a calendar year you are not tax resident and not filing any tax return?

 

Example:

- You sell your offshore house US$1M in 2024 while being tax resident in Thailand. You keep that money abroad.

- You file in 2025 any income earned in 2024 (including foreign remittance except house sale proceed because not remitted in Thailand) and pay tax (if any)

- In 2025 you stay less than 180 days in Thailand and become non resident for tax purposes

- Any money you remit in Thailand in 2025 including your house sale proceed US$1M will be tax-free because in 2026 you will not have to file any tax return related to 2025 income/remittance.

 

You're right - there's no clear statement which makes all our potential scenarios quite redundant unitl they do clarify.

People won't expose themselves to such risks until there's clarity.

16 minutes ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

Be careful - get professional advice before doing that.  As detailed by the lawyer in that video, even though you are not a tax resident in Thailand you can be hit for any money you earned in Thailand (such as for 90 days stay).  What that means is that being a non tax resident is not a blanket get out of jail card. The Thai RD could well decide (under the current definitions) that you did that to deliberately avoid paying income taxes, and maybe that gives them the right to tax you. I would get professional advice before taking that strategy involving such a large amount of money.  

It's all foreign income and transactions can happen at any time of my choosing - for example, while I'm out of the country and by definition they would be done offshore.

But for sure I would consult with an accountant before making any such move and let the dust settle after any law changes before doing so.

This is something I will not take lightly, without clarity on the issue no money is coming to Thailand other than day to day expenses from Jan 1, 2024.

No clarification = no remittance.

2 hours ago, MistyBlue said:

I agree with you, which is why I was astounded to hear it suggested in the video that there might be a tax liability for gains made when not a tax resident when later remitted as a tax resident.  The example they gave in the video was selling a property in Canada when not Thai tax resident, but then later remitting the profits to Thailand there could be a tax liability if the tax had not been paid in Canada due to personal reliefs given in that country.  That just didn't seem right to me which is why I highlighted it for discussion.

Indeed, this was alarming and would possibly catch a lot of people out if implemented, especially people who bought a house as a primary residence say 20 to 30 years ago for next to nothing compared to the current 'value' and sell it now to fund their retirement.

There's zero tax on that in the UK as it's the house you lived in all your life as opposed to an investment property. Nobody will want to pay any tax on that money in Thailand so if they know about it they simply will not come - unless they plan it as follows they might fall into a trap and be liable :

I might bring a reasonably large amount of money into Thailand at some point in the next couple of years. Lets say 10 million Baht although it could be more.

In order to do this I would need to sell some of my long term holdings which date back at least a decade, this will be a very profitable sale and there will be no tax paid anywhere.

For me the only way to ensure zero tax is paid on this would be to be non resident (<180 days) in Thailand during the year that I do the following :

1 - Sell the assets to get the 10 million Baht equivalent in USD

2 - Remit it to Thailand via wire transfer

All while being non resident - the key part is that you need to be non resident in both the year when you sell it (realise the profit) and the year when you remit it, with a little planning, two 90 day trips plus a long weekend somewhere else I could do that in one year and proving it would be simple. Passport stamps would prove non residence and asset sale / wire transfer records would prove profit made and remitted while non resident during the same year.

Now that's a lot of hassle but it would save a whole chunk of tax. It is tax avoidance (a healthy practice for any man), not evasion.

I think I got that right.

Another concern is that they might want to tax the rest of my money made outside of Thailand as they are looking to tax global income in the future - which sounds like a pipedream and I will be very surprised if it ever happens, but if it does then that is going to be a problem as I'm definitely never going to stop making money outside of Thailand and I'm not going to pay them any tax on that if I don't bring it here - not a chance. I will incorporate to avoid that and nothing will belong to me if they take this step.

Also I don't mind paying some tax on the money I use for day to day living but I won't be sending 100k Baht a month any more, in the future that would be reduced to 50k a month resulting in a negligible (21,500 Baht) tax bill for me.

 

7 hours ago, foreverlomsak said:

With the CRS exchange of information it is entirely possible that the sending bank, i.e. the bank the card is issued from, could report the withdrawal of monies in Thailand and the name of the name and other details of the card owner.

But CRS sends end of year balances and throughput on accounts - that's it.

What did you expect CRS to be? Some kind of advanced statement reporting detailing your every transaction

Not only should all debts be cancelled but the low life scum criminals who offer this type of service should be serving long prison sentences rendering the debt completely unservicable.

Anything less than this means the government is partnering up with the illegal businesses.