Thailand Ranks World’s 3rd Digital Nomad Haven

[snoop1130]

 

According to a study by online resume building service Resume.io, Thailand ranks third as a top destination for digital nomads, following the United States and Spain.

 

The study analyzed 25,976 Instagram posts with the hashtag #digitalnomad and used geotagged locations to determine the popularity of countries and cities.

 

The top 10 countries for digital nomads, based on Instagram posts as of April 2023, are the United States, Spain, Thailand, Mexico, France, Indonesia, Portugal, Italy, the United Kingdom, and India.

 

By Goongnang Suksawat

 

Full Story: https://thepattayanews.com/2023/06/01/thailand-ranks-worldss-3rd-digital-nomad-haven/

 

-- © Copyright The Pattaya News 2023-06-01

 

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[Gknrd]

I think most people know at this point that the digital nomads content is pure garbage.  

[Tom H]

Is a youtuber in Thailand paying tax?

[hotchilli]

54 minutes ago, Gknrd said:

I think most people know at this point that the digital nomads content is pure garbage.  

The world will soon be filled with Youtubers and Tik tokers.

[Mad mick]

28 minutes ago, Tom H said:

Is a youtuber in Thailand paying tax?

No why wpuld they !! They work for YouTube  ! US based company And paid by Google nothing to do with Thailand or any other country for that matter ,  paying taxes via :  example In 

 America or outside side America Youtuber work for Google " Simply as that ... if work as digital nomads for  their company that employees based in Germany or examples  US , UK  , EU , AU  paid inside country of Origin Working online " its life choice where they live perfectly legal work from & live is up to them ONLINE WORK  WORLD , ex: MARKETING , Sales , or  Advertisement all online from anywhere they choose 

Edited June 1, 2023 by Mad mick

[zzaa09]

1 hour ago, Gknrd said:

I think most people know at this point that the digital nomads content is pure garbage.  

A romantic fashion and notion. 

[zzaa09]

34 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

The world will soon be filled with Youtubers and Tik tokers.

Too late.

I believe it already is - overwhelmingly. 

 

Mostly, a sad lot.

Edited June 1, 2023 by zzaa09

[RichardColeman]

If 'digital nomadism' was based on net usage I could believe it - Thais are on the net about 18 hours a day - even when working and driving

[F Groenen]

Sadly, the Thai authorities have not made rules for digital nomads and them working from Thailand remains illegal.
Even the LTR-WFT visa does excludes 95% of digital nomads and for those that do qualify for LTR-WFT, they put their employer at risk of Permanent Establishment rules. Hopefully these issues will get addressed soon and we will have a legal Digital Nomad community in Thailand, contributing to Thailand.

Edited June 1, 2023 by F Groenen
spelling error

[Eleftheros]

Any other world-shattering news from Instagram today?

[glegolo18]

31 minutes ago, F Groenen said:

Sadly, the Thai authorities have not made rules for digital nomads and them working from Thailand remains illegal.
Even the LTR-WFT visa does excludes 95% of digital nomads and for those that do qualify for LTR-WFT, they put their employer at risk of Permanent Establishment rules. Hopefully these issues will get addressed soon and we will have a legal Digital Nomad community in Thailand, contributing to Thailand.

I think it would benefit us the expats, if you are completely out of it, when writing in such a way....

[Mad mick]

38 minutes ago, F Groenen said:

Sadly, the Thai authorities have not made rules for digital nomads and them working from Thailand remains illegal.
Even the LTR-WFT visa does excludes 95% of digital nomads and for those that do qualify for LTR-WFT, they put their employer at risk of Permanent Establishment rules. Hopefully these issues will get addressed soon and we will have a legal Digital Nomad community in Thailand, contributing to Thailand.

Not if your working and being paid in your country of Origin perfectly legal not working in Thailand you are based or only living in Thailand ! while working for your company outside of Thailand,  same as a youtuber works for Google paid from America,  pay taxes in America regardless your doing travel vloggs etc , .

[Smokey and the Bandit]

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

The world will soon be filled with Youtubers and Tik tokers.

And "Influencers", whatever they are?

Edited June 2, 2023 by Smokey and the Bandit

[JayClay]

1 hour ago, Mad mick said:

They work for YouTube 

No they do not.

 

They are self-employed. 

[ujayujay]

2 hours ago, Tom H said:

Is a youtuber in Thailand paying tax?

He pays the taxes in the country where he is registered, smartass????

[Bangkok Barry]

1 hour ago, Eleftheros said:

Any other world-shattering news from Instagram today?

It doesn't have to be world-shattering, does it? These people inform, and people watch in enough numbers for the producers to make money from it to live on. You might not be interested, maybe you don't even watch so aren't actually qualified to comment, but plenty of others do. That's the job they chose, they make money from it and, if it doesn't fit your concept of a job, I doubt very much that they care.

[Venom]

3 hours ago, hotchilli said:

The world will soon be filled with Youtubers and Tik tokers.

If the are from the US they are required to pay taxes. 

[Eleftheros]

44 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

It doesn't have to be world-shattering, does it? These people inform, and people watch in enough numbers for the producers to make money from it to live on. You might not be interested, maybe you don't even watch so aren't actually qualified to comment, but plenty of others do. That's the job they chose, they make money from it and, if it doesn't fit your concept of a job, I doubt very much that they care.

How about taking issue with something I did say, rather than something I didn't?

[ChipButty]

If you are in the business of rentals of villas and apartments it's big business the ones we have come across dont mind paying, You have to have good internet and if you have the space create a work station, 

I received an article about Digital Nomads this morning I need to have a read of it when I get time if it's suitable I'll post it here, if allowed.

[Rosho]

2 hours ago, F Groenen said:

Sadly, the Thai authorities have not made rules for digital nomads and them working from Thailand remains illegal.
Even the LTR-WFT visa does excludes 95% of digital nomads and for those that do qualify for LTR-WFT, they put their employer at risk of Permanent Establishment rules. Hopefully these issues will get addressed soon and we will have a legal Digital Nomad community in Thailand, contributing to Thailand.

At https://InterTaG.org we have built a legal framework for anyone working in the Kingdom under the umbrella of a Social Enterprise, reinvesting 70% of our profits back into the 4000+ Royal social projects. We employ freelancers or digital nomads for a 12% service fee on a salary that we pay out monthly and pay their taxes directly to the Revenue Dep. (WHT). We use the BOI Smart Talent visa, endorsing and sponsoring the members of our community of entrepreneurs. This is different from the classic EOR (Employer of Records) business, which takes 30/35% of the existing revenues of the freelancers/digital nomads. We create an additional value stream for them and provide additional business opportunities within our network. This way, everyone contributes to Thailand's development. Social Enterprises (SE) were created by King Rama IX, opening a new way of development in between the non-profit and profit-oriented companies, which could auto-finance development projects. A SE can take donations like an NGO, is not subject to VAT, but pays a Special Business Tax on the remaining 30% of the profit that is not reinvested in development projects. Ourselves, we work on a social digital project called ThaiSprout Program, aiming to give a digital economic platform to the 8000 cooperatives with 12 million primarily rural members.
We also help tech startups like ourselves to obtain a BOI certificate which leads to 100% foreign-owned companies, no 4 Thai for 1 foreigner employed rule, 8 to 11 years of tax exemption, and can buy 100% foreign-owned land. Consult us for your projects. We gladly assist!

[DLock]

I always enjoy the reaction to Digital Nomadism.

 

To see young people doing 3 hours work per day, blogging or creating content, without paying tax, and enjoying life as they travel, really gets under TV posters skin.

[siftasam]

"I always enjoy the reaction to Digital Nomadism.

 

To see young people doing 3 hours work per day, blogging or creating content, without paying tax, and enjoying life as they travel, really gets under TV posters skin."

 

Yes, it damn well does, the lazy b#ggers. I'm sick of the sight of them.

 

[BadSpottedDog]

LONG RANT WARNING:
This data is complete nonsense. Thailand is one of the most inhospitable countries for people who work in the digital space. I'm NOT talking about tourists who are selfie/youtube addicts traveling and making money off their channels either. All this hash tagged & social content are mostly NOT people living long term in Thailand. The metrics used to come up with this data are majorly flawed. I'm talking about legitimate work being done remotely.
In attempting to do authentic, but remote work on a project that would benefit Thailand, we've been down this path already. Our company was approved, but we were unable to add legitimate employees. It was TWO stressful years, 3 lawyers, and a lot of expense! All the legalities, paperwork, expense, and headaches from the BOI office, (& then looking at starting a standard Thai company) were either insurmountable or didn't work for us. The standard Thai company model in no way makes sense for the company model we needed.
We expected to pay tax here, and didn't mind that, but the requests and info required were ever changing and nonsensical, depending on who you were talking to, and largely misunderstood by the officers.
Real Life Example: A future employee went out of country to get a non B visa in order to get a work permit for our company. While trying to get him approved by BOI, they kept sending more questions back about him. Most of the time the requests were the SAME as the previous requests (even though we had provided requested info already). Another issue was that one of his past work contracts stated his duties included "software development", but on another contract, it said he is a "software developer". We were literally told by BOI that those two things are NOT the same. So I guess "picker of coconuts" is not the same as a "coconut picker"? ???? Anyway, his non B went unused, and we lost out as well.
This is what you get when you have people that are not trained in a specific industry they are making decisions for (mostly digital), then taking an antiquated, paperwork methodology and trying to force it into a digital system.
The process was so impossible, and antiquated that we just said, "screw it". Not worth it. Thankfully, we have the option of just staying on a retirement visa and NOT building software that would have benefitted this country, but many don't. Thailand only wants wealthy retirees and large companies. They have no clue how much Thailand could prosper from younger remote workers earning good money. 
Thailand did "attempt" this with the Long Term Residency program (also through BOI office), but if you're employed with a foreign company, you must provide the company financial records showing they earn at least 3 million USD per year, or the company must be publicly traded. Again, Thailand has missed the boat as the LTR program is only geared towards large entities as well. 
C'mon Thailand! Catch up! Rant over!
 

Edited June 2, 2023 by BadSpottedDog

[paddypower]

5 hours ago, Mad mick said:

No why wpuld they !! They work for YouTube  ! US based company And paid by Google nothing to do with Thailand or any other country for that matter ,  paying taxes via :  example In 

 America or outside side America Youtuber work for Google " Simply as that ... if work as digital nomads for  their company that employees based in Germany or examples  US , UK  , EU , AU  paid inside country of Origin Working online " its life choice where they live perfectly legal work from & live is up to them ONLINE WORK  WORLD , ex: MARKETING , Sales , or  Advertisement all online from anywhere they choose 

for nomads from other countries, you're correct. except for US citizens of which there are many nomads who like to settle here, temporarily, i think you are forgetting that US tax law requires their citizens to report world income, no mater which country their employer is paying them from. . of course, in reality, nobody does that, do they?

[paddypower]

4 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

If 'digital nomadism' was based on net usage I could believe it - Thais are on the net about 18 hours a day - even when working and driving

plus: shopping, eating, walking the mall. over here in NST, they walk the beach whilst glued to their phones.

[Rosho]

56 minutes ago, BadSpottedDog said:

LONG RANT WARNING:
This data is complete nonsense. Thailand is one of the most inhospitable countries for people who work in the digital space. I'm NOT talking about tourists who are selfie/youtube addicts traveling and making money off their channels either. All this hash tagged & social content are mostly NOT people living long term in Thailand. The metrics used to come up with this data are majorly flawed. I'm talking about legitimate work being done remotely.
In attempting to do authentic, but remote work on a project that would benefit Thailand, we've been down this path already. Our company was approved, but we were unable to add legitimate employees. It was TWO stressful years, 3 lawyers, and a lot of expense! All the legalities, paperwork, expense, and headaches from the BOI office, (& then looking at starting a standard Thai company) were either insurmountable or didn't work for us. The standard Thai company model in no way makes sense for the company model we needed.
We expected to pay tax here, and didn't mind that, but the requests and info required were ever changing and nonsensical, depending on who you were talking to, and largely misunderstood by the officers.
Real Life Example: A future employee went out of country to get a non B visa in order to get a work permit for our company. While trying to get him approved by BOI, they kept sending more questions back about him. Most of the time the requests were the SAME as the previous requests (even though we had provided requested info already). Another issue was that one of his past work contracts stated his duties included "software development", but on another contract, it said he is a "software developer". We were literally told by BOI that those two things are NOT the same. So I guess "picker of coconuts" is not the same as a "coconut picker"? ???? Anyway, his non B went unused, and we lost out as well.
This is what you get when you have people that are not trained in a specific industry they are making decisions for (mostly digital), then taking an antiquated, paperwork methodology and trying to force it into a digital system.
The process was so impossible, and antiquated that we just said, "screw it". Not worth it. Thankfully, we have the option of just staying on a retirement visa and NOT building software that would have benefitted this country, but many don't. Thailand only wants wealthy retirees and large companies. They have no clue how much Thailand could prosper from younger remote workers earning good money. 
Thailand did "attempt" this with the Long Term Residency program (also through BOI office), but if you're employed with a foreign company, you must provide the company financial records showing they earn at least 3 million USD per year, or the company must be publicly traded. Again, Thailand has missed the boat as the LTR program is only geared towards large entities as well. 
C'mon Thailand! Catch up! Rant over!
 

Intertag Ltd and partner IMT Group Co Ltd have a track record of 25 successful out of 25 BOI applications, this year. I have a Smart S visa myself and run these 25 Smart Talent visa holders under service contract. We don't use the non-B and work permit system, as Smart visa holders are exempt from work permits. Our Social Enterprise status and having a Thai partner in the tech industry seem to make it easier for us. Sorry to hear about your misadventures, I know from personal experience that some local lawyers can get it badly wrong occasionally. If ever you have new projects, we will be happy to assist you!

[Gabor56]

5 hours ago, Mad mick said:

No why wpuld they !! They work for YouTube  ! US based company And paid by Google nothing to do with Thailand or any other country for that matter ,  paying taxes via : 

Yes, but you work on the territory of Thailand. I am not sure if it changed, but before this was the main reason of ripping off the work class 5555

[hotchilli]

3 hours ago, Venom said:

If the are from the US they are required to pay taxes. 

Required to pay taxes..  if found

[Tom H]

6 hours ago, Mad mick said:

No why wpuld they !! They work for YouTube  ! US based company And paid by Google nothing to do with Thailand or any other country for that matter ,  paying taxes via :  example In 

 America or outside side America Youtuber work for Google " Simply as that ... if work as digital nomads for  their company that employees based in Germany or examples  US , UK  , EU , AU  paid inside country of Origin Working online " its life choice where they live perfectly legal work from & live is up to them ONLINE WORK  WORLD , ex: MARKETING , Sales , or  Advertisement all online from anywhere they choose 

Well, donations are taxable, isn‘t?

Next issue: work permit visa?

Edited June 2, 2023 by Tom H

[John Drake]

7 hours ago, Mad mick said:

No why wpuld they !! They work for YouTube  ! US based company And paid by Google nothing to do with Thailand or any other country for that matter ,  paying taxes via :  example In 

 America or outside side America Youtuber work for Google " Simply as that ... if work as digital nomads for  their company that employees based in Germany or examples  US , UK  , EU , AU  paid inside country of Origin Working online " its life choice where they live perfectly legal work from & live is up to them ONLINE WORK  WORLD , ex: MARKETING , Sales , or  Advertisement all online from anywhere they choose 

And to think. That's your edited version.