Dealing with the Pattaya Revenue Office....Several Times

[chicowoodduck]

I appled for a tax refund on my retirement "seed money" I have in my SCB Bank here in Pattaya.....just over 800,00 baht. The Thai govt took about 3,000 off the top for the interest I earned on that money last year. SCB filled out the forms for me to take to the Revenue Office in Jomtien and the kind folks at the Revenue Office filled in my Thai tax forms the first week of the New Year. So late last week I get a call from the RO folks....please come in with your passport and bank books on Monday morning at 8 AM. So I catch the baht bus from Central Pattaya and arrive at 8 AM. Of course no one shows up until 9 AM..duh! The lady takes my paperwork and has me fill out a form asking where my pension comes from (USA), how much I receive, what my living expenses are, how much rent I pay, etc., etc. After all that she asks me for copies of my pension pay slips and copies of my tax returns??? She said that they want to make sure i pay taxes on my pension in the USA??? Very strange indeed? Of course I did not bring any copies of my tax returns or pension pay slips, so had to go back home and come back later in the day to the RO. After she showed the pension slips to her boss, she said a refund check would be mailed to me in one month.....maybe???

Not sure who is checking up on whom...and if the Thai govt. is doing backgorund checks to see if I deserve a spot in the retirement line? Pain in the arse if you ask me and just one more reason not to feel like the welcome mat is out for the old folks......sad really.......

[petercool]

Moved to banking/money matters

[topt]

I did this last year but did not have any of these questions asked of me - seems a bit over the top just for a refund of interest taken?

By the way nice car - if yours surprised you are worrying about 3k in tax......

[KittenKong]

It makes sense to me that if farangs choose to apply for a refund on withholding tax paid they should also justify their taxable income and pay tax on it if applicable. One would have to do the same in the UK, for example.

The only real surprise to me is that the IR department waited so long to do it.