andreahkg

Curious to know what it would take to start up an exporting company, SMALL scale, exporting Thai silks, Thai fabric in general. I have a degree in textile design thus know LOTS about the fabric side, have used thai-silk exclusively when working on my own fabric designing, and I know of a few places that would love to have these fabrics. My husband and I are throwing around this idea, starting a busines that exports the silk.

Links as well as resources that would help in our research would be great! We are presently living in Bangkok, I am a teacher here.

Cheers,

bluegirl72 & nisei23

Be very careful about small scale business because the Thai government wants its "cut" of anything you do and that includes witholding tax on a salary whether you actually make a salary or not, VAT, and your virtual office that is required to have a registered company unless you actually lease an office space and hire staff which is another whole headache. I am a one person company doing business thru my laptop and it costs me over $300.00USD per month for all these fees and you also have to hire legal/accounting firm to process all the paperwork monthly unless you read and speak Thai fluently. Read thru all the forums and heed the warnings because it is not as easy as it should be which is why I am returning to the west. Good luck...

the biggest hidden cost for start ups is paying TAX on income and salary that you don't earn .................................

Think long and hard about all the potential potholes and headaches and do your best to get hard numbers before registering a Thai company. Even with an accounting/legal firm it was not clear to me all the taxes and fees and redundant paperwork required to establish a business here. Only after five months time do I now know it costs my little one person business over $300.00/USD per month to "work" from my laptop. Needless to say, no one wants to give you the whole story because they and everyone down the line will lose their fees. Whether you actually receive a salary or not the Thai government will take withholding tax monthly, then there is the VAT tax that the government charges on the SAME transaction multiple times, and of course the matter of the virtual office that you are required to have. And then you must pay the legal and accounting fees for filing all the paperwork monthly because unless you read and speak Thai fluently, that will also be a cost of doing business here. No one can tell me why you register a Thai company that allows you a work permit and a year long Non immigrant Business visa but still have to cross the border every 90 days. And when you go on holiday, you must "suspend" your work permit and then reactivate it when you return. I now know I can still do business with Thai companies (from the West) and be paid directly into my foreign bank account, alleviating all the fees and paperwork to the Thai government...I save over $300.00USD per month in fees and the Thai government loses a revenue source. I am glad I learned this before purchasing a condo!!

Good luck to anyone wishing to do business in Thailand...it is a great place for holiday but not without a lot of challenges and headaches on the business side...read the forums and talk to as many foreigners as you can before considering dropping any money in Thailand. While you are at it...do some research on how many Thai girl/farang men get married...and divorced...after the property purchase of course.