New Thailand Elite Visa packages from September 15th ?

[ukrules]

39 minutes ago, Tuvoc said:

OK so 9 weeks in total then, plus however long you waited before making the payment. I must check my application form - I keep seeing 30 days for that, but from memory the application form said 7 days. 

It says payment must be made in 7 days on my form which is an upgrade form.

 

 

Edited August 26, 2023 by ukrules

[K2938]

8 hours ago, El Matador said:

or going to another country such as Malaysia which is very tax friendly. 

In what regard would Malaysia be more tax friendly than Thailand?  It is the reverse

[K2938]

7 hours ago, ukrules said:

It says payment must be made in 7 days on my form which is an upgrade form.

Yes, that is what the contract says, but the reality is that the invoice will then say 30 days I think

[freeman01]

On 8/27/2023 at 12:00 AM, K2938 said:

In what regard would Malaysia be more tax friendly than Thailand?  It is the reverse

territorial taxation and no capital gains tax (exception on local real estate). This is godly for those who do trading/investing abroad.

 

now getting a visa in Malaysia is expensive as hell below 50 and the regular M2H has now ridiculous requirements like 10k usd income a month and 1 million in liquid asset or something stupid like this ...

 

there is still one option affordable above 50 with the Sarawak M2H but god know for how long ... from memory the requirements are 10k ringgit income per month OR something like 150k ringgit in a fixed deposit account. Also some presence in Sarawak per year, like a few weeks to a month.

[Mike Teavee]

3 hours ago, freeman01 said:

territorial taxation and no capital gains tax (exception on local real estate). This is godly for those who do trading/investing abroad.

Not sure I understand what you're saying here as Thailand doesn't tax any overseas generated income (Including Capital gains) if you don't bring the money into Thailand in the calendar year it was earned (& if you did they have no way of knowing unless you declare it).

 

 

I don't believe they charge Capital Gains tax on profits made from local real estate either, but have never bought/sold property in Thailand so don't know for sure, just have never read/heard anybody say that they've had to pay CGT when selling property. 

 

 

The only thing I can see Malaysia being more "Tax Attractive" on is if you were working there where the top rate tax is 28% Vs Thailand's 35% but I don't think that's applicable here as you can't work on the Thailand Elite visa. 

 

[freeman01]

11 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

Not sure I understand what you're saying here as Thailand doesn't tax any overseas generated income (Including Capital gains) if you don't bring the money into Thailand in the calendar year it was earned (& if you did they have no way of knowing unless you declare it).

 

 

I don't believe they charge Capital Gains tax on profits made from local real estate either, but have never bought/sold property in Thailand so don't know for sure, just have never read/heard anybody say that they've had to pay CGT when selling property. 

 

 

The only thing I can see Malaysia being more "Tax Attractive" on is if you were working there where the top rate tax is 28% Vs Thailand's 35% but I don't think that's applicable here as you can't work on the Thailand Elite visa. 

 

Malaysia as very clear tax rules, no capital gains tax period.

 

Thailand is a little bit grey area, you achieve the same but its not as clear cut.

 

for instance as a Thailand tax resident you are required by law to remit any money earn outside the country into a Thai bank and therefore pay tax on it when it land in Thailand. I know we are all ignoring it and they don't enforce it but its there ... and Thailand has signed CRS not long ago and it will go into effect at some point this year or the next.

 

also for those who invest/trade in crypto ... well let's just not talk about it ...

 

Also another point of interest is everything tax related is in English in Malaysia, you can file yourself online, its dead simple I was very impressed.

Edited August 28, 2023 by freeman01

[K2938]

6 hours ago, freeman01 said:

for instance as a Thailand tax resident you are required by law to remit any money earn outside the country into a Thai bank and therefore pay tax on it when it land in Thailand

Where does it say this, please?

Edited August 28, 2023 by K2938

[freeman01]

1 hour ago, K2938 said:

Where does it say this, please?

where do you think ? Thailand tax code.

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, freeman01 said:

where do you think ? Thailand tax code.

I do not recall such a rule. It does say that earnings from abroad brought into Thailand in the year that it is earned are subject to Thai tax if you are tax resident. That is different from saying you must import earnings so they can tax it. Do you have a more specific citation other than just Thai law?

[freeman01]

8 hours ago, BritTim said:

I do not recall such a rule. It does say that earnings from abroad brought into Thailand in the year that it is earned are subject to Thai tax if you are tax resident. That is different from saying you must import earnings so they can tax it. Do you have a more specific citation other than just Thai law?

I didn't save it unfortunately, pretty sure I learned this on a thread here referring the official text, that was a few years ago before covid if I recall.

[K2938]

11 hours ago, freeman01 said:

13 hours ago, K2938 said:

Where does it say this, please?

where do you think ? Thailand tax code.

Thank you, but unfortunately I did not find it there.  Neither there, nor in any of the commentaries on the Thai tax code did I find any hint that as you say "as a Thailand tax resident you are required by law to remit any money earn outside the country into a Thai bank".  So if you could kindly tell me where it precisely says this I would be most grateful.

Edited August 29, 2023 by K2938

[freeman01]

sorry i don't have the incentive I had years ago to dig into this again, this is from memory i can't find the source unfortunately, also it might not be as clear as I stated it and perhaps with some more context around it.

 

anyways my point stand as Malaysia has a very simple rule "no capital gains tax" that cannot be misinterpreted or lost in translation and that is very valuable for anyone with significant amount invested.

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, K2938 said:

Thank you, but unfortunately I did not find it there.  Neither there, nor in any of the commentaries on the Thai tax code did I find any hint that as you say "as a Thailand tax resident you are required by law to remit any money earn outside the country into a Thai bank".  So if you could kindly tell me where it precisely says this I would be most grateful.

I wonder if there might be a rule somewhere that says money earned in Thailand cannot be paid in an overseas bank. I could imagine that kind of regulation, and it being misinterpreted to imply you must receive all your income in Thailand.

[freeman01]

32 minutes ago, BritTim said:

I wonder if there might be a rule somewhere that says money earned in Thailand cannot be paid in an overseas bank. I could imagine that kind of regulation, and it being misinterpreted to imply you must receive all your income in Thailand.

good point, like you are employed in Thailand by an oversea company and the money earned must land in a Thai bank within the calendar year.

[BritTim]

24 minutes ago, freeman01 said:

good point, like you are employed in Thailand by an oversea company and the money earned must land in a Thai bank within the calendar year.

I visualise something a bit different. Suppose you work in Thailand for a multinational company. They might agree to pay part of your earnings through an overseas subsidiary into an overseas bank. That could be beneficial in terms of your tax liability, but I could imagine Thai law forbidding it (albeit, it being hard to enforce).

[sqwakvfr]

The new package and prices were announced.  The rumored price hikes were all true.  20 year is now 5 Mill and the 5 year is now 900K.  Elite might need more Russian and Mandarin speakers and fewer English speakers.  50% increase in prices for what???

 

Edited August 30, 2023 by sqwakvfr

[aldriglikvid]

A couple of threads back I envisioned +50% price increases and was made a laughing stock. I even was told the program was failing. 

+400% increase on the 20 year. Wow! 

[Pib]

1 hour ago, sqwakvfr said:

The new package and prices were announced.  The rumored price hikes were all true.  20 year is now 5 Mill and the 5 year is now 900K.  Elite might need more Russian and Mandarin speakers and fewer English speakers.  50% increase in prices for what???

 

Yea...but now it will come with "privilege points" whatever that turns out to be.   Maybe the points is like a Elite wallet amount that is deducted from when using Elite services like limo service in the Bangkok area, a golf outing, a massage. maybe discount coffee at Starbucks, .....

 

And I love how the slide says "By invitation only" and being briefed by a guy in a "gold" colored coat.   Gives it that really "elite" touch.

 

Edited August 30, 2023 by Pib

[Caldera]

2 hours ago, sqwakvfr said:

The new package and prices were announced.  The rumored price hikes were all true.  20 year is now 5 Mill and the 5 year is now 900K.  Elite might need more Russian and Mandarin speakers and fewer English speakers.  50% increase in prices for what???

It wouldn't be the first time that they completely misread the demand and nearly tank the program. Time will tell how this will play out.

[K2938]

3 hours ago, sqwakvfr said:

The new package and prices were announced

Full details:

 

https://www.thailandelitevisas.com/thailand-privilege-introduced-new-elite-visa-packages/

[MPoll]

Another version of the announcement 

 

https://www.expatden.com/thailand/thailand-privilege-card-review/

[Pib]

So, from looking at above Thailand Elite Hawryluk Legal Advisors webpage given by K2938, there will four membership packages consisting of the ones listed below.   A package like say the previous 20 years at Bt1M package will be history.

 

New Packages:

 

* Reserve Card: By invitation only at THB 5M, it offers a visa validity of 20 years, 120 privilege points annually, and privileges from The Reserve Club to supercar test drives.

  -- That averages to Bt250K/year or approx Bt21K/month

 

* Diamond Card: Priced at THB 2.5M, with a visa validity of 15 years and 55 annual privilege points, it extends benefits from free domestic flights to wealth advisor services.

  -- That averages to approx Bt167K/year or approx Bt14K/month

 

* Platinum Card: At THB 1.5M, offers a visa validity of 10 years and 35 annual privilege points, granting members from VIP seating to health & spa treatments.

  -- That averages to Bt150K/year or Bt12.5K/month

 

* Gold Card: This membership card, at THB 900K, ensures a 5-year visa validity and 20 annual privilege points, ensuring privileges from airport transfers to shopping.

  -- That averages to Bt180K/year or Bt15K/month

 

Edited August 30, 2023 by Pib

[sqwakvfr]

3 hours ago, aldriglikvid said:

A couple of threads back I envisioned +50% price increases and was made a laughing stock. I even was told the program was failing. 

+400% increase on the 20 year. Wow! 

Same here.  When I first read that new package (not really) would range from 900K to 5 Million I believed it  Others said "just a rumor".  Sometimes rumors are true. 

[Pib]

As of 30 Aug 2023 at 1430hrs Thailand When you go to the official Thailand Elite website at: https://www.thailandelite.com/ the above new membership packages are "not" reflected.  In fact, they have now removed a lot of info on the old/current packages.   It's a shame this information is first released through other websites/agents versus it first being released on the official website or at least being released at the same time.    

 

Seems Thailand Elite is letting its General Sales and Support Agents (GSSA) delivery the news first which in turn probably get potential customers to first contact GSSA entities which in turns earns the GSSA a 15 to 20% commission on each membership sold.   

  

Edited August 30, 2023 by Pib

[K2938]

So the 20 year visa price has increased from 1 MM THB to 5 MM THB and on top of this is now by invitation only.  But do not worry:  For the additional 4 MM THB you now also get a limited number of bonus points which you can cash in for a few "Buy-one-get-one movie tickets".  Isn't this wonderful.  I can immediately tell that the extra 4 MM THB (4 000 000 THB) is money well spent????????????

[Pib]

19 minutes ago, K2938 said:

So the 20 year visa price has increased from 1 MM THB to 5 MM THB and on top of this is now by invitation only.  But do not worry:  For the additional 4 MM THB you now also get a limited number of bonus points which you can cash in for a few "Buy-one-get-one movie tickets".  Isn't this wonderful.  I can immediately tell that the extra 4 MM THB (4 000 000 THB) is money well spent????????????

 I wonder how that "by invitation only" will work for the 1% of total members per year (100 quota)?  A partial quote from https://www.expatden.com/thailand/thailand-privilege-card-review/

Quote

 

Membership for the Reserve Card is by invitation only, limited to 1% of the total members per year (100 members).

 

 

 

 

Will some HiSo need to recommend you?   Do you have to be a known wealthy person like maybe Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, the Prince of XYZ, etc.?   Maybe fill-out a self-nomination form to be considered?  Enter an invitation lottery drawing?   Maybe only available in a Willy Wonka Golden Ticket invitation chocolate bar?

 

 

Edited August 30, 2023 by Pib

[Captain Monday]

2 hours ago, Caldera said:

It wouldn't be the first time that they completely misread the demand and nearly tank the program. Time will tell how this will play out.

It will be wildly successful

They finally realized 500 or 600 thousand baht for 5 years is still a pittance for those interested

[Pib]

1 hour ago, MPoll said:

Another version of the announcement 

 

https://www.expatden.com/thailand/thailand-privilege-card-review/

 

When I look at the new packages chart from above weblink I get the impression Thailand Elite now wants to not focus on "quantity" in terms of new memberships but on "quality" in terms of the probable wealth a new member has because in my book these a "HIGH" prices and will significantly reduce the number of new applicants per year regardless of Thailand Elite saying new memberships are selling like hot cakes.   While hot cakes may indeed be tasty if the price goes way up many people will just stop buying or switch to/stay with a cheaper alternate.

 

[arithai12]

On 8/28/2023 at 6:31 PM, freeman01 said:

for instance as a Thailand tax resident you are required by law to remit any money earn outside the country into a Thai bank and therefore pay tax on it when it land in Thailand.

Pure invention. Either provide a link, or stop spreading false information.

[arithai12]

On 8/28/2023 at 6:31 PM, freeman01 said:

Also another point of interest is everything tax related is in English in Malaysia, you can file yourself online, its dead simple I was very impressed.

I speak pathetic Thai and certainly do not read it, yet I have been able since a few years to file my tax declaration online in Thailand. Extremely helpful people at the City Office at least in CM. Before that I did it with an agent, 1000B big deal.

But you have to live in a country for a couple of years to appreciate pros & cons, not just what you read on a forum. For example, buying a chop of pork in KL is possible, in a few places where thay make you feel like you are buying porn. In most of the country, I have my doubts.