Thailand to tax residents’ foreign income irrespective of remittance

[sqwakvfr]

16 minutes ago, freeworld said:

I was always under the impression that everyone must pay their fair share.

Ok. Then what do I get in return from the Thai Government for paying my fair share in taxes?  At least in the US I can apply for public assistance like food stamps or if I get disabled I can apply for SSDI.  It's almost like "foreigner you pay but get nothing". I know it's to pay for safe roads, sidewalks and the excellent emergency services like police and fire????

[sandrew33]

13 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

Doesn't really apply to me. My income level in the UK means I pay no tax regardless of where I live, but you are saying the Thai government rules about my UK income take precedence over UK law. That's interesting.

Not really. The tax free threshold in the UK is about £12000 but this only applies to UK Tax Residents. 
 

If you are no longer UK Tax Resident and are instead a Thai tax resident then your UK income would not prima facie be covered by the tax free threshold. You’d need to check your personal circumstances in the UK. 
 

Thailand can tax Thai tax residents as it sees fit under Thai Law. Nothing to do with the UK EXCEPT where it’s covered under the double tax treaty between the 2 countries. 

[Lopburikid]

15 hours ago, Djinn91 said:

Laughable and will only affect those companies with 1 billion baht in foreign income. (good luck enforcing it anyways)

 

Not sure why all the Farang get scared. they're not coming for you 200-800K baht...

Yeah, speak to your local street vendors and local shop keepers about taxation in Thailand, their usual reply is "tax? What tax". If they can't collect from their own, how are they going to collect from outside?  Plus, most Thais know that this bunch will never be able to make their so-called policies work, most have already given up on EVER receiving the 10,000 digital pay out and the economy getting any better with these in power.

[KhunLA]

14 hours ago, bg53 said:

If Thailand taxes on a worldwide basis, there will be a mass exodus of expats.

Maybe that's their goal, and with some of the behavior of some expats, can you blame them.    Considering most of the hatred of TH and Thais on this forum, I can wonder why they would want many here.

[wombat]

14 hours ago, beammeup said:

So this only affects individuals with income over 1 billion Baht?

I can't see it affecting the moaners and groaners on here posting vitriole from their fan rooms.

[sandrew33]

2 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

Ok. Then what do I get in return from the Thai Government for paying my fair share in taxes?  At least in the US I can apply for public assistance like food stamps or if I get disabled I can apply for SSDI.  It's almost like "foreigner you pay but get nothing". I know it's to pay for safe roads, sidewalks and the excellent emergency services like police and fire????

When I worked in the US as a resident alien I paid a <deleted> load of tax and didn’t have access to many of the services available to American citizens. 
 

welcome to expat life 🙂 

[sandrew33]

7 minutes ago, nickmondo said:

its just one piece of bull<deleted> after the other in this country.

I always said i would never buy a house here, and in a moment of stupidness, I did.

Not that expensive though, at 5 million baht, so not a huge deal

For sure I will be using Thailand as my home base for 1 day under 6 mnths a year.

Vietnam for 3, maybe Philippines for 3 months also

Might even buy myself a cheap house in the north of England from Auction for under 10k GBP.

I have had it with the bull<deleted> here now...........its just ridiculous.

Still a lot to enjoy here however, the normal Thai people, the food, the countryside, the beaches, etc........and also my Thai GF.

So i will ljust cut myself off from this crap and enjoy for under 6 months.

Will keep Retirement Extension though, as cheaper and easier than any other method, unless they do actually bring n the 60 day visa, and that might be an option, but that does not work for six months, even with extensions.

Welcome to the wonderful world of tax planning Sir 😉

[Expat Tom]

If there were ever a war I would not want Thailand as an  ally. They would either accidently shoot themselves on the foot and become a liability or accidently shoot you in the back. For a while, I was a corporate recruiter , aka "headhunter". Other than an increase in pay, it is necessary to build a RFL file (Reason For Leaving) to persuade  the candidate to relocate. My RFL fille just grew after this taxation joke.

 

Thailand is a wonderful place to live. I have been here for longer than 15 years. Most people have some loyalty to their native country but many Thai's believe that Thailand is the center of the  universe.....it is not.. I am not wealthy but have the funds to live where I chose, within reason. I will not pay tax in Thailand. I dump a fair amount of money into this country every money. I will dump that money into another country for 180 days a year. I am not to only one who feels the same. 

 

Easy day for me but  the Thai brain(less) trust in BKK might like to rethink it latest stupidity. 

[dpcjsr]

Clearly the bureaucrats are stumbling around trying to figure this out as they go BUT that is not worries me. It is the issue and intent being displayed that worries. Under the new socialist rulers they need lots of money for hand outs. So the issue is they are short of funds for their dream projects and their intentions are to "tax the rich" to get what they want. This is a cycle that will continue to escalate and never end which is bad news long term for expats. 

[koolkarl]

I have written this a number of times and even my prior comments were deleted for  scaring you dear readers.  Well here we are.  The sole purpose of CRS is for a tax resident to report their world income and this is an OECD standard which Thailand is now a member.  If you hadn't noticed, a Thai passport can now visit the EU without a visa.  This is related to the CRS agreement too.  Now if your address on April 30 was in Thailand and you have foreign income, this info will be automatically sent to the Thai tax dept. every year you are here.  And you get nothing for your money, no health care, no immigrant status.  If you are worth anything, strongly suggest to look for another country as I have already done. 

[Spilornis]

11 minutes ago, freeworld said:

Probably means companies and online platforms earning income of 1 billion baht. Probably just a term tax and accountants used when speaking as the reporter has written it.

 

Becoming a common approach. If you buy a Microsoft licence for example it is sold to you from Ireland so Microsoft pays zero tax. Countries are now insisting on a slice for sales to their residents.

Youtube ad revenue and the like is also under review

[Bangkok Barry]

19 minutes ago, freeworld said:

Thailand follow their laws if you are living/resident in Thailand. You can make use of the DTA to manage the type of income and offset taxes already paid in the UK.

 

How does that work if I'm not eligible to pay tax in the UK?

[freeworld]

34 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

And what about if you are not eligible to pay tax in your home country due to a low income level? The UK keeps raising the minimum level required before you need to pay tax, for example.

 

I for one will no longer transfer any money into Thailand and pay most of my bills with a foreign credit card, as I do if I book a hotel or flight.

Those are your home countries rules. Thailand has their rules. Refer to the DTA which incomes may be excluded from being taxed in Thailand.

 

There is the usual wording in the DTA for incomes that it may be taxed in both jurisdictions, depends on each of the countries taxation laws.

[NorthernRyland]

13 hours ago, AreYouGerman said:

I know only a handful of countries who don't tax residents (ie. 183 days+ residency) on their worldwide income. It is common - as a resident of a country - that you pay tax on your worldwide income.

 

The difference is those countries actually let you live there and work. Thailand makes you report your location every 90 days like a criminal and you can't own property, need permission from immigration to open bank account etc... It's entirely flipping their old arrangement on its head, which is you  come and spend your money here and we keep you on a short lease.

[sqwakvfr]

4 minutes ago, sandrew33 said:

When I worked in the US as a resident alien I paid a <deleted> load of tax and didn’t have access to many of the services available to American citizens. 
 

welcome to expat life 🙂 

Did you earn 40 credits for Social Security? Was FICA deducted from your paycheck?  Did you work with a Social Seurity # or a TIN? What social services did you not have access to? Just about anyone can obtain food stamps, rental assistance regardless of immigration status.  I know a number of former US resdients who never became citizens who are happily living in other countries who are collecting Social Security Checks and some are even collecting State Retirement checks. 

[Bangkok Barry]

12 minutes ago, sandrew33 said:

Not really. The tax free threshold in the UK is about £12000 but this only applies to UK Tax Residents. 
 

If you are no longer UK Tax Resident and are instead a Thai tax resident then your UK income would not prima facie be covered by the tax free threshold. You’d need to check your personal circumstances in the UK. 
 

Thailand can tax Thai tax residents as it sees fit under Thai Law. Nothing to do with the UK EXCEPT where it’s covered under the double tax treaty between the 2 countries. 

 

Would they tax me on money I spend using my UK credit card?

[thesetat]

I am still curious about how this country can tax income that is earned and deposited overseas? If it is earned in another country then their respective banks would be reporting it to the local tax. But they can only do that because you signed releases to allow it when opening the account. Thailand banks may have new rules to make you sign a release so they can gain this information. But what about older accounts? Would anyone actually sign something new to allow them this authorization? None of my Thailand banks have my tax or income information other than receiving wire transfers from another country. If they request blanket permission to access my banks private information I would refuse and take my money from their bank. If they request access to my tax information from abroad I would not be able to give it since I never file taxes there. Un-taxable income is not required to file a tax return. So there is no record for them to check anyway. 

Given the really bad security issues dealing with banks leaking your personal information make me think it is not a good idea to provide banks with data from my country. 

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2425127/police-nab-state-officials-selling-user-information-to-scammers

https://thethaiger.com/news/national/thai-bank-officer-nabbed-for-selling-customer-data-in-nonthaburi

Does anyone else feel there may be risks in giving more information to the banks in Thailand than is absolutely necessary or to the government about the money we have or make outside of Thailand? 

[Shocked farang]

38 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

If they're in a better place you're correct.

I've been here 16 years and have seen Thailand gradually sliding backwards, life was better when I first came here than now, and I'm not whining, just stating the truth.

This is a fact, Thailand in the 90's was a completely different animal. The whole thing now gravitates around greed. 

[kuzmabruk]

15 hours ago, Djinn91 said:

Laughable and will only affect those companies with 1 billion baht in foreign income. (good luck enforcing it anyways)

 

Not sure why all the Farang get scared. they're not coming for you 200-800K baht...

Read the last paragraph.  This is from my accountant 

 

 

Here is a link to an article we wrote about the new changes starting from 1 Jan 2024. https://www.hlbthai.com/new-rule-for-taxation-of-foreign-income/

 

[freeworld]

3 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

How does that work if I'm not eligible to pay tax in the UK?

What does the DTA say?

[Presnock]

14 hours ago, timendres said:

An article on Bangkok Post clearly shows that they are discussing taxing worldwide income.

Currently, only two countries on the planet do this. The USA and Eritrea.

This is a desperate act by the Thai government, and demonstrates that things are not good.

that's why campaign promises in order to win elections should look at the coffers prior to making such announcements...now getting the funds together for those promises is difficult to say the least.

[ThailandRyan]

15 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

Goodness, we've only got 3 and a bit weeks to pack up and get the hell out of here!

Already moved ourselves. Using the house in Hua Hin for family vacations, not just us but our kids. 3months here, 3 months back to the US, rinse and repeat.

[Shocked farang]

2 minutes ago, thesetat said:

I am still curious about how this country can tax income that is earned and deposited overseas? If it is earned in another country then their respective banks would be reporting it to the local tax. But they can only do that because you signed releases to allow it when opening the account. Thailand banks may have new rules to make you sign a release so they can gain this information. But what about older accounts? Would anyone actually sign something new to allow them this authorization? None of my Thailand banks have my tax or income information other than receiving wire transfers from another country. If they request blanket permission to access my banks private information I would refuse and take my money from their bank. If they request access to my tax information from abroad I would not be able to give it since I never file taxes there. Un-taxable income is not required to file a tax return. So there is no record for them to check anyway. 

Given the really bad security issues dealing with banks leaking your personal information make me think it is not a good idea to provide banks with data from my country. 

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2425127/police-nab-state-officials-selling-user-information-to-scammers

https://thethaiger.com/news/national/thai-bank-officer-nabbed-for-selling-customer-data-in-nonthaburi

Does anyone else feel there may be risks in giving more information to the banks in Thailand than is absolutely necessary or to the government about the money we have or make outside of Thailand? 

This whole thing only shows that they live in a state of complete delusion. They have no means of enforcement of this new foreign tax regime. The only country on the planet that can do this is the US, due to the fact that the USD is the reference global currency, if a bank decides not to comply they just cut it off from USD transfer, all USD bank transfers have to go through the US. 

[freeworld]

1 minute ago, Shocked farang said:

This is a fact, Thailand in the 90's was a completely different animal. The whole thing now gravitates around greed. 

Thank computers and the internet, G7 +G20 meetings, the OECD and the UN, various other international bodies meeting, coordinating, discussing, agreeing and generally making the world an interconencted place all the while pushing up costs and requiring more and more information to get things done.

[4MyEgo]

14 hours ago, bg53 said:

If Thailand taxes on a worldwide basis, there will be a mass exodus of expats.

 

It would never get passed, as some other countries only tax their Citizens on their worldwide income, suffice to say, it all boils down to education here, and we all know that they learn very little here.

 

So someone has jumped the gun, confused as usual in the LOS with that dump smile as if to say, it would appear even the top brass has no idea between the difference of a resident and a citizen.

 

 

Edited June 6 by 4MyEgo

[thesetat]

Also, if we are tax paying foreigners in Thailand why then do we have to pay double or triple for things just because we are foreigners?  They should allow us the privilege to pay the same as Thai by showing a tax number or long term visa. Tourists can pay the double standards and be taxed accordingly for their purchases. 

It appears the government is trying to punish those of us living here, married here with families, or working here with yet another double standard. The country coffers must be drying up and this is their way to refill it. 

There are 2 other countries that have the taxation for income in and outside their countries. But they do not make you pay additional charges simply because you are a foreigner. Every person in the country is charged the same for things and services. 

[kuzmabruk]

4 minutes ago, thesetat said:

I am still curious about how this country can tax income that is earned and deposited overseas? If it is earned in another country then their respective banks would be reporting it to the local tax. But they can only do that because you signed releases to allow it when opening the account. Thailand banks may have new rules to make you sign a release so they can gain this information. But what about older accounts? Would anyone actually sign something new to allow them this authorization? None of my Thailand banks have my tax or income information other than receiving wire transfers from another country. If they request blanket permission to access my banks private information I would refuse and take my money from their bank. If they request access to my tax information from abroad I would not be able to give it since I never file taxes there. Un-taxable income is not required to file a tax return. So there is no record for them to check anyway. 

Given the really bad security issues dealing with banks leaking your personal information make me think it is not a good idea to provide banks with data from my country. 

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2425127/police-nab-state-officials-selling-user-information-to-scammers

https://thethaiger.com/news/national/thai-bank-officer-nabbed-for-selling-customer-data-in-nonthaburi

Does anyone else feel there may be risks in giving more information to the banks in Thailand than is absolutely necessary or to the government about the money we have or make outside of Thailand? 

The information you will give will be to the Thai tax department.  Not your bank.

 

you will submit a tax return with your signature at the bottom.   If you lie you will have committed perjury.   If they audit you.  Good luck.  Perjury is punishable by prison time.  

[Dionigi]

14 hours ago, bg53 said:

If Thailand taxes on a worldwide basis, there will be a mass exodus of expats.

and Thais

 

[Yumthai]

41 minutes ago, freeworld said:

I was always under the impression that everyone must pay their fair share.

Wake up.

[bob smith]

12 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

One of the peculiar things about living here is there rarely seems to be a time where, as an expat, you can just sit back and relax and not have to worry about the locals being up to some monkey business that's going to have some major impact on your life.

 

If it's not messing about with taxation, then it's messing about with/changing the rules and regs for Immigration, health insurance requirements, or other stuff. Usually accompanied by long periods of time where no one actually knows or is clear on just what they're actually going to do with floated proposals.

 

I'd really prefer, they just leave folks alone and stop messing!

 

Well said!

 

Thai's love to float around daft ideas publicly to make it seem as though they are doing their jobs. This new one regarding tax is just the latest in a long list of daft ideas, imo.

 

The implementation of such a daft idea, though, is another matter all together...

 

bob.

Edited June 6 by bob smith