Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are asking the question, are Destination Thailand Visas effectively Tax Clearances, Tax Clearance Certificates, I should say? I have made videos in the past, for those who are unaware, what is a tax clearance? I urge those who are checking out this video, go check out the links in the description below, you will have links to other videos where I talk in further detail about Thai Tax Clearance Certificates specifically. 

Suffice it to say, up until sometime in the early to mid '90s, Thailand had a Tax Clearance Certificate System which required people to get this document before they could leave the country. They had to get this Tax Clearance Certificate to show that they were in the right if you will, with the Thai Tax Authority. That was phased out, they created VAT and then phased that out. Now as time has gone on, Governments get bigger, they get bloated, they require more money and here we are, we are in a situation where after two and a half years shutting down the Thai economy, the Revenue Department feels that they need to raise some more revenue. Well the Government had no problem shutting us down, now they have a problem because they don't have enough money. My opinion is that should be their problem. That said, here we are and they are trying to come up with various ways in which to do this. 

One of them as I have discussed at length, has been usage of claiming that OECD is a foregone conclusion and all of this, you have got these foreign interlopers claiming all kinds of tax issues are arising here in Thailand when in my opinion that whole line of logic is spurious. Meanwhile, setting all of that aside, there are other creative ways in which to do this, which brings us to the Destination Thailand Visa. I've discussed this Visa at length for probably about a year or so now at this point, maybe even a little less, maybe more like 9 months, but in any event when it first came on the scene, I still am very, very hesitant to say that I believe this thing is going to work exactly as advertised over the course of the next 5 years, as evidenced by the fact that it was discussed in one way - when it was created - as if you could just stay in Thailand forever on the 5 years. It's now looking like as a practical matter, you're going to have to effectively do a Border Run at least every six months. That being said, all of that remains to be seen. 

I'm actually not talking about the Immigration side of the DTV though. As I have discussed in other videos, the moment at which you go over 180 days effectively here in Thailand, is the moment at which you are here in Thailand and you may be considered Tax Resident which within a broader framework of analysis, may pull you into a situation where you need to get a Tax ID Number and/or file a tax return, again depending on your circumstances. Now, this situation then feeds in if you will to the Destination Thailand Visa because effectively, you only get 180 days on each entry with the DTV. By either extending or leaving, you are actually undertaking an affirmative act of going over the 180 days. There's no way to claim from that point, 'hey I was unaware I went over 180 days'. No. you know. You know you went over 180 days or you are implicitly supposed to know, you are put on, as we say in the American Common Law legal vernacular, you're put on ‘constructive notice' of the fact that you may have tax liability by the dint of the fact you overtly took affirmative steps to be in Thailand more than 180 days utilizing the Destination Thailand Visa. And, as this system is digitized and it's our understanding, they are still rolling this out. The full implementation of the protocols especially entry/exit protocols associated with the Destination Thailand Visa remain to be seen. That being said, it appears they are digitizing this Tax Clearance Certificate if you will and putting it into the DTV itself. It's going to be part of the protocol when coming and going from Thailand, is ascertaining whether or not one is in compliance with Thai Tax Law. 

For that reason, I don't think it's unfair to say that effectively the Destination Thailand Visa is effectively a Tax Clearance Certificate especially moving forward out of 2025 I expect, as I have discussed in other videos, I view 2025 as the sort of DMZ year if you will, regarding all these tax policies. But one thing I'm fairly certain of is you will be able, well I should say the Establishment if you will, the Immigration and Tax Bureaucracy through this - what will likely eventually be the Destination Thailand Visa System - will be able to basically track and trace everyone coming and going utilizing the Destination Thailand Visa System and then extract taxes as and when necessary per compliance laws and regulations.