Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the possibility of tax documentation associated with Visa extension. I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Pattaya Mail, that is pattayamail.com, the article is titled: Don't panic because Thai revenue has written to 100,000 tax residents urging registration. Quoting directly: "The TRD, (Thai Revenue Department,) does not have access to foreigners’ Thai addresses unless, of course they choose to register with the Government Department. It has been rumoured that such registration could become part of the process of renewing annual extensions of stay.."

So for those who are unaware, we are talking about an extension of stay. That's like a Retirement Visa extension, a Marriage Visa extension. Now Business Visa extension, that's an extension as well but you are already dealing with taxes when you are extending Business Visa status. You could even argue maybe Ed Visa extension or now dealing with the Destination Thailand Visa, this could become part of that analysis down the road. Again those visas apparently can be extended moving forward as well. That is what we are talking about. We are talking about extensions and tax documentation as part of the extension process. Quoting further: "..annual extensions of stay based on retirement or marriage, but the Immigration Bureau knows nothing of such a plan." Yeah I've said this before and I'll say it again, I think there's a possibility that down the road and I would put this out in the more unforeseeable future, but I think there is a possibility down the road, tax documentation may become part of the Immigration process. It's certainly part of the US Immigration process, so I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility. Do I think it's happening any time in the near future? No. I have discussed that in other videos. I don't think we need to be worried about seeing that imminently but it is kind of something to maybe have in the back of folks' minds, so when it does come up, it's not a complete shock. Quoting further: "In any case there is no automatic connection between the type of Visa granted and eligibility for Tax Residency. For example, some tourists could clock up 180 days in a year by exploiting the recently revised exempt Visa regulations. There's a huge amount of water still to pass under this particular bridge," and yes that's a very good point. With regard to all of this, possible changes to Immigration rules here in Thailand, possible new visas, possible changes to tax, nothing has fundamentally happened other than stuff we talked about. The extension of these exemption program, the creation of the Destination Thailand Visa, the changes to the Elite Visa, all of that stuff are things we have talked about on this channel directly as they have happened. Now we have seen Destination Thailand rolled out but as I have discussed in other videos, notwithstanding all the certainty that's out there in the ether of the internet about how that process is going to work, it remains to be seen. It's brand new; we're not going to start seeing people extend on it for at least 6 months; we're not going to see Border Runs ran on it for at least 6 months in any meaningful way, so hold the phone here because we don't know exactly what that looks like. 

Meanwhile, there has been no major change nor do I see one necessarily forthcoming in the imminent future of a change to the Tax Law, that just hasn't occurred. As we discussed in other videos, guidelines, memoranda have been issued in the Thai Revenue Department to change the assessability criteria of certain types of revenue, but we have not actually seen a fundamental overhaul of Thailand's Tax Laws. They have talked about it. Just talking about it doesn't make it so. That said, we will certainly keep you updated on this channel as this situation evolves.