Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing issues associated with taxes when working in both Thailand and the USA. I have had a lot of interest in this topic. Folks coming to me asking for advice, information regarding US tax; interaction with the Thai system and when necessary we get the Thai Accountants as well as the Thai Tax lawyers here in our office involved but a big question is well it seems to be like a general question. At the end of the day I think a lot of people default into a dialectic approach - sort of an either or binary approach when approaching any sort of problem - and sometimes the answer is both or neither. In the situation of taxes when working both in the United States and Thailand, and when I say in either of these jurisdictions, let's say income which could be attributable to working in either of those jurisdictions. Again circumstances and facts in an underlying case are going to drive the analysis regarding both tax assessability and ultimate tax liability, so understand that going into sort of the conversation. Long story short people sort of ask this: “well what am I doing if I am working in both or multiple jurisdictions?" Well you may have to deal with multiple jurisdictions’, tax authorities. In this case we will just keep it limited to Thailand and the USA and by the way yes, there's a reason for things called foreign tax credits and Double Tax Agreements which allow one to not constantly be double taxed or re-taxed or redundantly taxed associated with their income and livelihood. 

That being said the "normalization", or "harmonization" that Thailand seems to be interested in undergoing, all associated with this apparent movement toward the OECD and all of this kind of thing, at the end of the day, I don't think more of these agreements and more harmonization ultimately leads to less tax for the individual. If anything I think it leads to more and they are trying to set up sort of a net if you will to not allow anyone out of their net. I have done the videos on this already where we even had the Prime Minister here in Thailand talking about effectively we needed to harmonize because Lord knows, we wouldn't want people out there earning money and not being taxed on it. Basically that there was a tax principle that everybody needed to be taxed. Well I don't necessarily agree with that. I am perfectly happy to be taxed in a jurisdiction in which I have earned or I have assessed liability or tax liability, I don't have any problem with that but this notion that there is this sort of almost inherent tax liability that just floats in the ether, floats around the universe and just exists notwithstanding our laws, it is nonsense. Tax Law is a byproduct of promulgation of law, the legislative process. No, there is not an inherent principle of Taxation floating around the universe. I think that is silly. 

That being said and to conclude this video, yeah you may be in a situation where you have some complex tax returns to do if you are earning money or you have assets and income in both the United States and the Kingdom of Thailand.