Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing foreigners and the issue of tax here in Thailand and possible changes to the Thai Tax laws. 

I thought of making this video after reading a very good article by Mr. Barry Kenyon in the Pattaya Mail, that is pattayamail.com, the article is titled: Upbeat expat news on foreign income taxes coming soon; and again, emphasis on coming soon. We haven't actually seen this promulgated at least as of the time of this video, so it remains to be seen, but that said, quoting directly: "According to a news report in Bangkok Post, the Thai Revenue Department (TRD) is finalizing legislation to appear in the Royal Gazette about foreign income transferred here. Director-general Pinsai Suraswadi said the new law will exempt from personal taxation resident individuals." And that is another one. I have talked about different aspects of this -"resident individuals". What does that mean? Quoting further: "who bring foreign-sourced income into Thailand, provided that they transfer the cash in the calendar year, or the following successor year, in which it was earned."  

As we have discussed in other videos in the past, prior to January 1, 2024, you brought it in in a different year it was earned, and it was not necessarily subject to tax assessability. Now it looks like whatever this rule change will be, it would apply to the same year it is earned, or a year after; so that's an important distinction there. That said, quoting further: "Expats will remain on tenderhooks until the actual detail is in print." - Yeah, I would imagine - "will it apply to them or only to Thai passport holders (surely both)?" Well we can all hope, but again it remains to be seen. Quoting further: "Will ambiguous terms such as assessable income or liable income persist? Who precisely will need to register with TRD if they have not done so already?" All good questions; all remain to be seen. 

As I have discussed in other videos, I have to imagine it will be similar to in the past - although it might clarify a broad swath of people - but again, at the end of the day, these things ultimately come down to the underlying facts in a given case. And for that reason, while I think it is wise to be optimistic, it's probably a good idea to be cautiously optimistic. I do think overall this whole thing was kind of a perfect storm. I don't think anybody intended for it to play out this way. They implemented this in my opinion to deal with I think, branch offices of Thai corporations remitting funds back into Thailand and using timing sort of “games” if you will, to avoid or mitigate tax liability but individuals got sort of roped into it, and I think they are trying to ameliorate that via a memorandum to sort of fix what started in effectively January 1, 2024. 

It remains to be seen exactly what this looks like, but we will certainly be keeping you updated on this channel as the situation evolves.