Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests discussing tax yet again. It seems to have percolated back up into the popular Zeitgeist recently, mostly surrounding the notion that there may be a memorandum issued by the Revenue Department here in Thailand regarding Tax matters. As we have yet to see one, it's not a good idea to sit around ruminating on it until we actually see one. My personal opinion is we are sitting here in September; we have got a new Government. They have got about 4 months; they got a lot to do and probably their biggest priority is probably setting up for this next election which presumably they are going to dissolve the House and have some time in the first or second quarter of 2026. 

I kind of doubt we are going to see any major movements on Visa policy, although I have discussed in other videos we could on certain visa policies - specifically regarding the Destination Thailand Visa - I think that is probably going to be scrutinized pretty heavily moving forward. Also, they could maybe do something with regard to tax. I could be wrong, but it just doesn't seem like it is going to be a major priority this year, or the remainder of this year, especially with the limited tenure of this incoming Government. So that said, maybe that is me drawing a conclusion the other way, but what I really am trying to do is keep a balanced view and that balanced view dictates this. Until we see a new law or we see a new memorandum officially published regarding Thai Tax matters, there is no point ruminating on the possibility or what that could look like. That is kind of pointless in my opinion because it hasn't changed, so what's the point. The other thing is look, I remember when Trump Tax came down the pike - I am an American Tax Attorney, and in my capacity as such I provide a lot of advisory services for folks on that both in a corporate and sometimes in an individual capacity - but the raw law on Trump Tax made no sense. It was like a soup of nonsense. It took forever to figure out how exactly that was going to be applied and then the regulatory structure came out. It takes a minute and frankly the expat world used to kind of get this a little bit better. 

For those who want some further insight into this stuff, I do actually do long-form videos in our paid news service, Integrity News Service. I am probably going to do one this upcoming Sunday and just ruminate on tax generally. So if you are interested in that, you can email us, [email protected]. We will also stick some photos up while I am talking my book about our restaurant here in downtown Bangkok my better half and I have a nice set up. It's called Pancake Palace, as the name implies, breakfast anytime as well as American Diner style food. We also have American football in the mornings when football is on, so if you are interested in that, please feel free to check us out; links in the description below, we'd love to see you. 

Now that said, getting into this. I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Pattaya Mail, that is pattayamail.com, the article is titled: Webinar discounts rumors of tax exemption for expats. Quoting directly: "Foreigners who are resident in Thailand for fewer than 180 days in a year are not required to submit a tax return for overseas transmitted income." Maybe. Again, this is why I don't like all of this lay people talk, and all of these unqualified people talking about this topic. And let me be clear, I've tried to as best I can, make it very clear; I'm just putting out information, okay. I'm an American Tax Attorney. Yes, I am a Thai National so when it comes to issues of restricted occupations, that doesn't pertain to me; it very much does to foreign nationals who are violating the restricted occupations here in Thailand. Meanwhile, the other thing is anybody that is not qualified to talk directly about the details, detailed analysis of Thai Tax Law i.e. an accountant or an attorney here in Thailand, really shouldn't be talking about it in my opinion, or, I shouldn't say talking about it, talking about it is one thing, information is one thing. Drawing legal conclusions and then sort of throwing that out as a broad statement to the public, not a great idea, and there is a difference by the way. Talking about something is one thing. Drawing conclusions and throwing it out there is another. My opinion, as I have discussed with regard to restricted occupations and their definitions as of the Ministerial Decree from the Ministry of Labour dated 2020 which I have talked about in prior videos, in fact we will just stick it up here on screen so you can see it, I have discussed that previously. Even foreigners doing education, consulting, tax accounting: it is specifically noted in there that that is restricted to foreigners. There is a reason for that. Foreigners aren't qualified to talk about that stuff, period, end of discussion. 

The point of this video though is more to the point, drawing broad conclusions and just throwing them out there, it's, I hesitate to use the word 'harmful’, but it could indirectly cause harm to folks who detrimentally rely on it. So going back here, quoting again: "Foreigners who are resident in Thailand for fewer than 180 days in a year are not required to submit a tax return for overseas transmitted income." Maybe. What is the definition of the work? Is the income coming from work that could be attributed to having occurred in Thailand? I have seen situations, again I am not commenting on this directly, but I have seen situations involving tax professionals here in our office where for example some things may be subject to VAT and some things may not be, depending on whether or not the work was deemed attributable in Thailand. That is just one example. Again the 180 days thing counts for pertaining to worldwide income, but you are always subject to possible income tax in Thailand for something that could be attributable to having been earned in Thailand; that is my understanding of how it works at least. And again, I hesitate to draw conclusions. I am just trying to point out there that this is a broad sweeping statement that draws a conclusion that in fact - depending on the underlying facts in a given individual's case - might not play out that way. Quoting further: "Though they are still potentially taxable on any income (for example from renting out their condominiums here) actually earned in Thailand." Here is another one. I've actually seen this play out where renting out real estate, as we have discussed in other videos, is deemed to be work and therefore requires a Work Permit, so that's another side of things, okay. And I'm just bringing that up anecdotally to provide further nuance on this. 

The point is and the point I am trying to make, I don't think it helps the expat community by spinning up more of this shuck and jive, for lack of a better term. This kind of nonsensical talk that just kind of spins around the issue which is generated by people who aren't qualified to draw conclusions by applying Thai Law and then sort of throwing all that out there for the expat community to take up, and then they detrimentally rely on it, thinking that that is the truth of the matter. Basically, what we are talking about here is the misnomer of "conventional wisdom" in the expat community. It is one of the real reasons I started this channel is because for years, I would just see nonsense pervasive on the old Thai Visa Forum, where people would just say things that were just completely out of whack with the reality of both the law and how it was actually applied, and I would see people later get into real problems over it. People would actually show me stuff from the forums and say this is why I did what I did, and now I am in this position. And that is why I started making the channel and that is why I have been clear throughout where I have needed to be clear, "hey I am talking about this for informational purposes only," "hey you need to talk to a legal professional regarding your own personal Tax matters." It's not a matter of just, oh this is a broad sweeping statement, this applies to everyone. That is not how it works, tax liability is assessed, and you are found liable based on the underlying facts in a given case. That being said, quoting further: "Nor is it necessary for expats living here for more than 180 days in a calendar year to submit a tax form if they have not transferred any income from abroad since 31 December, 2023." Well again, another broad sweeping statement. Depending being on the facts in a given individual's case, that may or may not be true. Have there been any taxable events that occurred in Thailand in that time? It doesn't all come down to whether or not somebody transferred money in, or whether or not one was in this country for 180 days at a stretch.

It comes down to the "totality of the circumstances" to borrow a term of art from my legal education back in the US. It comes down to the underlying facts in the given case, analyzing those facts based on the individual's situation and then ascertaining whether or not they have assessable income or they are possibly liable for tax here in Thailand. Again this cannot be done in this kind of shotgun manner, and frankly where it is done this way, I think it is leading to real detriment for the public at large especially the expat public here in the Kingdom of Thailand.