LTR visa tax exemption on foreign income: don't count on it!

[JackGats]

Let me tell the story from the beginning. Yesterday I found I couldn't access my eFiling account any more. It said "credentials wrong". Now I'd written down the password and the user name was my TIN number, so no room for error on my part. As a test I clicked the "forget password" tab. What I got was an OTP but lo and behold, the system wanted to send the OPT to a phone number totally unknown to me. What could have happened? Did the tax agency which I send packing take over my eFiling account again? Out of spite? Or did the eFiling system simply cock-up?  They couldn't tell me what happen when I visited today at Jomtien TRD but they were were kind and helpful. My eFiling account was reset with my own password and my own phone number. I hope it stays that way. I don't want my tax ID to be run by some Russians. That's the good news of the day, one problem solved, now comes the bad news.

 

I was referred to floor 4 for the refund on my dividend tax. They were not uncooperative beside sending me to do copies of my passport and bring a more legible copy of my dividend withholding tax summary (the doc from TSD). After that another officer came to me and said this is not enough, we need copies of all your foreign revenues. I politely produced a thai version of the Royal Decree exempting me from any Thai tax on my foreign income, including remitted one. She didn't outright dismiss the Royal Decree, only saying ใช่, but it was obvious she didn't want to go into it. I then asked what I thought was a clear question in Thai: แล้วก็เงินที่อยู่ในประเทศเยอรมันโดนภาษีที่ไทยด้วยไหม (and does the money that is in Germany also get taxed in Thailand?)

 

Her answer was a positive-sounding ใช่. So there it was, I'd come for over 1K euros in dividend refund and I found myself hit with tax on my worldwide income. Of course there's the chance that they only wanted my worldwide revenue as info. But I thought they'd get that from CRS. Wasn't that what CRS was for? Anyway, I'll let the matter hang. No way I'm going to declare 100k USD foreign income only to get hit with a 30K tax invoice which I would then have to fight through the courts. I did my minimal duty this year by actually filing taxes, even if it led nowhere.

 

What I was after was less the dividend refund than the possibility of eventually getting a tax residence certificate (R.0.22). Not much hope of that now after today's experience.

 

I may send a small summary of my case to the BOI but I'm not sure complaining to one Thai dpt about another Thai dept does anything else thand raise even more bad blood on all sides. I'l take things into my own hands and henceforward spend  < 180 days/year in Thailand, period.

[anrcaccount]

You made 2 mistakes.

 

The first was bothering to file for thai tax at all. 

 

The second was once you decided to file, you tried to do it yourself instead of using an accountant accustomed to dealing with the TRD 

 

Anyway, if you do nothing there'll be no consequences. No need to do anything as drastic as spending less than 180 days a year in Thailand. Relax. 

[JackGats]

17 minutes ago, anrcaccount said:

 

The second was once you decided to file, you tried to do it yourself instead of using an accountant accustomed to dealing with the TRD 

 

 

What accountant then? I initially entrusted my tax filing to a well-know tax agency which I don't want to mention here. They're well-known and advertise here often. The result was appalling. They wanted to file my revenue under "salary" although I only earn dividends and don't work in TH, they applied the wrong age allowance (as though I was already over 65 which I wasn't), they filled in fantasy amounts I couldn't think where they got them from. They came up with 7K baht tax due although I'm entitled to 25k tax refund. A pig's breakfast.

 

My case was straightforward: only Thai dividends on which I'd pay a 10% withholding tax from which I was entitled a substantial refund give the highish amount those withholding taxes amounted to. The rest was tax-free as per LTR.

 

Now if you mean the TRD has kick-back agreements with the "accountants/agencies" much like IMO has kick-back agreements with visa agencies, you may be right.

 

I'd actually love to spend less than 180 days in TH (and more days in my beloved Jakarta). I was hanging out 180 days and filing taxes in the hope of getting some legit tax residency certificate.

[Yumthai]

1 hour ago, JackGats said:

My case was straightforward: only Thai dividends on which I'd pay a 10% withholding tax from which I was entitled a substantial refund give the highish amount those withholding taxes amounted to. The rest was tax-free as per LTR.

Solution for this year income: Increase your investment so that your Thai dividends minus deductions/allowances will far exceed the 10% income tax bracket. Your 10% WHT on dividends becomes a (lower rate) final tax, nothing to declare.   

[Everyman]

Sorry about your experience.

 

It seems consistent with the experiences of others in that there is no consistency from TRD and one should stay away from them if at all possible. 

 

It especially dumb in the case of long term resident visas because these are supposed to be the “high quality foreigners” that Thailand is looking for.

 

Im outside the Kingdom at the moment but judging from the news there’s been general change of sentiment and Thais are really turning against foreigners in general.