Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing taxes here in Thailand, yet again. For those who are unaware, I made a video recently where I did it as an ALERT because I wanted to get out ahead of this sort of narrative that all foreigners in Thailand are going to be taxed. Anybody that sets foot on Thai soil is going to be taxed; dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria, tax everywhere, taxes, taxes as far as the eye can see. As I said in that video, that's not what's occurring. They are talking about proposals; nothing has been promulgated; there's no major change to Thai Law. Yes there was a change to the Revenue Department, well let me say there was an intra Revenue Department memo published last year right around this time, regarding assessability of money inbound to Thailand and regarding the timing of remittances versus - when I say timing, I mean remittance versus when the money was accrued. So going back, it used to be that if you accrued money in one calendar year, but only transferred that money into Thailand in a subsequent calendar year, not the same calendar year as the time it was accrued, you didn't have to worry about assessability. Starting January 1, 2024 that was changed. Now monies will be assessed regardless of the timing of when the money was accrued. That is not a major change. Tax Law has not changed. You're not going to be taxed in Thailand just because you're here if you have income worldwide. You're also not necessarily going to be assessed or taxed in Thailand or be found liable for tax in Thailand just because you transfer money in. There's a lot of nonsense on the internet right now, said by a lot of people that quite frankly don't know what they're talking about, talking about how the Thai Tax System works. Also, anyone who is a foreigner who is sitting around giving Thai tax advice, you're operating illegally pursuant to the Restricted Occupations, in fact you are operating criminally, so stop. That being said, with regard to this issue over all of the hyperbole is thick across the ether of the internet with regard to taxes, if you take nothing else from these videos it's calm down. This is not some giant tidal wave that is going to hit everybody. As I have said before, the vast majority of retirees, 80%, probably more, that's probably a conservative number but I would say at least 80% of retirees that are here right now don't even worry about this, I mean for a variety of different reasons. Again each person's given situation is going to dictate a different legal analysis and therefore a different legal conclusion when it comes to an opinion regarding assessability, liability, that type of thing. But that being said, again the vast majority of people especially retirees are not going to need to worry about this. 

That said, I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Pattaya Mail, that is pattayamail.com, and I'm reading this article, this is one of Barry Kenyon's. I actually had lunch with him, a very nice lunch the other day. Again tip of the hat to him. He truly is to my mind a living legend here in Thailand. I mean he's been here a long, long time, he knows a lot of stuff. I mean it's one of those, I remember an old friend of mine over in Cambodia who had been over there multiple decades before moving back to the States one time telling me, "it's so amazing when a person has been in a certain place for so long they just have all this institutional knowledge; it's sort of knowledge they are not even aware they have the knowledge of." I do have to say Barry Kenyon is one of those individuals when it comes to these matters here in Thailand. We were kind of talking about this tax stuff and it worries as both I think that we don't want foreigners to be overly worried by all the hyperbolic and sort of the hysterics you see across the internet about tax policy here. At the end of the day, not a lot is really changing, in fact nothing has really fundamentally changed in terms of tax law to date, and notwithstanding the again hyperbolic sort of headlines and prognostications of others, at the end of the day nothing has changed in terms of Thai Law and it doesn't seem that the law itself is going to be changed any time in the immediately foreseeable future. And getting into that again, the article is titled: Expats in Thailand stop about negative income tax. Quoting directly: "On top of current personal income tax woes on funds remitted from overseas," which there aren't a ton of woes here. There are circumstances where somebody might be assessable, probably not liable for any tax and that's a situation where some Double Tax Agreement may kick in and you don't have to pay anything anyway but you may in theory have to file a return. As it sits right now, you may not have any affirmative duty to even do that. Again circumstances in the case will dictate sort of the conclusion with regard to that, but again the vast majority of people shouldn't have to worry about that. So to say it's woes I think is a little bit of an overstatement, but moving forward, quoting further: "Thailand’s long-stay foreigners are now being panicked by premature scares about Negative Income Tax. Some English language Thai news sites and social media are warning that NIT is imminent and will require all Thais, as well as foreign residents, to fill in tax forms under penalty early next year and disclose all their worldwide financial resources." Yeah, this is the hyperbole we are talking about. I don't see any of that on the immediate horizon okay? And more to the point, quoting further: "NIT is certainly being considered by sections of the Thai Government but would require a change in the Law." Exactly, the Law has not changed here folks, and it's not a foregone conclusion that it will. It has to go through relevant legislative due process. Politics will get in the way; all kinds of things have to happen. Many, many hoops must be jumped through before we would see a change in the Law. Meanwhile, my real hope is cooler heads prevail on this issue because notwithstanding the dreams and aspirations of a bunch of tax bureaucrats, at the end of the day, creating a bunch of tax scare for this jurisdiction could have tremendous negative ramifications for Thailand because it could scare off investors, it could scare off even long-stay tourists; it could scare off people that want to come here to retire. And again I reiterate nothing has fundamentally changed. The law hasn't changed, it's still what it has been to get into Thailand. And meanwhile as I have discussed with many clients recently, there are things you can do at the beginning - especially for retirees - at the beginning of your tenure here in Thailand that will put you in good stead moving forward, so that you basically plan everything front loaded, so that you get all your ducks in a row up front and then you never worry about taxes again. I have structured many setups for people here in Thailand where they get themselves set up at the outset and then they don't have to worry about any of that stuff. And again, without a change in the actual law which that is not immediately foreseeable and that is not something that can just happen overnight, without a change in the law you're not going to see any change in terms of policy or any practical changes that are going to have impacts on folks expatriating to Thailand, coming to invest in Thailand, coming to retire in Thailand and it is certainly not going to have any major impact on tourists for Thailand. So notwithstanding all the hyperbole in the ether of the internet, remember that. Fundamentally a) nothing has changed right now. It's not a foregone conclusion that anything will change, and if there are changes, you better know that they are going to take a deep long look at what these changes look like because obviously it is not in Thailand's best interest to scare away tourists, to scare away long-term folks that want to come retire here and spend their money here and especially to scare away Foreign Investment, that's not a good idea in anybody's book. That said, quoting further and very to the point, maybe quoting again: "NIT is certainly being considered by sections of the Thai Government but would require a change in the Law." Quoting further, and this very, very key here: "Deputy Minister of Finance Julapun Amornvivat who is in favour said recently such a move would require "a few years" to appear formally on the statute book." And well put by Mr. Kenyon there, yeah quote "a few years". This is not happening overnight. You're not going to see this change, it looks to me like, even from this year to the next. So please folks, please calm down, okay. Thailand has not lost its mind. It is well aware of its foreign community, well aware of its expat community well aware of its foreign retiree community and you can bet your boots it is well aware of the investment community that is looking at Thailand as a possible place to invest and I don't think it's going to make a lot of rash decisions with regard to taxes in the immediately foreseeable future.

Now that said, could things change? Possibly, but even this person who is in favour, he is just one voice in the choir. Again we have a coalition here in Thailand. For outsiders it probably looks like a bit of a precarious thing but at the end of the day, this person may be part of one part of the coalition and another part of the coalition might not be on the same page as that part of the coalition. Meanwhile there's an entire opposition that may feel differently as well. What I'm trying to say is it's a long way to go before we would see major promulgated law with regard to changes to the tax laws and policies here in Thailand. That said, quoting further: "The reality is that NIT is a framework for taxation and benefits so you would need to see the details to ascertain the specifics." Exactly, and we would presumably see that in a Parliamentary Bill, and again it's not a foregone conclusion that that will look the same as when it is first brought before Parliament as it would when a law is finally promulgated. Then meanwhile it's not a foregone conclusion that it would even pass Parliament at all. That said, quoting further: "Nobody has access to any specifics at the present time," and that's well put, and I think that puts sort of a fine point on this video which is there are no specifics because there is no new law. And despite what is being discussed and despite how that discussion is perhaps being a little bit warped or magnified or if you will sort of being put through kind of the megaphone if you will of the online press, notwithstanding that, nothing has fundamentally changed here and we would need a change in the law which we don't even have a proposed draft law to the best of my knowledge. That's going to take time to go ahead and do. Then it's got to go through the Parliamentary process which again not a foregone conclusion. So how exactly this all plays out remains to be seen, but I think it's well put to remember what Mr. Kenyan said, again, "nobody has access to any specifics at the present time," and that's probably because they don't exist. Again they're talking about these initiatives. That's what Parliament does; that's what the Government here is supposed to do is talk about possible changes to the law. It doesn't mean it's a foregone conclusion. 

So folks in the foreign community, if you're freaking out about this, I urge you yet again, please take a big, deep breath. This is not happening tomorrow; the sky is not falling. Again just keep an eye on in my opinion sort of reputable sources such as Pattaya Mail, again pattayamail.com. I urge those who are watching this video, go check out that article in detail to get more insight which it's a good article, a lot of good insight. And again just calm down because Thailand is not looking to come after your retirement savings or your finances if you're just coming over here to expatriate. Nor are they looking to just simply come after your investment money here in the Kingdom of Thailand.