The Thai-u.s. Treaty Of Amity

[mouse]

On one hand I hear that effective 1st of Sept. 2006 the Amity treaty expired.

Does anyone know if it has again been extended?

If yes, until when?

The reason for my question above is that on one hand I am hearing from some legal quarters that it has expired effective 1 Sep 2006 and on the other hand I have found the treaty itself and it seems to counter that claim.

Does anyone know if Thailand has officially asked for cancellation of the agreement? I know that it was mentioned by PM Taksin, on one of his last Washington visits, with the thought that it would be superseded by the FTA, which seems stalled, for the time being, over pharmaceuticals.

ARTICLE XIV of TREATY OF AMITY AND ECONOMIC RELATIONS BETWEEN THE KINGDOM OF THAILAND AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

1. The present Treaty shall be ratified, and the ratifications thereof shall be exchanged at Washington, D.C. as soon as possible.

2. The present Treaty shall enter into force one month after the date of exchange of ratifications. Thereupon it shall replace and terminate the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation signed at Bangkok on November 13, 1937.

3. The present Treaty shall remain in force for ten years and shall continue in force thereafter until terminated as provided herein.

4. Either Party may, by giving one year's written notice to the other Party, terminate the present Treaty at the end of the initial ten-year period or at any time thereafter.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the present Treaty and have affixed hereunto their seals. DONE in duplicate, in the Thai and English languages, both equally authentic, at Bangkok, this twenty-ninth day of May in the two thousand five hundred and ninth year of the Buddhist Era, corresponding to the one thousand nine hundred and sixty sixth year of the Christian Era.

For the Kingdom of Thailand:

(Signed) Thanat Khoman

For the United States of America:

(Signed) Graham Martin

[Sunbelt Asia]

It was just extended till Dec 5th 2006.

Because of the WTO commitments, the Thai government may in the future, no longer accept Amity applications.

To date, they have not released an official indication on this issue. In January 2006, the Thailand Department of Business Development, Ministry of Commerce suspended issuing new business certificates to Us parties. After that two month suspension, they resumed issuing the certificates. The window is being extended every 90 days. We are now in our third extension.

We STRONGLY advocate if you are thinking of applying for the Business certificate so your company can be controlled and owned by foreigners ( Americans must have 51% and majority of Directors must be Americans) you do it NOW!!!

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

[mouse]

It was just extended till Dec 5th 2006.

Because of the WTO commitments, the Thai government may in the future, no longer accept Amity applications.

To date, they have not released an official indication on this issue. In January 2006, the Thailand Department of Business Development, Ministry of Commerce suspended issuing new business certificates to Us parties. After that two month suspension, they resumed issuing the certificates. The window is being extended every 90 days. We are now in our third extension.

We STRONGLY advocate if you are thinking of applying for the Business certificate so your company can be controlled and owned by foreigners ( Americans must have 51% and majority of Directors must be Americans) you do it NOW!!!

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

Great! How long does the entire process take once I see you?

To include setting up firm, setting up the accounting system, registering the name of the firm, Visa with Work permit for self and meeting all Thai Tax registration requirements.

Also please advise the total costs of the above package (for my planning)?

[Sunbelt Asia]

Great! How long does the entire process take once I see you?

4-5 weeks

To include setting up firm, setting up the accounting system, registering the name of the firm, Visa with Work permit for self and meeting all Thai Tax registration requirements.

Also please advise the total costs of the above package (for my planning)?

I sent you a private message to find out more details. If you do this as a sole proprietorship as you do not have no liability concerns because of the nature of your business. Also this works as you are married to a Thai wife and can apply for the extension of stay based on support of a Thai national rather than business. ( You cannot apply for the extension of stay based on business, with a sole proprietorship)

The professional fees would be:

Sole proprietorship 2,500 Baht

Tax ID 3,000 Baht

Amity for proprietorship 19,500

Registration for name at District Office 1,000

Extension of stay based on marriage 6,500 Baht

Traveling fee to the various Government offices (8 different round trips) 2,400 Baht

Add 7% to the above total for professional fees

Government fees:

Government Fee for extension of stay 1,900 Baht

Government fee for reentry permit (Optional) 1,000 Baht for single entry or 3,800 Baht for multiple entries

Government fees for Amity Registration 25,400

You pay yourself 30,000 Baht a month. For the rest of 2006, the withholding tax would be zero on this amount. Our fee to file this tax report and the social fund (once you hire any employees) would be 1,000 Baht per month.

As you are a sole proprietorship we will try to get your work permit approved without you being registered for VAT. We have been able to get this done in the past with sole proprietorships with Amity.

By the way, if you went the Thai Limited Company route.

Add another 14,500 Baht additional for Amity

Add 3,000 for Vat registration

Add 1,500 for Director Tax ID

Add 5,600 for one million Baht Company

Add 1,940 for certification of documents and duty stamps

Add 1,500 Baht( monthly charge) for Vat filings every month.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

[kdf]

Great! How long does the entire process take once I see you?

4-5 weeks

To include setting up firm, setting up the accounting system, registering the name of the firm, Visa with Work permit for self and meeting all Thai Tax registration requirements.

Also please advise the total costs of the above package (for my planning)?

I sent you a private message to find out more details. If you do this as a sole proprietorship as you do not have no liability concerns because of the nature of your business. Also this works as you are married to a Thai wife and can apply for the extension of stay based on support of a Thai national rather than business. ( You cannot apply for the extension of stay based on business, with a sole proprietorship)

The professional fees would be:

Sole proprietorship 2,500 Baht

Tax ID 3,000 Baht

Amity for proprietorship 19,500

Registration for name at District Office 1,000

Extension of stay based on marriage 6,500 Baht

Traveling fee to the various Government offices (8 different round trips) 2,400 Baht

Add 7% to the above total for professional fees

Government fees:

Government Fee for extension of stay 1,900 Baht

Government fee for reentry permit (Optional) 1,000 Baht for single entry or 3,800 Baht for multiple entries

Government fees for Amity Registration 25,400

You pay yourself 30,000 Baht a month. For the rest of 2006, the withholding tax would be zero on this amount. Our fee to file this tax report and the social fund (once you hire any employees) would be 1,000 Baht per month.

As you are a sole proprietorship we will try to get your work permit approved without you being registered for VAT. We have been able to get this done in the past with sole proprietorships with Amity.

By the way, if you went the Thai Limited Company route.

Add another 14,500 Baht additional for Amity

Add 3,000 for Vat registration

Add 1,500 for Director Tax ID

Add 5,600 for one million Baht Company

Add 1,940 for certification of documents and duty stamps

Add 1,500 Baht( monthly charge) for Vat filings every month.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

OK so what can I do with my sole proprietor Amity company? Sure it has been asked often, but times are changing. Can this company own land?

What are the benefits for doing this?

Thanks in advance for any info.

KDF

[Sunbelt Asia]

OK so what can I do with my sole proprietor Amity company?

You have the same rights as a Thai who can own a business 100% and control it. You have the identical rights.

Sure it has been asked often, but times are changing. Can this company own land?

The Land is a different right and the Amity Treaty does not grant this right. In fact it was the American Governments idea back in the 60's not to allow Amity holders the right to hold land.

What are the benefits for doing this?

Ownership rights of your business, control rights of your business, tax advantage( On income derived from business, expenses can be deducted with actual expense or 65-85% depending on the types of income... if your expense is as a example just 20% you throw the receipts out and declare the higher deduction)

Note: this is only for the sole proprietorship in reference to the choice of which deduction and you are not required to keep expense receipts if you choose to use the industry standard deduction.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

[pedro01]

Just a side note. The WTO won't allow Thailand to continue giving the US preferential treatment, so they have 2 options.

Give Amity Treaty to everyone

Drop it all together

I guess they'll drop it.

Pedro

[wpcoe]

Thought I would bump this thread back to life momentarily to verify the status of the Amity treaty. Presumably it has been extended past Dec 5, 2006? If so, what is the current expiry of the treaty?

Also in post #4, Sunbelt says "You cannot apply for the extension of stay based on business, with a sole proprietorship".

Might this be a case where a work permit could be issued on a retirement extension? (Perhaps wishful thinking on my part.)

[mouse]

Last I was told by Sunbelt is that the treaty has been extended indefintely. My company is up and running. Do not know about retirement Visa option. PM me if you need more.

[Sunbelt Asia]

Thought I would bump this thread back to life momentarily to verify the status of the Amity treaty. Presumably it has been extended past Dec 5, 2006? If so, what is the current expiry of the treaty?

It has been extended.

Also in post #4, Sunbelt says "You cannot apply for the extension of stay based on business, with a sole proprietorship

Might this be a case where a work permit could be issued on a retirement extension? (Perhaps wishful thinking on my part.)

You can always try.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com