Transcript of the above video: 

A day or so ago from the time of this filming, it was actually over my lunch hour and I didn't have too much going on so I ended up, probably wasn't the best idea, ended up in the comment section of our own channel, and I ended up reading this comment, so the original comment. Quoting directly: "So let me get this straight, the fear mongering around the DTV didn't come to fruition and now it's clear the DTV is here to stay." - no it is not clear the DTV is here to stay; it's operational right now, I’ll get into this. Quoting further: "Now we're supposed to believe that the tax boogeyman is coming for us? It's less likely taxes will impact those on the DTV then say a Retirement Visa." Why do you say that? Why do you think that? Where do you get that presumption from? Because as I'll get into in my response to that, all signs are pointing to the opposite direction with regard to that. Quoting further: "Unless you're claiming that Immigration at airports, land borders, and seaports are going to start asking to see proof that taxes have been filed. 555". That's hahaha, because the number five in Thai is "ha". Yeah hahaha, real funny isn't it? Except for the fact that Tax Clearances did and have always existed legally. They were required into I think the early '90s here in Thailand. If you talk to the old school guys around here, they will talk about the days when Yes, you did have to get documentation at the airport - at the end of it they created these machines apparently that you put in money and then they just issue the certificate - but yeah it was required before you could leave. 

Now my problem with all of this is they have created legislation, they have promulgated legislation to create this value added tax which is my opinion is terrible because it taxes the one thing you don't want to tax in an economy, the creation of value, but it was created in order to replace the Tax Clearance System because the Tax Clearance System was having such a detrimental impact on the travel numbers here in Thailand. So, they replaced VAT and they phased out Tax Clearance Certificates. Now a bunch of foreign illegally interloping - what I can only refer to as tax stamp-pimps from the United States - literal agents of the IRS, operating illegally in the Kingdom of Thailand, in complete contravention of the restricted occupations regarding foreigners advising on Thai Tax matters. But leaving that part aside they have all come in here and sort of said oh no we're going to reinstitute the Thai Tax Clearance system trying to utilize the old laws, except the old laws were created for an analog system. It's not designed for this and no interpretive dance nonsense of those old laws to my mind is enough to overcome the need under the Doctrine of Codification in any Civil Law System of having to actually promulgate a law that says if you stay X number of days, you have to file X documentation. That hasn't been done. It has all been done under this interpretive, again rubric, by various folks including completely illegal, unqualified folks here in Thailand to basically transmute if you will, an old analog system into a new digital system without creating any legal framework associated with that. Meanwhile, the entire reason for introducing VAT, was to throw out this system in the first place and now we are going to get the worst of all worlds here in Thailand; we're going to drive away tourists and we're going to drive away investment; we're going to drive away all of this by this fear-mongering this Global Minimum Tax mushroom trip by the last Treasury Secretary in the United States, Ms. Yellen, and we are going to drive away all of that, and at the same time still having a VAT here in Thailand. That was what the VAT was introduced for, it was okay we'll have a Value Added Tax, this way you don't have to deal with this tax clearance stuff anymore. 

Look I have called this 2025 the DMZ here because yeah, we're probably going to end up with a new Tax System. I think it's going to end up - and I'll get to this here in a minute - I think it's going to end up being that the DTVs are already effectively in the tax system which I'll get to here in a moment, but again this 2025 we are in this kind of transition year because they haven't promulgated any new laws. I don't care what a bunch of foreigners who are operating illegally have to say on interpreting the current regulations. Regulations are not laws. You want to make a law to tax people, promulgate a law. You don't get to do interpretive dance with regulations and illegal interpretations from outside of Thailand. That is not the way things get done around here. It's just not the way it works. Frankly it's why I am so upset about this because Thailand has been frankly a bulwark in keeping out foreign influence of this type.

That being said, so we have now read through this troll's sort of comment to me. This was my response: "There was no "fear-mongering" about anything. I've been doing this for almost a decade and I have seen these "amazing" programs come and go (the O-X comes to the forefront of my mind and that is just to name one)." I want this on the record. I have been getting all kinds of grief about the DTV and tax and every other thing. I am doing but my best to your folks I'm trying as hard as I can to provide good faith analysis of what is going on in real time. If you don't like what I'm doing just don't watch me. I don't monetize this; I don't even know why I'm doing it anymore on a certain levels but if you don't like me and you just want to troll me, don't cast aspersions at me about things that I didn't say and that I somehow have some kind of ulterior mercenary motives and I don't know what I am talking about. I am sick of this from these internet trolls. That said, quoting further: "(The O-X comes to the forefront of my mind and that is just to name one) and the situation with the DTV is NOT settled" - that's also true. This thing is supposed to last 5 years. They told us oh you will just be able to extend it in-country. Well, Interior is saying ‘no, we want to see a whole bunch of stuff’ and that is going to continue to evolve and things in Immigration don't get easier. Meanwhile, the thought that this is just going to be a free and easy hassle-free Border Run, I don't think that's a foregone conclusion either. For anybody that's ever dealt with the US Immigration System excuse me, the Thai Immigration System for any kind of prolonged period of time, these things evolve, they change constantly as I’ll get to here in a moment. Quoting further: "but it does look like at least border running will be feasible at least for the moment, but that can always change." Yeah, you may be able to continue to do border runs on the DTV, but again it is not a foregone conclusion. Quoting further: "Meanwhile, this was touted as being easily extendable in Thailand and we are seeing how that is playing out practically. You know I am really tired of the comments on this channel about my "fear mongering" or the fact I might actually like to make money doing my job. I have been giving out completely free information on this platform for nearly a decade. I'm making up content to produce 3 FREE videos every day with analysis that I think provides general insight to the expat community. I express my opinions but make it clear when they are opinions and when I am speculating. I do my analysis in good faith based upon my personal and professional experience. I certainly remember the days when the Thai Visa Forum was the main platform for information and foreigners fumbled around Thailand like lost children." Yeah, that was what it was like and that is one of the reasons I created this channel. I've been trying to provide genuine clarity. Yes, there is a promotional element. If you don't like what I'm doing, just don't watch me. Quoting further: "I'm so happy that you are so aware of how tax and immigration policy works in Thailand (and are prescient enough to know how it WILL work in the future)" -that is getting old too by the way. Everybody telling me how everything is going to be. I remember going back when I warned everybody, hey they are ending the Income Affidavit for possibly Americans, everybody called me crazy, a fear monger, called me all kinds of names, then it happened. Quoting further: "that you can mock me for something I have been doing for this long. Yes, there is a promotional element to this and yes, I was cynical about the announcement of the DTV and remain cautious, but I come by such jadedness honestly having watched the transition from x3 30-day border runs plus a tourist visa era" - yeah when I first got here, the rule was you could only do three 30-day stamps within a given 6 month period. So, everybody was doing 30-day border runs and then they would go get a 60-day Tourist Visa and extend it by another 30 and they would do that off and on for the first year. I remember the first year I was here, roughly the first two years I was here, that was how everything worked - quoting further: "to the 270-day tourist visa era” - that was when the Honorary Consulates would issue triple entry tourist visas, - “to the mandated two border runs per year era through the Honorary Consulate era" - yeah I watched those end - "through the lockdown era, through the Certificates of Entry, into the Thailand Pass era, to the 60-day extension, and now the DTV." Now it is 17 years, you know. Quoting further: "During that time I have seen the "travel bubble" discussed with nothing seen of it, the "ghost border run" era come and gone." - yeah, that was actually I remember right when I got here like the first 18 months I was here, I remember there used to be this kind of scam, well it was a scam, where these buses that would do border runs would also have like a box of passports with them so that the people that were “border running” stayed in Bangkok and their passport went out, stamped all around and then came back in. Yeah, that era ended, badly by the way. And everybody at the time said oh it's no problem, just keep doing it. Then the arrests started coming down. Quoting further: "I have also watched the fall and rise of the Elite Visa" - yeah, I have seen that thing end then come back in a totally new form. And that was another one. If you want any kind of analogy for what could happen to the DTV, just have a look at Elite. Quoting further: "and its evolution as well as to say nothing of the fact that I maintained my own B Visa and Work Permit status long enough to take on bona fide Residency and Thai citizenship personally, but I'm glad some internet troll has put me to rights." Yeah, exactly. The reason I'm reading this is I really want this on the record. I'm not infallible. I'm not saying everything I say is correct. I make corrections and I try to explain to folks as and when it is necessary when I don't know what exactly is the situation. But just to keep getting constantly just vitriols pointed at you for trying to do the right thing is just crazy. Quoting further: "That said, to your point: "Unless you are claiming that immigration at airports, land borders, and seaports are going to start asking to see proof that taxes have been filed." Well yeah they did that in the past, and as I have put, I will put this whole response in the description below so you can see all the links I put in there to cite all of this stuff because that is what's happening. Quoting further, so in this I kind of used an expletive in the comment. I am not going to repeat it here but I said: "That's exactly what I am claiming "dip-poop" - I shouldn't have said that but that is as blue as you are ever going to see me get on this channel but frankly I've had it up to here with this. That is exactly what I'm saying, and it's happened in the past and it's coming back. I'm sick of being laughed at by people who don't know what they're talking about on the internet where I'm just getting out free information. Quoting further: "and if you would take a moment to listen to my videos, you would see that is what they ARE ROLLING OUT but Thailand's Immigration's TM6 system is temporarily delaying them for now." (As I talked about, the links are down there below) We have had a Tax Clearance System in Thailand for some time - (links are in there) - there just isn't a digital version and no current legal framework under which to roll one out that I can see and OECD looks like an effective a dead letter, so it will not legally or practically look like what the Global Minimum Tax advocates wanted, but I do think Thailand will domestically roll out a digital Tax Clearance System. 

Now this is why I made this video. I want to put a fine point on this. I do think Thailand is going to roll out something like this. In fact, I think they've effectively done it, they just don't have the infrastructure in place on the Interior side with immigration, that's why they pushed back this stuff for TM6. I also think there are bigger things at play with regard to Thailand needing to maintain her own interests with regard to where she stands on all this tax policy stuff. I think ultimately she's going to end up coming down in the camp basically where the US is at where she says, "look the OECD just isn't for us, it's not worth it.' and that basically puts us where we've always been here in Thailand. But long story short and the thing I'm trying to point out here is I think Thailand is basically going to take a wait and see approach this year - that's why I call this year the tax “DMZ” year - as she ascertains what's in the national interest. But I do think at the end of this there will be some kind of domestic tax clearance system hooked into at least the DTV and possibly longer term, a more broad system for like all Visa categories but again these things take time. That said, quoting further: "But I do think Thailand will domestically roll out a Digital Tax Clearance System which will be likely in practice by next year. And as I have said, this year is the DMZ year as we go through this transition. DTV holders are effectively already in that system as I explained in forthcoming videos. It does not look like standard Retirement Visa holders need to concern themselves so much with this, especially Americans. As I have discussed in other videos, Trump pulled the United States out; he just said we are not doing OECD; Yellen's pie in the sky Global Minimum Tax is nonsense, threw all of that out citing infringement on sovereignty, specifically extraterritoriality, and I think that is noteworthy for Thailand as well. That said, quoting further: "But things could always change as they always have. Now why don't you go back to being miserable on your own time and stop bothering people." and I couldn't agree with reiterating that more.

The reason for making this is I wanted to get all these points out and I wanted to directly address all of this accusation that I fear mongered regarding the DTV. No if anything I was cautious regarding it based on my prior past experience dealing with visas that have been rolled out and never come to fruition. Meanwhile, the DTV is not a foregone conclusion in terms of how it's going to effectively and practically operate moving forward and from what we can demonstrably see from the Immigration as well as Tax Authorities here in Thailand, they are rolling out some kind of system wherein the tax system and Immigration interact if for no other reason in order to tabulate the amount of time spent in Thailand in order to ascertain one of the prongs when determining whether or not one has tax liability in this jurisdiction. So, the point I'm trying to make is that has not come to fruition yet. It looks like it will, but it also looks like it may not come into fruition in some sort of overall supranational framework but more like a Thailand centric framework moving forward. It just has not been implemented yet although I think it will be implemented soon, so as I reiterate 2025 looks to be the effectively the transition year for these matters here in the Kingdom of Thailand.