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ResourcesCorporate and Tax AdvisoryThailand Corporate LawWhat's the Best Way to Set Up a Business in Thailand?

What's the Best Way to Set Up a Business in Thailand?

Transcript of the above video: 

There has been a lot of the talk recently about tax liability here in Thailand. Then there's been a lot of talk about these new Destination Thailand Visas; everybody's over the moon about all this, and talking about things like work authorization, some of the relaxation with regard to “yes it's now overtly if you will, okay to get on the phone and talk to somebody outside of the country here in Thailand on a Destination Thailand Visa.” But what we've talked about on this channel up to this point is the Destination Thailand Visas are not work authorized for Thailand, so you can't work in Thailand on them. You may be able to have some limited business correspondence with folks outside of Thailand, but you can't do business in Thailand specifically under those visas.

On top of that, I think there are many who don't really look to the greater tax opportunities that one might be able to avail themselves of, and when I say tax opportunities, I mean opportunities for tax efficiency utilizing Thai Corporate Structures. So what are we talking about here? 

Well in a lot of cases, notwithstanding all the hyperbole surrounding these new visas, which all new visas give me pause because they never really ever pan out the way they are sort of initially billed. We're kind of waiting for the denouement if you will on that whole issue with these Destination Thailand Visas. I expect we're going to see a real flurry of consternation some 6 months from now when we start seeing how these things really operate when the rubber hits the road from the standpoint of Border Runs and Visa Extensions within the Kingdom. 

As we have noted in other videos, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said all kinds of great things about these visas but they're not ultimately the authority responsible for things like extensions or security and law enforcement regarding the border. So how this actually plays out practically remains to be seen. Again I expect it's probably not going to operate in quite as rosy a way as it's been billed to this point. 

That said what then is optimal? Well again it depends on people's circumstances. If somebody was coming out here and said "look I'm kind of looking to spend the next year, 18 months in Thailand. That's analysis of one type. When I say ‘set up’ in the title of this video, I mean getting set up here in Thailand on a permanent basis. Are you looking to be on the path to Permanent Residence? Are you even possibly looking to be on the path to citizenship? Are you looking to be on the path to something where you're maintaining sort of a base here in Thailand that you can operate some greater Southeast Asia or around the world but have all your ducks in a row with regard to Thailand? Things like Work Permit, Business Visa on an ongoing basis. In many, many ways setting up a company can be very beneficial, again depending on the specific facts in the underlying case.