Taxing on foreign income

[ballpoint]

4 minutes ago, wordchild said:

This is not true. What counts is how the law is written IN THAI and how the Thai tax authorities have always interpreted this law. I have had this explained to me , in some detail,  in the past, by my own Thai tax lawyer.

  

 

Correct.  The company I worked for took care of my income tax for all my expat assignments, Thailand included.  They used PWC as auditors, and to prepare the annual tax paperwork, and I have asked them a lot of questions on local and international taxation over the years.  At the end of each tax year PWC would send me a questionnaire asking about other income / deductibles etc.  They differ for each country of assignment, but the Thailand one includes:

 

Any income paid outside Thailand and not remitted into the country the same year it is derived does not have to be declared.  I suppose, in theory, if you transferred, say, 10,000,000 baht to Thailand then they could ask for proof that you already had that money at the start of the tax year (ie that it wasn't earned that year).

 

[wordchild]

3 hours ago, wordchild said:

This is not true. What counts is how the law is written IN THAI and how the Thai tax authorities have always interpreted this law. I have had this explained to me , in some detail,  in the past, by my own Thai tax lawyer. You really need to get a Thai lawyer (expert in Tax) to interpret the law directly from Thai language. There is some subtlety around the way it is written, as i understand it; and this is not clear in  some English translations. That is how it was explained to me anyway.

  Tilleke and Gibbins is one of Thailand's most respected law firms  https://www.tilleke.com/sites/default/files/Thailand-Tax-Guide.pdf   This is their published Thai Tax Guide. 

Have a look at chapter 7.

 

a possible cause of confusion here is what is classed as "income"?

The advice i have had is that the law (as it relates to this)  and also the way in which has been interpreted (incl by the Thai Tax Authorities) defines income  narrowly ie only that which has been earned in the current tax year.

Earnings from prior years (whether taxed or not)  are regarded as capital not income. so if you bring in prior year earnings its like you are transferring in your savings rather than your earnings. Funds brought in this way are excluded from any tax calculation and need not be reported on any tax form.  

As i understand it,  the law was drafted and subsequently interpreted in this way, so as to incentivize  and not  penalise  people who are repatriating their capital/savings back into Thailand; exactly the point made by Naam above. 

Most importantly, the clear advice that i have had, is that it would not be possible for the Tax Authorities, on their own,  to simply redefine their interpretation of income in this context. The law and the long history of its interpretation would not allow this. If things are going to change around this tax treatment there would need to be new legislation.

That is the advice I have had, but really if the OP wants complete reassurance they should go get a thorough (and documented) assessment of their personal Thai tax situation provided by a respected Thai Tax specialist. (exactly as i have done) That should be enough to answer any future questions that they might get

Edited April 27, 2019 by wordchild

[Naam]

12 hours ago, Doronazl said:

question is, if and when i relocate and be asked for tax returns for those funds, what i do then ?, i feel the letter wouldnt suffice

all Asian banks are aware of the Thai tax situation. anywhere else you can provide a dozen internet links explaining "not taxed because not transferred the same year".

[sikishrory]

On 4/27/2019 at 2:16 AM, Doronazl said:

question is, if and when i relocate and be asked for tax returns for those funds, what i do then ?, i feel the letter wouldnt suffice

Did you end up figuring this out at all?

[Doronazl]

On 5/3/2019 at 5:03 PM, sikishrory said:

Did you end up figuring this out at all?

figure in what way ? i think this post included all the information needed

as to a letter ? will check with the bigger law firms in thailand see if can get something more concrete and decisive 

[sikishrory]

On 5/4/2019 at 11:57 PM, Doronazl said:

figure in what way ? i think this post included all the information needed

as to a letter ? will check with the bigger law firms in thailand see if can get something more concrete and decisive 

Figure out " when i relocate and be asked for tax returns for those funds, what i do then ? "

There seemed to be a lot of back and forth in the thread with no absolute answer that I could see. Perhaps I missed it.

Do you consistently spend more than 6 months per year here?

Do you have a wife you can file jointly with?

Also when you say you are a resident do you mean you applied for Thai residency successfully or you have just have a strong case of non-residency for tax purposes in your home country?