Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing retirees, those with a Non-Immigrant Visa, as well as even Work Permit holders and whether or not they're going to be impacted by the imposition of this possible, and I stress possible, let's really make that clear, and I'll get into that further in the article, but possible Tourist Tax here in Thailand. Let's dig in. 

I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Phuket News, that is thephuketnews.com, the article is titled: New "Tourism Tax" will not affect residents. Quoting directly: "The Phuket Office of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MOTS Phuket) has assured that the new Tourism Tax currently planned to come into effect early next year, will not affect foreigners living or working in Thailand. Quoting further: "An MoTS Phuket Official explained to the Phuket News that the planned tax still had yet to be presented to Cabinet for approval." So let's be clear here. This is not a foregone conclusion. In fact I have seen them talk about this at length many, many times over roughly past 5 years in earnest, and nothing has ever come of it. So nothing may come of it even now. 

Again, I can't stress this enough, I think this, along with the Electronic Travel Authorization, are terrible ideas for a variety of reasons but most directly I think it will have a significant detrimental impact on the Tourism Sector here in Thailand. Quoting further: "The MoTS Phuket Official who asked not to be named.." it's kind of interesting here; this person wants to be anonymous and meanwhile keeps reiterating the fact this Tourism Tax is not a foregone conclusion. Quoting further: "..assured the tax would not affect foreigners living or working in the country. Quote: 'The Tourist Tax will depend on the type of visa a traveller holds' the official said." And bear in mind, this is on something that hasn't actually gotten to Cabinet and this person isn't even being quoted in their own name, so this is sort of anonymous. The point I am trying to make is it is all very nebulous. Quoting further: Quote: "Those with a Non-Immigrant or Immigrant Visa, or with proof such as a valid Work Permit showing they work in Thailand, will be exempt from paying the tax," the official assured. This approach ensures that individuals residing or working in the country aren't subject to the same fees as short-term tourists. However, it's important to stay updated, as future changes or adjustments to the policy may occur." Yeah, well thanks so much. I mean at the end of the day, it's really not saying much of anything here other than it looks like the plan is not to suck folks like retirees holding a Non-Immigrant O or O-A Retirement Visa into this scheme - Business Visa holders, possibly O Marriage Visa holders will be exempted from this as they would be holding Non-Immigrant Visas. But again, we're talking about something that hasn't even been brought forward to the Cabinet in promulgation. Meanwhile all of the discussion on this seems a bit again nebulous to me. So that said, I'm going to try to keep people updated on this channel as best I can with actual hard information.

Again, I can't stress this enough, and I reiterate it, I think the Electronic Travel Authorization and the Tourist Tax are bad ideas across the board; I think they'll do nothing but actually hurt tourism in Thailand. Meanwhile, I don't even see the benefit of it. We already have protocols in place including biometrics as well as the APPS and PIBIC systems. I don't even see what the point of having it is other than it was this technocratic nonsense created during what basically amounted to a nonsensical “pandemic” and I guess basically just had their wish list of all the technocratic totalitarian nonsense that they wanted to bring out and they did it during the pandemic. Now they appear to be trying to bring it back, then on top of it create this digital tax black hole which I've already done the videos; they say it's because "Oh we need to offset medical treatments for foreigners here in Thailand." Well of the 300 Baht, only 60 Baht is set to go to that, so again, I fail to see how this is going to be any great benefit. Meanwhile, as noted in the article, it remains to be seen whether or not this will actually be promulgated into law, so as I said before, we will certainly keep you updated on this channel as the situation evolves.