Sign tax for small businesses in Thailand?

[ghworker2010]

We had a visit by a few motley looking characters who had a name tag from the govt amphur. They were saying we might have a 8000 baht bill for sign tax coming due soon. He said if thai language is above english language then its x price etc etc. 

 

Is there a website that shows the exact calculation? Is it the same for every province in thailand. I presume there's no way out of paying it?

thanks

[stevenl]

Make sure you have Thai text on the signs, without Thai text it is more expensive.

 

I pay yearly 5,960 Baht, the same already for 10+ years.

[grollies]

The only way to avoid paying it is not to have a sign. My missus won't have one which caused a few delivery problems to start with but we're not hard to find 

[blackcab]

This site sets it out pretty well:

 

https://www.mazars.co.th/Home/Doing-Business-in-Thailand/Tax/Signboard-Tax-in-Thailand

 

It's a straightforward calculation. Having Thai text on the signs will reduce your tax bill. The Thai text can be smaller than the foreign language text - if you look at many shop signs you will see the Thai text at the top right of the sign.

[blackcab]

8 hours ago, grollies said:

The only way to avoid paying it is not to have a sign.

 

There is one way to avoid the tax (not applicable to every situation though) and one way to minimise the tax.

 

Avoid: Place your sign on the inside of your shop window or premises. This only really works for high street locations, but you do see it in Bangkok. Starbucks uses this format from time to time, especially in shopping malls. You will see their illuminated mermaid sign inside the shop window rather than outside the premises.

 

Minimise: Carefully design your sign. Look at the illuminated 7-Eleven facade signs at the front of their businesses. The illuminated 7-Eleven logo is in the centre of the facade and is a separate panel. That single panel is taxable. The red, white and green horizontal stripes that stretch the width of the facade are separate panels and they are not taxable, because they are decoration and not part of the sign. That's quite clever, because you spot the red, white and green colour scheme long before you see the 7-Eleven sign.

 

7-Eleven also make extensive use of tax exempt signage adhered to the inside of their shop windows.

 

Hopefully that will give others helpful ideas in the future. I'm now going to start writing my future bestselling book: How To Save Tax in Thailand.

[cmsally]

I was old the Thai language version  of your business name needs to be placed ABOVE the English name. 

[ghworker2010]

On 2/18/2019 at 2:22 PM, stevenl said:

Make sure you have Thai text on the signs, without Thai text it is more expensive.

 

I pay yearly 5,960 Baht, the same already for 10+ years.

I read the link below and it says:

Owners of signboards must file the tax return (PP.1) within 31 March of each year and the tax must be paid within 15 days after notification of the tax assessment. The return is filed at the Local District Office. Documentation required in support of the tax return:

 

+++++++++

Its the first yr of our business. Will they issue a bill to us advising the liability or is the onus totally on us to fill out the PP1 form?

 

thanks

[blackcab]

2 hours ago, cmsally said:

I was old the Thai language version  of your business name needs to be placed ABOVE the English name. 

 

That's the commonly accepted practice, but the law does not stipulate that.

 

Also, the non-Thai language on the sign does not have to be English. Chinese/Thai signs are visible in some parts of Bangkok.

[blackcab]

33 minutes ago, ghworker2010 said:

Its the first yr of our business. Will they issue a bill to us advising the liability or is the onus totally on us to fill out the PP1 form?

 

You pay yearly in arrears. If this is your first year of trading you can pay February next year.

 

You have to measure the sign yourself. It's good practice to take a couple of photos of the sign and its environs. Print the pictures out and take them with you to the District Office. You will also need a set of your company documents.

 

The staff will calculate your bill, take your money and issue a receipt in the company name.

 

Keep a copy of the receipt. The next February when you pay you can just take the copy of the receipt. The staff will print you an invoice for the same amount as the previous year.

 

Pay, get your receipt. Repeat each year. The bill only changes if your signs change size or number. 

[ghworker2010]

13 hours ago, blackcab said:

 

You pay yearly in arrears. If this is your first year of trading you can pay February next year.

 

You have to measure the sign yourself. It's good practice to take a couple of photos of the sign and its environs. Print the pictures out and take them with you to the District Office. You will also need a set of your company documents.

 

The staff will calculate your bill, take your money and issue a receipt in the company name.

 

Keep a copy of the receipt. The next February when you pay you can just take the copy of the receipt. The staff will print you an invoice for the same amount as the previous year.

 

Pay, get your receipt. Repeat each year. The bill only changes if your signs change size or number. 

we started our bus 4th quarter last yr. We don't have a company. I think they said to the wife that we have to pay march this yr?

 

I will do what you say and take photos and measure it. Ask wife to take this to the office to sort it. When they visited us they mentioned one of the signs will be 8000 baht. Huge money...

 

thanks

[blackcab]

1 hour ago, ghworker2010 said:

we started our bus 4th quarter last yr. We don't have a company. I think they said to the wife that we have to pay march this yr?

 

I will do what you say and take photos and measure it. Ask wife to take this to the office to sort it. When they visited us they mentioned one of the signs will be 8000 baht. Huge money...

 

thanks

 

If you can prove the date the sign was erected or you can prove the business start date, you will pay only for the months of last year the sign was erected (about 3 months). If not you will be charged for the whole year. You can pay in March if you prefer. The actual rule is you must submit the PP1 form by the 31st March, and pay within 15 days of receiving your invoice.

 

Do you have a receipt from the sign manufacturer? Did your wife register as a sole trader at the district office?

 

Please measure the sign height and width at the widest points and post the measurements here. I will calculate the tax for you. Please state if the sign is Thai only text; foreign language only text, or a combination of Thai and foreign language text.

 

A tax rate of 8,000 baht would be a foreign language only sign of 10 square meters, or a combination Thai and foreign language sign of 20 square meters, or a Thai text only sign of approximately 133 square meters.