Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing tax investigations associated with nominee investigations here in Thailand. For those who are unaware, I have discussed this in a number of other videos. The Department of Business Development is basically taking a hard line approach with regard to nominee structures, they are undertaking more scrutiny associated with paid-up capital, registration of shareholders, who shareholders are, where their funds come from etc. This is on a level that is far over and above what we have heretofore seen. I hesitate to say it is pretty onerous but that really is looking like it is the right word.

That said, quoting directly from a recent article in the Pattaya Mail, pattayamail.com, the article is titled: Thailand hunts "nominees" - a risky game that ends in prison and corporate erasure. Quoting directly: "The real consequences: beyond financial penalties. The most underestimated aspect is not the statutory penalties but the systemic impact. When nominee structures are exposed, Companies may be suspended or dissolved, Business operations may be disrupted or halted, Financial credibility may collapse, Tax investigations may be triggered retrospectively, Individuals may face criminal records. The damage extends beyond individuals it affects the entire business structure." Yeah, the point being brought up here is if something is determined to have been a nominee structure and to be clear, notwithstanding my concerns on this new enforcement regime, I do fundamentally agree with the notion that Thailand does need to be aware of foreign nationals utilizing nominees here in Thailand in order to basically violate Thai Law, and I get that, and I do understand the notion of protecting Thailand's economy and labour force. I have my concerns about how that's done, but that is well articulated in other videos. 

My point with this video is yeah there could be retrospective tax investigations if it's determined that well the sort of flow of revenue was not going to the places that it seemed to be going on paper and that could lead to all sorts of ramifications in a tax context. Again, it remains to be seen exactly what those look like, but long story short, yeah, we could see a situation where folks end up in a, well in a rather bad situation because they engaged in a corporate structure that was in violation of Thai law, and the ramifications of that can be penalties both monetary as well as possible criminal penalty. 

That said, it remains to be seen exactly how all of this plays out, so we will certainly be keeping folks updated on this channel as the situation evolves.