Provided you retain Australian Tax Residency having investment properties in Australia is a brilliant strategy. There's negative gearing, tax-free threshold and a 50% reduction in CGT. Perhaps the people you know didn't have the necessary funds to invest in such a tax-effective system. Those that have bought in Thailand (as well as having a very poor investment) have no chance of avoiding taxes in Thailand. Them's the choices we make!! 👍
Correct. Every country has its own criteria for "tax residency" and the DTAs make the process clear for whichever jurisdiction applies. I spend around 240 days a year in Thailand on an "extended vacation" as I retain Australian Tax Residency and Australia has the claim in taxing my income, not Thailand
Correct. But if a person also meets the criteria for tax resident of another country, they become a "dual tax resident" in which case (depending on each individual's personal situation) the steps in the DTA are followed to determine exactly which country's tax regime is followed. Every individual is different.
My superannuation fund pension is totally tax-free as I'm over 60, and my investment properties are geared that I pay minimal tax. I don't use savings or cash management accounts. All cash goes into the latest mortgage, which can be drawn against. My shire portfolio consists only of blue chip shares, which earn very good dividends, all of which are fully franked, so using dividend imputation I get back what the companies have already paid in tax. My money is already structured that I pay minimal tax but I am accumulating great capital growth
Yes it depends on individual circumstances. Thailand is no tax haven. I have a substantial property investment portfolio in Australia as well as a sharemarket portfolio. Australian tax residents get considerable concessions on these such as tax-free threshold, negative gearing, CGT discounts and dividend imputation. It would be financial incompetence for me to lose my Australian Tax Residency, so I ensure I meet the requirements year after year. This also means of course that the Australian Tax Residency trumps the Thai Tax Residency under the terms of the DTA, so I would only be required to pay tax on money actually earned in Thailand to the Thai tax office
Not quite right. If a person retains tax residency in their home country, that country takes precedence over Thailand if they meet the criteria of the DTA residency rules
I think the OP is from Canada. They have a similar DTA, so if he retains tax residency in Canada he will not be subject to taxation in Thailand for pension payments
