17% flat tax rate for employees working in targeted industries in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC)

Qualifying employees who work for a company that conducts business in targeted industries located in the EEC i.e. the Chachoengsao, Chonburi, and Rayong Provinces located on Thailand’s Eastern seaboard, may now choose to pay personal income tax rate at a flat rate of 17%.

The employer must be a company located in the EEC that is exempted from corporate income tax under the law on enhancing the competitiveness of the country for targeted industries or the Investment Promotion Act.

The employer must notify the Revenue Department by filing the required documents before paying the salary for the first time.

The payment must be made in respect of employment at the company’s place of business and must be paid entirely in Thailand.

The targeted industries are:

(1) Next-generation automotive industry;

(2) Smart electronics industry;

(3) Tourism for wealthy people and health tourism industries;

(4) Agriculture and bio-technology industry;

(5) Food processing industry;

(6) Robotics industry;

(7) Aviation and logistics industries;

(8) Eco-friendly petrochemical and bio-chemical industries;

(9) Digital industry; and

(10) Medical hub industry.

The employee must met certain conditions to qualify for the flat tax rate, including:

1. The employee must be a qualified executive, a specialist or a researcher in accordance with the conditions stipulated by the Revenue Department.
2. The employee must not have resided in Thailand in the calendar year before  they first apply for the flat tax rate or if they did, they must have resided for less than 180 days.  
3. The employee must stay in Thailand for 180 days or more in the calendar years that they elect to pay tax at the rate of 17%, except that for the first year and the last year they may stay in Thailand for less than 180 days in each of those years.

4 year visa for foreign experts

To attract foreign investors, especially in high technology and targeted industries and those working in EEC, the government proposes to offer smart visas to qualifying foreign professionals. Those eligible for a smart visa would be entitled to special benefits such as permission to stay in Thailand for 2-4 years at a time with their spouse and children, permission to work without a work permit and once a year reporting to immigration.