Tag Archives: thailand

Thailand Signs Agreement To Assist US In Tax Collection

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The Thailand Revenue Department has announced that Thailand and the USA have preliminarily agreed to a tax information sharing agreement.  Pursuant to the agreement the Thai Revenue Department and the US Treasury will be required to share the financial information of both countries including banks, mutual funds and life insurance firms.

Thailand’s provision of information would assist with the US’s collection of information with regard to the enforcement of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FACTA).

FACTA is a US federal law which requires Americans, including those living abroad to file an annual report to the US Treasury Department, regarding any financial accounts or assets held in foreign countries.

There is no exception in FACTA for American expatriates who reside outside of the USA.  In other words, US expats living abroad must provide a detailed accounting of their financial accounts and assets held in their country of residence (as well as other non-US assets).

Another 80 countries are in talks with the US regarding similar agreements for tax information sharing.

 

 

Thailand Expat Arrested For Fleeing US To Avoid Child Support

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A US expat who was residing in  Thailand has pled guilty to fleeing the United States in 2007 to avoid paying child support according to The United States Attorneys Office, Western District Missouri.

Randy Lee Essary, admitted that he has failed to pay any court-ordered child support for his son for more than eight years and owes $164,891.

Essary now faces a sentence of up to two years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000 and an order of restitution.

The case is significant insofar as it demonstrates that fleeing the US with the intent to avoid paying court ordered child support is a serious case and will be prosecuted by the US Federal authorities.   Fleeing the US to avoid child support is a separate offense from the failure to pay child.   The feeling case is covered by Federal jurisdiction,. whereas in most cases, child support is a state legal matter.

Read the full report here

 

 

Registration of Foreign NGOs in Thailand

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This video by Chaninat & Leeds law firm discusses the registration and operation of foreign  NGOs in Thailand and details how non-Thai NGOs may establish activities in Thailand.

The preferred operating form for an NGO operating in Thailand is normally a Thailand registered foundation.

There are many volunteering opportunities available in Bangkok: from social issues, to environmental issues, to health care issues, to minority rights, to human rights, however there are also a number of areas that foreign NGOs are not allowed to operate in Thailand.

Watch the video here:

Adultery Will No Longer Be A Crime In New Hampshire

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The USA Today, reports that the New Hampshire state Senate voted on Thursday 17 April 2014 to repeal its anti-adultery law, by sending the bill to the Governor Maggie Hassan, who is thought likely to sign it into law. Under the present law, a convicted adulterer can be punished with a fine of up to USD 1,200.

“States’ anti-adultery laws are rarely enforced, a vestige of our country’s Puritanical beginnings”, says Naomi Cahn, a law professor at the George Washington University Law School.

States with anti-cheating laws generally define adultery as a married person having sexual intercourse with someone other than their spouse.

Adultery is not a criminal offense in Thailand, but it can be used as a ground to divorce a cheating spouse. Adultery is also a civil offense in Thailand meaning that an adulterer can be sued in Civil Court by an aggrieved spouse.

Read the full article here 

Related Video

 

US Court Orders One Year Deadline on Hague Child Abduction

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Thailand Child Abduction

Photo by Gavinaz

The US Supreme Court unanimously ruled on 5 March 2014 that the Hague Convention on Child Abduction’s a one year limitation providing for automatic return to the child country of residence , may begin to run even though the non-custodial parent may be unaware that the child has been abducted reported The Washington Associated Press.

The Hague Convention on child abduction states that a child must automatically be returned to its home country within the first year of residing in a foreign country. The Supreme Court ruling will provide a shorter window for the aggrieved parent in a custody battle to demand the automatic return of a child pursuant to the one year time period as defined by Convention.

The Hague Convention is an international convention between member nations that agree to abide by its terms. Nevertheless, the provisions of the Convention would, in general, need to be enacted in each member nation’s domestic laws. Further,  a member nation may interpret or modify its duties, as enacted in its domestic law in accordance with the legal system of that nation’s interpretation of the Convention.

In this instance, the Supreme Court’s ruling means that the one year period, after which US judges may have more discretion to deny the request for the return of an abducted child pursuant to the Hague Convention, may expire more quickly. and thereby prejudice the parent requesting the return.

The US Supreme Court’s ruling will not have a direct effect on most child custody cases in Thailand. However it may have an effect on cases in where a child is abducted from Thailand and brought to the USA and the Thailand based parent requesting the return pursuant to the Convention has exceed the one year period.

Although Thailand, along with the USA, is a signatory to the Hague Convention on Child Abduction. Thailand has only recently enacted internal domestic law to enforce the terms of the Convention pursuant to the Thailand Child Abduction Act.

Read the full article here.

Related Video:

Related Document:

Thailand Child Protection Act

Related Blog Post:

Thailand Child Abduction Law