rastlin

From the article: "she pledged to draft a new constitution and overhaul the tax system." Given that Thailand, like in most countries, spends more than they take in, their government, like in most countries, is hungry for revenue. The 10,000 Baht handout scheme only adds to their need for more revenue. Thus, it seems pretty clear they are going to do *something* but it remains to be seen what that something will be. Already, they have made rule changes in the whole "assessable income" taxation. It seems likely, given all the various news stories, the government is at least considering expanding the tax base to include 180 day plus "tax residents." But to me, the real issue is enforcement. After all, this country has motorcycle helmet laws which are only enforced sporadically as well as lots of other laws that are not enforced at all. Whatever new rule, regulation or law they come up with needs to be looked at in the context of enforcement. I'm not really that nervous because, almost certainly, whatever the official rule may be, there will be a workaround that requires a few thousand baht honorarium paid to someone in the system. That's just how things work in this country. Back in the 80's they required a tax clearance certificate to exit the country if you were a tax resident. This was to prove you were paying your taxes to Thailand. But that certificate was easy enough to obtain, or so I am told, for a small fee. And even right now there are plenty of one year "retirement visa" holders who do not have the requisite 800,000 Baht in the bank or medical insurance. They just pay a fee to an agent. So don't panic. The new tax laws, whatever they may be in the end, might effect the big corporations and their employees who actually follow the rules. But these companies are already paying taxes. The new tax laws, whatever they may be, probably are not going to seriously effect the retiree other than perhaps adding a few more thousand baht on their visa-agent tab cover the various new hoops to jump through and paperwork to submit. This is Thailand and that's just how these things go.

I think many people are in denial over this issue. And I can understand why. Who likes taxes? Will Thailand implement a tax on worldwide income? I don't know. Could they? Absolutely. We just need to see if this legislation moves forward. It might, or then again, it might not. This is Thailand. Will Thailand actually enforce the current law which already requires a tax return and tax paid on "assessable income?" I don't know. Could they? Absolutely. We will just need to see what happens as this tax year closes out. This is Thailand. Collecting taxes is what governments everywhere do. If anyone thinks for a moment that if Thailand, or any other country, is unable through vigorous enforcement, audits, computerized data collection and other such modern tools to collect tax due and enforce whatever laws they have on the books, they are wrong. It can be done. But will Thailand actually do this? No one at this point, probably not even the Thai government, knows exactly how this will play out. This is Thailand. But Thailand, like many countries, is hungry for revenue. Thailand tax revenue as a percent of GDP in 2023 was just 13.4%. Compare this to the US at 16.4% (2023) or the EU 19.8% (2021) and you can see why Thailand is looking to increase tax collection which is behind many other countries as a percent of GDP. Given this fact, various news articles, and change in rule interpretation regarding assessable income put forth last year, it seems likely that Thailand is indeed moving toward increasing their tax base and this will likely in some fashion or another, at some point in the future, impact foreign tax residents in some way. If you are concerned about this, you should plan accordingly, now. In the next few years it is possible that the tax landscape could be very different to what it has been in the past. Then again, maybe it won't change at all. This is Thailand.

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