Thailand will begin automatic financial information exchange with other countries this year
On March 30, 2023, the Emergency Information Exchange Act, 2566 BE (“the Act”), was published in the Royal Government Gazette of Thailand. This law was established in line with the agreements regarding the Common Reporting Standards (“CRS”), which Thailand committed to follow in 2017 during the Global Forum on Transparency and Information Exchange for Tax Purposes (“the Global Forum”).
The CRS requires participating countries to exchange financial information about taxpayers and to comply with the requirements of the Automatic Exchange of Information (“AEOI”).
The main purpose of the law is to, in accordance with the CRS, direct financial institutions, which are considered “reporting entities”, to conduct due diligence on their customers and to collect and transmit financial information to the Thai tax authorities for further exchange with tax authorities in other countries that follow the CRS.
Under the law, reporting entities include banks, financial institutions, securities firms, licensed life insurance companies and credit card providers.
The law states that the following information must be reported:
- Information about the owner or manager of a financial account, such as name, address, tax identification number, date and place of birth, and other specific details as recorded by the Director General of the Tax Administration.
- Details of financial accounts such as account numbers, balances, cash value of insurance policies, interest received and other income as specified by the Director General of Revenue.
- Information about the reporting entity, such as name and identification number.
Failure to comply with these reporting requirements may result in a fine of up to THB 200.000. If incorrect information is provided, this fine can amount to THB 500.000.
In addition, reporting entities are required to maintain records of the financial accounts reported and the reporting procedures followed, for a period of six years after the end of the calendar year in which the information was provided. Failure to comply may result in a fine of up to THB 300.000.
Reporting entities must report their information to the tax authorities no later than June of the following year. For example, 2023 financial information must be submitted to the Thai Revenue Department by June 2024. Nevertheless, Thai officials have indicated that the first information exchange with foreign tax authorities using the CRS will take place in September 2023. As a result, reporting institutions are expected to provide their information as early as June 2023.
The current law primarily provides a framework for information exchange and reporting obligations. Additional legislation is expected to come soon that will provide more detail on the requirements, reporting process and associated planning.
Source: Mazars Thailand – https://www.mazars.co.th/Home/Insights/Doing-Business-in-Thailand/Tax/Automatic-Exchange-of-Information
Summary in simple text:
Thailand will share financial information with other countries from this year
This decision, laid down in a law of March 30, 2023, stems from an agreement that Thailand made in 2017 at an international forum on taxes. It was agreed that countries would share taxpayers' financial data with each other.
What does this mean in concrete terms?
- Financial institutions such as banks, insurance companies and credit card companies need to collect financial information about their customers.
- They must provide details such as name, address, date of birth and financial details such as account numbers and balances to the Thai tax authorities.
- This information is then shared with tax authorities in other countries that participate in the same agreement.
If companies/agencies do not comply with these rules or provide false information, they may be fined up to THB 500.000 (Thai Baht).
In addition, companies must keep records of the information they provide for six years. If they do not do this, they can also be fined.
They have until June each year to submit their information about the previous year. But for 2023, this must be done in June, because Thailand wants to exchange information with other countries in September of that year.
This law is a start, but there will probably be more detailed legislation on how everything should work.
I have a question right away, I remain well below the exempt limit for savings.
Therefore, never actually mention my bill of THB 800.000 for my retirement extension.
Do I actually have to mention this on my tax return form?
I don't have my own house in TH or NL.
For the year 2023, no tax payment applies up to an amount of €57.000. If you are married, a double exemption applies: €114.000. Add your savings to the calculation result of 800K divided by the current rate ThB, and if the amount exceeds the amount applicable to you, then answer the relevant question to the best of your knowledge.
Bert, you have a retirement extension and I therefore assume that you emigrated from the Netherlands, left the Netherlands and deregistered. Then see this link with comments from Lammert and me:
https://www.thailandblog.nl/lezersvraag/thailand-vraag-belastingvrij-spaargeld/
I have an account with Kasikorn and Bangkok Bank, there is not much in it but it has been declared to the Belgian tax authorities. I know several people who have not declared anything. I can sleep easy, the future will tell who will have problems
What do they do with that information? Do you also have to report the balance, prove where the money comes from and what it will be used for? I have also had an account with Bangkok Bank for years and have never declared it. I used to transfer money from my Argenta account to that of Bangkok Bank and still found that I got a bad exchange rate, I believe between 2 and 3 baht per euro. And I thought they asked for a lot of information. Now I withdraw an amount every month from the ATMs and take the cash with me, exchange it at the airport at the SuperRich office at a much better rate and then put it in my account. But now I'm also going to report my bill to the tax authorities.
I think our tax specialist is Mr. LAALammert de Haan must give a clear answer. The law comes into effect on January 01, 01, but 2024 is already being written about? Do we have to submit our 2023 taxes to the Thai tax authorities? We will become fully taxable in the Netherlands in 2023, do we also have to forward all information to the Thai tax authorities? There are still many question marks that need to be clarified.
And what about the ownership of real estate by the Thai partner who has dual nationality (building land and/or residence, however modest it may be), is this also automatically reported to other countries (the Netherlands/Belgium)?
Willem (BE), see this link, although it is from the Dutch tax authorities.
https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/bldcontentnl/belastingdienst/zakelijk/internationaal/vermogen/common_reporting_standard/welke_gegevens
I don't come across any real estate there. Then the question is whether a Thai name can be found on a title deed of land in your or my country. If your country (BE) requests that from you and your partner, you must indicate this, otherwise there may be fraud and that is (at least in the Netherlands) a crime.
Hello Bert. How much is the exempt limit for savings? 0954128895. Thank you.
I already thought it was strange that my former bank Argenta requested my TIN (Tax Identification Number), but that must have something to do with these new measures.
What amount applies to Married but no tax partners?
Which countries participate in this?
Dutchjohn, see here:
https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/bldcontentnl/belastingdienst/zakelijk/internationaal/vermogen/common_reporting_standard/
It contains a link to the countries and the date of participation. For Thailand that is this year.
the tax specialist at TB would like to explain clearly in Jip and Janneke language about the new tax that is coming in Thailand
mvg
JR
What is there to explain? You have to pay tax, in the Netherlands or in Thailand. You can't avoid that. If you do that and don't hide anything, then there is nothing wrong.
Jan, this was recently explained in this blog. See here:
https://www.thailandblog.nl/expats-en-pensionado/thaise-overheid-pakt-fiscale-mazen-aan-strenge-belastingregels-voor-buitenlanders-m-i-v-1-1-2024/
It is not a new tax, just a different treatment of existing legislation. Look at Lammert's statement about income from the Netherlands.
Jan, this was recently explained in this blog. See here:
https://www.thailandblog.nl/expats-en-pensionado/thaise-overheid-pakt-fiscale-mazen-aan-strenge-belastingregels-voor-buitenlanders-m-i-v-1-1-2024/
It is not a new tax, just a different treatment of existing legislation. Look at Lammert's statement about income from the Netherlands.
Erik, I work 6 at 6, officially live in the Netherlands.