Missing the point
Re: "No doubles for expats", (PostBag, July 8). Is it possible that Songdej Praditsmanont is completely missing the essential point that most recent contributions to PostBag have so far highlighted very loudly on this topic? Over his many attempts at justifying the current proposal by the Head of the Revenue Department to tax foreigners on their worldwide income, he has systematically ignored the elephant in the room, being the blatant unfairness associated with such a policy.
It is wrong to tax non-citizens of Thailand on their worldwide income as they are not provided any of the benefits and rights granted to the citizen taxpayers.
Citizen taxpayers have access to the public health care system at low, if any, cost; they have the right to vote and elect their policy-makers; they have the right to buy land to build the house where they live; they have the right to work without having to beg for the permission with no limit on what type of work or where they work. They also have their citizenship, which is denied to foreigners like me to obtain.
Citizen taxpayers do not need to acquire expensive visas to stay in their country; they do not need to report to their government where they live every 90 days like inmates on parole; they do not need to obtain and pay for reentry permits when they come back from abroad. They do not need to obtain a proof of address from the Immigration Department when they buy a vehicle.
The list is endless, but the above is sufficient material to prove that taxing foreigners on their worldwide income is an unfair proposition. As MP Foscolos has eloquently summarised in his latest contributions, many other elements should also discourage the Thai government from endorsing such a drastic change to its current tax laws. Please put this proposal to rest once and for all.
