Using an overseas Debit Card to minimise paying tax for those of us staying over 180 days

[advancebooking]

On 8/16/2024 at 10:10 PM, acepredator said:

The Revenue Department sends a letter to my address every year telling me that I have to file a tax return by March 31st. Clearly they know who I am and where I live. Your contention that the Revenue Department can't enforce the tax laws against foreigners, or even against Thais, is patently ridiculous.

You are thinking like a westerner. This is Thailand. Thais dont pay their taxes... go figure that one out. 

[freedomnow]

On 8/17/2024 at 6:22 PM, KhunHeineken said:

Why would she?

....BECAUSE it's The Land of U-turns.

[Nemises]

On 8/6/2024 at 8:41 PM, 4MyEgo said:

I am looking at ways to minimise paying tax (legally) from money remitted to Thailand from abroad.

Fly back to Aus every time you need cash. Bring back the folding stuff, but don't put it in your Thai bank. Instead, keep it under the bed and buy everything in cash. Rinse and repeat when it runs out. Never pay the tax you mention. Just a thought!

[topt]

39 minutes ago, Nemises said:

Fly back to Aus every time you need cash.

And the cost of all those flights compared to the actual tax you may have to pay..........

[Nemises]

29 minutes ago, topt said:

And the cost of all those flights compared to the actual tax you may have to pay..........

If on the OAP, the pension supplement reactivates upon your arrival back to Aus for 6 weeks, this pays for the flights - which are cheap again. 

The much better exchange rate (when bringing in your own cash compared to what the financial institutions give you) also helps pay for the air fares. 
 

 

Edited August 19 by Nemises

[Mike Teavee]

1 hour ago, Nemises said:

If on the OAP, the pension supplement reactivates upon your arrival back to Aus for 6 weeks, this pays for the flights - which are cheap again. 

The much better exchange rate (when bringing in your own cash compared to what the financial institutions give you) also helps pay for the air fares. 
 

That means you'll be exchanging it at one of the FX Booths who record your passport details & report all transactions to the Central Bank so they can see how much you've exchanged / remitted.

.

 

[chiang mai]

2 hours ago, Nemises said:

Fly back to Aus every time you need cash. Bring back the folding stuff, but don't put it in your Thai bank. Instead, keep it under the bed and buy everything in cash. Rinse and repeat when it runs out. Never pay the tax you mention. Just a thought!

So simple, so elegant, why ever did I not think of that.

[Nemises]

15 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

That means you'll be exchanging it at one of the FX Booths who record your passport details & report all transactions to the Central Bank so they can see how much you've exchanged / remitted.

.

 

You are wrong. I will not be exchanging anything. That will be done by my Thai GF and/or her family. 

[chiang mai]

3 minutes ago, Nemises said:

You are wrong. I will not be exchanging anything. That will be done by my Thai GF and/or her family. 

Even Thai nationals must produce their ID to exchange foreign currency which is never exchanged for free there is always a cost. One presumes that after a while, somebody at BOT  would notice that somebody is exchanging large amounts of the same currency for THB, and that a chat might be in order, lest said foreign currency was illegally earned.

[Mike Teavee]

Just now, Nemises said:

You are wrong. I will not be exchanging anything. That will be done by my Thai GF and/or her family. 

Lol & how much will that cost you 😛 

 

Joking aside what you've described would be considered "Aggressive" Tax Evasion & it would only take them to question where you're getting the money from to live in Thailand & you'd be up the creek without the paddle.

 

[Nemises]

1 minute ago, Mike Teavee said:

Lol & how much will that cost you 😛 

 

Joking aside what you've described would be considered "Aggressive" Tax Evasion & it would only take them to question where you're getting the money from to live in Thailand & you'd be up the creek without the paddle.

 

“Aggressive”?? lol. You’ve incorrectly assumed large amounts. 

[Nemises]

5 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

One presumes that after a while, somebody at BOT  would notice that somebody is exchanging large amounts of the same currency for THB, and that a chat might be in order, lest said foreign currency was illegally earned.

Large amounts? That wasn’t mentioned. 
Presumes and mights noted. 

[chiang mai]

1 minute ago, Nemises said:

“Aggressive”?? lol. You’ve incorrectly assumed large amounts. 

This is all great fun, inventing creative ways to avoid paying tax, but have you actually done the math to see if you would actually be paying any tax and whether this whole exercise is not necessary? I mean, you've said not large amounts so it doesn't sound like there's a lot at stake here.

[chiang mai]

1 minute ago, Nemises said:

Large amounts? That wasn’t mentioned. 
Presumes and mights noted. 

OK, fair enough, just small amounts involved so why even bother with any pretence and near covert exchanges using relatives?

[Nemises]

1 minute ago, chiang mai said:

have you actually done the math to see if you would actually be paying any tax and whether this whole exercise

Go back regularly anyway. No “exercise” involved. 

[Nemises]

3 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

OK, fair enough, just small amounts involved so why even bother with any pretence and near covert exchanges using relatives?

Why not? The TGF will be with me and she has a highly paid respectable job, as does all of her siblings. They all travel abroad often. 
 

 

Edited August 19 by Nemises

[chiang mai]

1 minute ago, Nemises said:

Go back regularly anyway. No “exercise” involved. 

Are you even tax resident, do you stay here more than 180 days per year?

[Mike Teavee]

3 minutes ago, Nemises said:

“Aggressive”?? lol. You’ve incorrectly assumed large amounts. 

The amount is not the point, it's the way that you're going about evading Tax that determines whether it's "Aggressive" evasion or not.

[chiang mai]

3 minutes ago, Nemises said:

Why not? The TGF will be with me and she has a highly paid respectable job, as does all of her siblings. They all travel abroad often. 
 

 

So get her to fund your stay in Thailand and you pay her back in cash when you take her back home for a visit....clean and tidy, n o blackmarket ops, nor risk.

[Nemises]

Just now, chiang mai said:

So get her to fund your stay in Thailand and you pay her back in cash when you take her back home for a visit....clean and tidy, n o blackmarket ops, nor risk.

Thanks. I like it 👍 

[KhunHeineken]

On 8/17/2024 at 7:13 PM, Lorry said:

I don't know any foreigner who cannot leave

Many have invested heavily both financially, and emotionally in Thailand.  They have sold up in their home country and moved to Thailand.  They have nothing back in their home country to go back to. 

 

This is the demographic I say "can not leave." 

[KhunHeineken]

On 8/18/2024 at 11:59 PM, Nemises said:

Fly back to Aus every time you need cash. Bring back the folding stuff, but don't put it in your Thai bank. Instead, keep it under the bed and buy everything in cash. Rinse and repeat when it runs out. Never pay the tax you mention. Just a thought!

Why the need to fly back to one's home country? 

 

As I said in another post, people have been doing tourist "visa runs" to neighboring countries for decades.  There may be a new industry pop up offering "cash runs."  I'm sure the casinos in the boarder towns would be happy to offer such a service, for a commission. 

 

Nothing illegal.  One would only be bringing in under the declarable amount.   

 

I am going to Singapore for the F1 and will be bringing back a wad of cash. 

[KhunHeineken]

On 8/18/2024 at 11:39 PM, freedomnow said:

....BECAUSE it's The Land of U-turns.

I agree with you, but when there's money to be made out of foreigners, all political parties here seem to like heading in the same direction, no u-turns.   

 

This is an easy earner for them from the small fry, and they can also pay more attention to high net worth individuals to tax some serious money out of them. 

[freedomnow]

16 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

Why the need to fly back to one's home country? 

 

As I said in another post, people have been doing tourist "visa runs" to neighboring countries for decades.  There may be a new industry pop up offering "cash runs."  I'm sure the casinos in the boarder towns would be happy to offer such a service, for a commission. 

 

Nothing illegal.  One would only be bringing in under the declarable amount.   

 

I am going to Singapore for the F1 and will be bringing back a wad of cash. 

Technically it's tax evasion.

[KhunHeineken]

On 8/21/2024 at 5:31 AM, freedomnow said:

Technically it's tax evasion.

There's a difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance / minimization. 

 

Tax evasion is illegal.  Tax avoidance / minimizing is legal. 

 

On what legal basis do you you say this "tax evasion?"  What tax law, exactly, has been broken? 

[freedomnow]

5 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

There's a difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance / minimization. 

 

Tax evasion is illegal.  Tax avoidance / minimizing is legal. 

 

On what legal basis do you you say this "tax evasion?"  What tax law, exactly, has been broken? 

Haha, dream on - the very fact you switch from remitance to physical cash over a border says it all....

[Lorry]

12 hours ago, KhunHeineken said:

There's a difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance / minimization. 

 

Tax evasion is illegal.  Tax avoidance / minimizing is legal. 

 

On what legal basis do you you say this "tax evasion?"  What tax law, exactly, has been broken? 

It is not "technically" tax evasion - it is tax evasion. 

 

Por. 161/2566 talks about money you "bring in" into Thailand - 

นำเงิน...เข้ามา.

And that's what you are doing.

It doesn't prescribe by which means the money has to be brought in.

 

This is so obvious that it's hard to believe you honestly thought otherwise. 

Wishful thinking. 

 

 

[ukrules]

On 8/18/2024 at 2:13 AM, Lorry said:

Thais cannot leave

I don't know any foreigner who cannot leave - certainly some think is not worth it.

I know several farang who have left,  all of them married, very settled in Thailand 

 

My Mrs came down to Cambodia with me, she's here in the Phnom Penh apartment with me now.

 

They can very easily leave and the 180 day rule applies equally to them....

[Mike Teavee]

4 hours ago, ukrules said:

 

My Mrs came down to Cambodia with me, she's here in the Phnom Penh apartment with me now.

 

They can very easily leave and the 180 day rule applies equally to them....

Does your Mrs need to leave Cambodia every 30 days or have you got her a longer term visa as well?

 

[Edit: A quick search of the surrounding countries says Thai's need a Visa for > 30 Days in Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam & Taiwan but get 90 days in Korea]. 

Edited August 23 by Mike Teavee

[ukrules]

10 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

Does your Mrs need to leave Cambodia every 30 days or have you got her a longer term visa as well?

 

[Edit: A quick search of the surrounding countries says Thai's need a Visa for > 30 Days in Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam & Taiwan but get 90 days in Korea]. 

 

We both got 1 year business visas on our first trip earlier in the year. Used an agent, had it 'fast tracked' and got it back with next day service.

Cost just under $1000 for the both of us, multi entry 1 year.

 

Now here's the interesting thing - when you get stamped in with one of these 1 year visas there is no 'leave by date' in the passport - only an entry date.

I'm told we can stay until the visa expires and potentially longer if we extend it in country

Previously on our first trip we just got the 30 day business visa which is required to be able to upgrade to a 1 year visa - you can't get the 1 year business visa if you're on a tourist visa at the time - they won't do it!

 

Edited August 23 by ukrules