Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing banking issues here in the Kingdom of Thailand and sort of tax. I am just going to talk kind of generally on both topics because these are things that we have gotten a lot of inquiries, a lot of feedback on. We have had a lot of communications regarding "hey can you help with setup with bank account?" As we have discussed in other videos, yes we definitely assist folks with bank accounts; go ahead and send us an email: [email protected] if you want information about how we can help you get set up with a bank account here. 

Now what we are talking about in this video though specifically is yes, there have been major announcements regarding tax, specifically how taxes are going to be attributed; how tax liability is going to be assessed here in Thailand moving forward. As we have discussed in other videos, there will be some major changes occurring January 1 of 2024 with regard to tax. And a question that I have had posed of me is "How would this impact banking?" Well what I expect is as we have discussed in other videos, I think we are going to see a situation wherein those who want to renew their Non-Immigrant Visas on a long-term basis here in Thailand, for example folks that hold for example like Retirement Visas, those kind of folks may need to go ahead and file tax returns, Thai Tax returns with their application for extension. I think it may happen after 2025 where they may actually start saying "we want to see tax documentation". Part and parcel of that is the disclosure most likely in that documentation pertaining to one's banking and one's banking transactions here in Thailand, either offshore if the money comes into Thailand or in Thailand, if one is undertaking banking transactions here in Thailand. That may be part of possible future application for sort of visas and also, it is just sort of a general issue that one has to undertake. So for example in a retirement context, generally speaking interest may not be an issue on funds that are in a Bank Account. But for example folks who have Bank Accounts here in Thailand and maintain things like O Marriage Visas, depending on the circumstances, they may have interest accruing on a Thai Bank Account. So again, that may have an impact on how one files their tax return. 

So let me kind of distill this down. Moving forward after 2024, I think taxes are going to become a much more common theme both in Immigration and in just matters of being an expat here in Thailand. In the past, tax was not an overarching theme just if you are just kind of living in Thailand not really working here, it wasn't something you needed to worry about. Moving forward out past 2024 going into 2025, I suspect that that will change and it will have implications for those who maintain Bank Accounts here in the Kingdom of Thailand.