@Nick ***********

Value doesn’t matter. Taxes are calculated on cash basis. Owning property doesn’t matter. Selling it, and bringing the money to Thailand makes it matter. You are making things too complicated.

@Radost *************************

Maybe today, maybe tomorrow. Do you know what will happen in the future? Are you clearvoyant? How many years ahead can you predict? If so, go out and buy the winning ticket of the next lottery and when you ever need to pay taxes you simply buy the next winning lottery ticket.

Can I adopt you? (Or you adopt me?). 🤣🤣🤣

@Han *******

1) Being in Thailand 180 days or more in a single calendar year qualifies you as tax resident.

2) Applies to foreigners as well as nationals.

3) The new guidelines are in fact targeting wealthy Thai with foreign income. No difference between Thai and non-Thai. Criterium is not your passport, but 180 or more in Thailand.

4) Only income which is brought to Thailand can qualify as taxable income.

5) This law exists already many years. Nothing new, except the “savings from last year” part is ending after 2024.

6) How checked? Good question. In 2025 or 2026 maybe not, but can you foresee the future? All money is transferred by computers. All transactions are stored somewhere. So… Make your own conclusions.

7) Thailand is entering the OECD, which includes international reporting of transactions. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow…

8 ) A computer doesn’t care whether a payment is small or large, but when they start enforcing, if ever, they will probably start above a certain minimum in the beginning. Nobody knows if or when this will happen. Nobody knows if the threshold will ever exist or not. Think beyond today’s calendar.

9) Bringing in money, whether in bulk or not, was already taxable.

10) Are you searching for ways to commit tax fraud? The revenue department doesn’t have to check anything, *you* are responsible for filing your income taxes.

Whether you want to be on this side of the law or the other side is up to you. Don’t go whining if they might ever catch you committing fraud.

PS Financial transactions are already internationally reported in large parts of the globe. Whether Thailand has access today is really irrelevant. None of us knows what happens in one, five or ten years.

But I know for sure that governments know more than you think. In Netherlands, most of your tax information is already in the system when you fire up your electronic tax from on March 1 or later. All your salary and social income is listed, including withheld taxes. Bank balances, mortgages, loans, interest received and paid, dividends received and taxes paid. it’s already in the forms. Your marital status is listed as well as the value of your house.

Do you really believe Thailand is incapable of getting such systems in the future?

‘1984’ was 40 years ago!

I don’t say you or I will live to see it happen. The only thing I know is that Thailand has a deficit problem and the government is on the hunt. Whether you’ll get caught in the fire or not is an entirely different discussion.

@Nick ***********

Do you have the money in Thailand? Then you are not transferring into Thailand -> no taxed income

Do you have the money in your origin country? Ask a letter from your bank stating the balance per Dec 31, 2023 -> no taxed income

Which part was too difficult to comprehend?

@Nick ***********

You show your bank balance per 31 Dec. How is this a question?

Make sure you have an official letter from the bank, official bank paper, etc.

@Andy ***********

😴

@Andy ***********

Ok. Enough fairy tales. Do what you deem fit.

I give up. Have a great evening, weekend, life.

We are now celebrating bro-in-law birthday so I have better things to do.

People, all, get informed and may the force be with you. Easy it is not.

@Bob *********

Fortunately enough, I am not in little America. 😉

@Graham ******

Do you really think you can only have a go at tax departments doing illegal things? Think again!

I can almost dream most Dutch tax laws (studied tax laws) and have had *one* tax audit in 45 years.

That was the year when the audit thought he discovered a mistake. I started a discussion which he didn’t agree to and wanted to charge 145 guilders additional tax. 30 years ago, so current value would be some 300 Euro.

I contested in court, had fun there, and in the end they had to repay me 3,600 guilders tax plus legal cost. At current value some 7500 euro.

I was never audited again.

See, you need to operate within the borders of the law, but those borders, especially when it comes to finance and taxes, are extremely stretchable.

I’d really really really wish my country would have a different tax calendar, like UK. I’d have a ball with every tax audit.

That said, don’t overestimate tax “consultants”. There are some really good consultants out there (I worked a.o. for PWC - excellent firm!) but at least 75% of them are charlatans who don’t have a clue about math and taxes and only know half the rules (and forget to ask the proper questions when you ask them for advice).

@Andy *********

Though the new guidelines (not new rules, by the way) are targeted at wealthy Thai, the immigrants unfortunately *can* get caught in the middle.

Recently a bullet was fired at Trump, but someone else died from it.

This happens with almost every tax law in the world. They are targeted at a whole lot of people, but sometimes others get caught in the process.

Do you really think Thailand can fix its deficit with targeting the average bloke who lives on a small retirement?

Ha! Of course not. But John Doe will get caught in the middle and having all Johns (or 25% of them) hire a tax consultant will definitely stimulate the economy.

So even when the guidelines are meant to tax the wealthy, the side effect helps and the government will be dancing of joy because due to the change the contributions of farangs increased by 0.%, even without the tax man getting any additional money!