[Turbo-ip]

I assume though that only 'locals' can get away with this? I'm sure a foreigner would need to abide by the laws and rules?

[LesLattis]

no I don't want to set up a business, not my cup of tea, I've just been wondering for a long time about these businesses that we see everywhere. if a Thai family buys a washing machine and sets up a laundry, or starts selling snacks they cook, etc etc, all these things that hundreds of thousands of people do, how much tax are they supposed to pay? is it based on their income, or is it a fixed business tax? do they pay to the local council or to the central budget? do they have to get social security or anything like that? is the paperwork easy?

[LesLattis]

I sort of guessed that in practice, many don't pay taxes, but how much should they be paying?
just wondering because the tax system back home is really crippling - you need to pay social security and taxes on the minimum wage for yourself and your employees even if you don't earn a single penny for a while because the business is going badly or you get ill. 90% of your income is swallowed up by expenses and taxes. no wonder services and products are so expensive. I always tell people that I like the attitude in Thailand, that it is a viable option to sell cookies or do laundry or whatever, and many many people have small businesses, but I can never come up with the figures.

[ergyuu]

No, many of them are not registered companies and don't pay tax. I often have problems with them as they cannot give me proper receipts that my accountant will like. Even the air-conditioning guy is not a registered company. He didn't even know what to write on the receipt. At a lot of shops, when I ask for a proper receipt, they say they need to then charge me extra so that VAT is included. So, what does that mean? Without a proper receipt, they don't declare it?

[v74ClzKY]

But then if they don't declare it, and it's their only income, how do they pay taxes? (or rather, what for?)
Do they say they're unemployed?