jaideedave

11 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Rebuild/redo (almost) everything?

If you build it from scratch and you are there every day then at least you have a good idea what is happening and you can see problems early and correct them. Once it's finished it is a nightmare to (try to) fix some problems. 

I.e. electrical installations are often horrible. Do it all new? Enjoy! 

I agree but in this case he was working offshore and had to leave his lady in charge while away.The workers told her to stay away and that they knew what they were doing (not) He told me the whole thing was a nightmare. As a side note they split up later that year anyway and he walked away. Its a good thing he was making good money.

35 minutes ago, Don Chance said:

I knew a guy in Krabi with a Thai wife. He had a big idea to build a house then flip it. He gave the build about 10k usd and never saw him again, he said he dropped off a big water jug though.  He tried to sue the builder. 2 years later he split with his wife and moved back the states after 20 year in Thailand. The whole thing was too much for him.

Yes another sad story.A friend some years back decided to have a custom house built on the "dark side" of Pattaya.At the time he was working 28/28 rota so his wife/gf was there half the time.

They f___ed up just about everything you could imagine.His advice to me> never build from scratch.

Buy a house in an area you like and rebuild/redo as you like.Way easier and probably less expensive.

10 hours ago, Smokin Joe said:

Statement from Revenue Department official was in the paper that shall not be named. A Revenue Dept statement "should" be much more reliable than any statement from other offices.

 

Revenue Department Deputy Director-General and spokesperson Vinit Visessuvanapoom said the tax collection is to comply with international standards on the exchange of financial information to promote tax transparency...

 

The collection of PIT on overseas income will be primarily based on the principle of self-declaration in conjunction with the use of digital technology and international information exchange systems …

Therefore, if the government collected tax on income from abroad, the taxpayer would be subject to double taxation as tax must be paid to Thailand as well as paid to the country in which the income is being earned.

 

However, Thailand currently has 61 double tax agreements which prevent individuals or companies operating in more than one country being taxed twice on the same income.

The programme will begin on Jan 1, 2024 and apply only to tax residents in Thailand meaning tourists and short-term workers will be exempt. Also exempt will be those who have been taxed in a foreign country that has a standing double tax agreement with Thailand.

No real breaking news but it shows that they are taking the tax treaties into account. And in my opinion the Thai govt doesn't have a single person that can read and understand 61 different treaties.
I read the Thai/Canada tax treaty and had to lay down for a few minutes.Mostly legalese jargon and not easy to digest (for me)
 

9 hours ago, Lorry said:

How do you think did they get those 61 treaties?

Maybe they had foreign translators on contract?

8 hours ago, Irrumator said:

What about residents from a country in which their income is low enough that they  fall into the tax exempt band?

So does that mean they will also be tax exempt here? 

Actually I find myself in that category.Through certain provisions in the Cdn tax code my pensions are tax exempt. I pay zero IT on my retired income.My question is will the Thai RD respect that.I have the printed document in front of me.Food for thought.

13 hours ago, ravip said:

Sometimes it's very difficult to fathom what's happening. Especially if the plumbing is underground. 

Further,  everyone is not technically oriented. 

Your comment is very unreasonable. IMHO.

Correct, when I bought my house in Pattaya the pump would cycle several times day/night even when not in use.A lot of the blue pipes were buried and some digging and investigating showed some dodgy plumbing which I bypassed and eliminated . Off/on cycling stopped immediately.

The pump shouldn't be running unless water is leaking out or as someone mentioned faulty non return valve.

Working with the local blue plastic tubing is simple, You Tube is your friend.

Get your hands dirty and have a good look.

7 hours ago, Tom Vanderlay said:

Hi,
Just wondering if anyone knows whether money already in a bank account here in Thailand is subject to this tax?

And will all money transfered into Thailand, regardless of source (even savings from overseas) be subject to this tax?

 

Does having a double tax treaty have any effect on this (I am a tax resident of Thailand - staying here more than 180 days per year.  I am required to file income taxes in my home country but always pay nothing as my income is below the threshold)?
 
Also, does anyone have a link to the law in English?  Thanks

I am in a similar situation as yourself.I pay no income tax on my pensions because it is below a certain threshold also. I won,t be able to prove that I have paid tax already.I have a letter from the tax dept stating about the tax exemption.  Wait and see I suppose.

On 9/20/2023 at 8:02 PM, Skeptic7 said:

...the policy appears to have three specific targets: residents trading in foreign stock markets through foreign brokerages, cryptocurrency traders, and Thais who have been exploiting a loophole that allowed them to bring. foreign earnings into the country tax-free after keeping it in an offshore account for more than a calendar year.

S7..Your is one of the only responses that makes sense. I'm thinking the bar stool warmers aren't their primary target not the berry pickers in Finland who probably seldom trade in foreign stock markets.

8 minutes ago, TigerandDog said:

There's only 1 way to get decent workmanship here. You MUST be present 100% of the time to supervise.  When we were having our house built 2 years ago had to get lots of corrections done. Tiles meant for the bathroom floor were being put on the wall.  Tiles for the carport floor were being laid in the kitchen. Wrong tiles being ordered despite being given model # of the tiles we required. Issues with roof tiles. paint watered down when told not to water it down. This was a so called professional home building company. Had we not been present to keep an eye on these guys god knows what we would have had to deal with. OP I think you're being generous by saying 70%, it's more like 90%.  They're so used to doing shoddy work for Thais they just can't accept that farangs expect better quality workmanship.

555 An acquaintance had a house built by his wife's family. What a joke , so many mistakes were made that most everything had to be done once then removed and done again.He called me over one day to look at the kitchen counter they installed. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was just above the level of your knees.

How could a sober man put that much effort into something and not stand back and scratch your chin and ponder?

2 hours ago, Billpro785 said:

I have spoken to my accountant , a former US IRS agent and for American Expats like myself, this means nothing. As the US, and Thailand  have a tax treaty and I file US taxes every year, this will not affect me in any way. 

I would suggest the US Expats here go to the IRS website and read the tax treaty between the states and Thailand. 

According to my accountant, this was done to encourage business investments in Thailand, not to nickel and dime the expats. 

And you know that any US expats that have  more than 10K USD in Thai Baht in a Thai bank, The bank reports that to the IRS as well. 

Finally, a voice of reason. Tons of foreign countries have tax treaties with LOS. It would only confuse those who work in the Thai tax bureaucracy who paid their way to the position anyway.

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

They just want to collect tax from Thais working/earning overseas.

Nothing to do with expats.

I have a tendency to think like you in this case.I've lived in the same house here since 2007. They have to ask me where I live every 90 days and annually for my Visa extension.. It would be an administrative nightmare for even an advanced country to track ATM withdrawals. How would that work exactly? If a tourist goes to withdraw some dosh for a night out would he be subject to some tax hit? Imagine the foreign press getting a whiff of that news. 

On 9/19/2023 at 5:04 PM, El Matador said:

To give a bit of perspective.

Indonesia and Vietnam tax everyone on their worldwide income.

Malaysia only taxes local income. And Philippines only taxes local income IF YOU ARE FOREIGNER. But if you get a Filipino passport you will get taxed worldwide.

 

Seems Thai nationals will be taxed worldwide wherever their income comes from without any possible loophole as they are the main target according to the articles.

Still have to see the details if foreigners will be taxed exactly the same on their worldwide income. Although I doubt it will happen, a tax system like in the Philippines could be an option if they want to keep stable their base of expats. That would be a positive discrimination for once.

Tax treaties only offer a protection to avoid to pay twice a tax on the same income but can't avoid bureaucracy and potential increased taxes if the treaty is not that great. Some of them were written 30 years ago in a very different context.

 

"If they introduce someday a 90 days visa exemption (as some are thinking), you could do your 2 visa exemptions in a year and call it a day. Hassle free, and without all the bureaucratic nightmare, that would be an attractive alternative.

 

 

If they introduce a 90 days visa exemption (as some are thinking), you could do your 2 visa exemptions in a year and call it a day. Hassle free, and without all the bureaucratic nightmare, that would be an attractive alternative"

I currently have the 1 year Visa (Retirement stamp) Are you saying if they introduce the 90 Visa exemption one could get a 90 day and extend it once and do a border run and get 180 days total? I like that option if it becomes available.

15 hours ago, mran66 said:

...don't forget that I recall it was Mr Big Joke who was behind changing the retirement visa requirement from "800k for 2mo" to "800k for 2+3 mo + 400k for 7mo".

 

As far as I can see, the primary if not only reason for that change was to encourage more retirees to skip the legal route, and get the 10+k bribe per renewal to immigration officers.

 

Seems Big Joke still thinks too many people skipping the agency approach, and sticking to legal way, thus he need to increase the requirements further to get more people to bribe the immigration staff and forget the bank approach

You are on point with that statement.I've been saying that for years.Agent income is very lucrative and off the books.They get no backhanders for doing it by the book. An office girl next door to Jomtien asked for a 10k fee for something I wanted done a few years ago.She told me the imm guys only gave here 1k for her cut.This last bit of news and confusion will no doubt cause the agent fees to increase.

TBH I pay the agent fees and consider it the cost of doing business here (Visa wise)

TIT 

1 hour ago, Thaindrew said:

use an ATM card from your home country rather than transferring funds in that should negate any need to pay tax

Yes thats an easy solution that I used to do. I started using Wise to eliminate/reduce the transfer fees. My Canadian bank fees add up fast. I will revert to that method again if necessary.

3 hours ago, Brigante7 said:

So if I weigh 120kg and my wife is 50kg, will she get a cheaper airfare or is it just another excuse to rip-off customers?

555 maybe the idea is to sell seats per kilogram?

Fewer kilos less expensive to fly.

11 hours ago, doosyhindleg said:

No

Buy one here.

I've owned a couple of HDs here over the years.I've been asked a dozen times by someone with a special model they would like to import. Standard answer is "don't even bother" unless you know someone who actually works for/at customs.

It just isn't worth the hassle.

11 hours ago, XJPSX said:

Why would they. It is within Thailand’s (not the consumers) best interest to ensure a majority on the cars on the road are made in Thailand.
Years ago the government’s initiative was to be the most successful car manufacturer in Asia and incentivised the Eastern Seaboard region.

The govt wants 100% of cars on the road to be made in Thailand and if you want to opt against a local purchase they have set duties on imports accordingly.

I paid 50% more for my imported car than what I can buy it for in my home country, but that’s my choice.

Maybe not a good one !

Countries like Africa should capitalise on the used Japan market but often countries like this are too corrupt to even facilitate such a process.

I have a friend that imported a Ford Mustang and never cleared it as the red tape and fees were 3 times the value of the car. My guess is that it is sitting in a Thai’s muscle car collection somewhere

 

XJ> As an example I have a friend who restores vintage HDs.He was contacted to restore a mid 1920s classic. Quite rare in LOS. Covid and various other reasons prevented completion.Guess who the Thai owner was? A retired customs officer.My friend was at his residence and he had a couple of buildings chock full of vintage collectable stuff.No doubt in my mind he acquired this loot by similar circumstances as your Mustang friend was victim to. I've heard of many tales over the years of people just abandoning their possessions at customs due to red tape and prohibitive arbitrary duties and no recourse.     

3 hours ago, ezzra said:

One of the main reasons, if not even 'de main reason' those guys strive to get themselves elected to such positions is so they can be in power to be involved in such projects and their permission and thus reap the benefits of their 'support' of the projects...

Yes, no scruples, same as local politicos handing out 500 baht notes in Issarn to buy votes. Really only interested in being in those positions to enable brown envelopes not giving a crap about the folks. 

Shame on all of them lowlifes.