Pension From Abroad

[kjetil]

Do anyone know how the rules are here in Thailand when it comes to paying tax on pension from abroad.

I do live here on a retirement visa and now Thailand has started to tax pension from Norwegian zitizen living in Thailand.

Is there any other contry they take tax from or is it only the Norwegian.

Kjetil

[BuckarooBanzai]

See this thread item number 4. Depends on treaties and agreements apparently.

[theoldgit]

It depends if your country has a double taxation agreement with Thailand.

My country, The UK, has a double taxation agreement and as my pension is taxed in the UK I'm not liable for any further tax in Thailand

[JimGant]

Is there any other contry they take tax from or is it only the Norwegian

How are Thai tax authorities aware of your Norwegian pension? Are Norwegian authorities reporting your pension to the Thais?

If 'yes' to the above, this seems strange, since there is a tax treaty between Norway and Thailand. And as of last year, Norway now withholds taxes at 15% on all Norwegian expats' pensions. So -- using the US and UK examples -- your pension is taxed by the issuing country, and as such, it should not be reportable to Thailand under the double taxation provisions of the treaty.

But, Norway seems to be doing this assbackwards: It's saying "pay the tax to Thailand" then file for reimbursement of the 15% Norwegian tax withholding. Several articles on this from google -- here are two: HERE and HERE

Looks like the tax treaty is interpreted to be that Thailand gets first dibs on taxing a Norwegian's pension -- but Norway will then give credit for such taxation (but with a lot of paperwork involved, plus not preventing up-front withholding from pension checks to expats).

Whether any other country is treated similarly by Thailand, I don't know...

Unless Norway is providing Thailand information on your pension, I think I would certainly not file a Thai tax return, knowing there is a treaty to preclude double taxation -- and that for sure you're paying 15% tax to Norway. Now, this might not square exactly with the tax treaty -- but for sure you have the moral high ground (more so than the expat paying taxes neither to Thailand nor his home country).

A thread on the Norwegian tax situation appeared on TV a few years back. See HERE

[CHIEFOFFICER]

It depends if your country has a double taxation agreement with Thailand.

My country, The UK, has a double taxation agreement and as my pension is taxed in the UK I'm not liable for any further tax in Thailand

Its the same for Norway.:jap: I'm on a Norwegian pension. Gunnar Chaiyaphum.:jap: