Thaksin Shifts from Cheerful Power Broker to Cautious Strategist

[turgid]

I recently did my 1 year OA retirement extension at Samut Prakan .

All was discussed elsewhere except I was required to get my TM30 endorsed separately (I rent) ,and I noted that she went through my 800K proof bank statement in very fine detail and highlighted all the incoming transactions. 

This could be nothing at all or it could be incoming transaction checking for 2024 Tax . 

 

I've been fobbing my European investment account and UK Bank off for a couple of years with a passport number.

The EU Investment account has now demanded a TIN in the next  90 days or they will suspend the account, the UK bank has been making similar noises.

Given everything going on in Thailand the writing seems to be on the wall and I've accepted I need to get a TIN (Tax Id Number)  and pay some tax.

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I  visited the almost empty main Samut Prakan Revenue office to get a TIN. They efficiently checked my documents, said they were in all order but  I needed to go to a smaller branch revenue office in my local admin area. 

The branch office was empty  but after dealing with a friendly but hopeless officer we had to wait for the boss to come back from lunch.

They both agreed they cant Issue a TIN without me paying some 2023 tax.  He suggested given that all foreigners  must have at least 800K THB , that 20K for Tax year 2023 would cut it.

If not  I can  wait until 2025, go in they'll calculate the 2024 tax and give me a TIN when I pay the 2024 tax.

They also seemed to have zero  awareness of any changes to foreigner tax treatment in 2024.

In summary no Tax paid , no TIN.

 

My  remittance in 2024 has been about 3M THB , a mixture of tax paid savings, tax paid inheritance,  and untaxed investment and interest returns. Yes i could have made my life easier by doing all from one place  - I didn't.   

I gifted 1.6M THB to buy a hectare of  land and a motorcycle in Laos - the rest I've squandered on rent, food, travel,  healthcare and toys.

My expectation was I would get a registed Tax ID ,and then in Q1 2025  a tax form or online link would be sent to me.

I would then with the aid of Google translate complete the tax return, pay tax on the investment returns, not pay tax on the savings,  argue over the gifts,   and then pay the tax for 2024 in Q1 2025.

If requested I would provide bank statements proving where everything came from and went to.  Paying tax basically.

 

So i have a few questions.

 

Is this the same at other tax offices?

Can I get a Tax ID now without paying tax ? How?  The online services seem to say yes (for 7K THB). My personal experience has been no.

I'll pay the 7K for someone else to fill the form if that's the only way to get a TIN now but i'd  really rather not especially if it turns out they also suddenly need 20K for 2023 Tax or suddenly need to sell me a tax service to get it in Q1 2025..

Is the Thai tax  return a paper document, or online form  that I  complete in advance or do i really have to visit the branch office and squabble with someone who doesn't seem to know, understand or care about remittances or the difference in treatment for savings and investment returns ?  

Is anyone going to care about the difference in savings and investments or are they really just going to brute force based on remittance?