Myanmar has issued amendments levying a new tax on nonresident Myanmar citizens’ salary income. The State Administration Council (SAC) instituted the tax by amending the Union Tax Law 2023 with Law No. 55/2023 on September 12, 2023, effective from October 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024. As defined by Myanmar’s Income Tax Law, nonresident citizens are those who reside and earn income outside Myanmar at any time during the applicable financial year. The recent amendment to the Union Tax Law levies a tax on nonresident citizens’ salary income earned abroad, as detailed below, in addition to the 10% tax on other types of income obtained abroad without deducting the tax reliefs under sections 6 and 6-A of the Income Tax Law. The tax is payable in the same currency as the income obtained. This tax on nonresidents’ salary income earned abroad can be calculated according to whichever of the two methods below yields the lowest amount of tax due: The applicable salary income tax (0% to 25%) under the Union Tax Law after deduction of allowances for the respective financial year; or A 2% tax on salary income without deducting the amount of the exemption provided by sections 6 and 6-A of the Income Tax Law. Taxpayers may also subtract the amount of foreign taxes paid from the total tax calculated under this law. Employees of an overseas company who work remotely from Myanmar and receive payment from overseas are unaffected by this amendment as they are only involved as resident citizens. Payment Process Nonresident citizens must remit taxes to the Myanmar embassy in their country either monthly, quarterly, annually, or at the time of passport renewal. Evidence of tax payment must also be presented when renewing an overseas worker identification card at the Ministry of Labour, according to

Thailand has announced tax exemptions for issuers and holders of depositary receipts (DRs) of listed foreign securities to encourage DR transactions, create more investment products in the Thai capital markets, and promote and offer opportunities for retail investors to invest in foreign securities. The exemptions are laid out in the Royal Decree under the Revenue Code B.E. 2481 (No. 775) B.E. 2566 (Royal Decree No. 775), which came into force on August 16, 2023. DRs are certificates representing underlying foreign securities listed on a foreign exchange, but DRs are listed and traded on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). Holders of a DR can receive the same benefits payable from the underlying listed foreign securities as direct holders of the listed foreign securities. According to the relevant notifications from Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), DRs include the following: Certificates that confer the right to receive financial benefits equivalent or in reference to the received financial benefit from certain underlying listed foreign securities held by the certificate’s issuer; Unitized instruments having the same terms and conditions for each unit and issued by a custodian for the purpose of representing the holder’s right to claim for the deposited underlying listed foreign securities subject to the deposit agreement, or other rights as described by the custodian in the instrument. Issuance of a DR is subject to similar approval and disclosure requirements as those the SEC sets for general securities issued in Thailand. The recently announced tax exemptions for DR issuers and holders—which also apply to fractional DRs (also called DRx)—are detailed below. Corporate Income Tax Exemption Under Royal Decree No. 775, companies or registered partnerships that issue a DR in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Act B.E. 2535 (1992) (SEA) are exempt from paying corporate income tax (CIT) for income

The Royal Decree issued under the Revenue Code B.E. 2481 (1938) on the Exemption from Taxes (No. 779) B.E. 2566 (Royal Decree No. 779), which came into force on August 16, 2023, provides exemptions from corporate income tax (CIT) and value-added tax (VAT) for qualifying transfers of digital tokens for investment. Transfers of these digital investment tokens—as opposed to securities transfers—have been subject to taxes. By establishing CIT and VAT exemptions, Royal Decree No. 779 introduces incentives in order to promote digital investment tokens as a new alternative tool for fundraising. The authorities hope that this will stimulate investment in the country’s economic system and elevate the standards for digital assets in Thailand. The key points of Royal Decree No. 779 are summarized below. Digital Investment Token Definition Royal Decree No. 779 and relevant digital asset regulations define “digital investment tokens” as a type of digital tokens that grant the holder the right to invest in a project or business, with the holders of the digital investment tokens receiving a share of revenue or profits as a return on their investment. In this way, digital investment tokens resemble securities. Tax Exemptions Primary Market Royal Decree No. 779 exempts companies and registered partnerships that legally issue and offer digital investment tokens for sale to the public (i.e., the primary market) from CIT and VAT on income or the value of the tax base earned from the sale. These exemptions apply to all primary market issuance from May 14, 2023, onward. However, the relevant notifications of Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission only allow limited companies (private and public) incorporated under Thai law to offer digital tokens for sale. Therefore, registered partnerships will not yet be able to benefit from the tax exemptions in Royal Decree No. 779. If a digital token

Michael Ramirez, a counsel in Tilleke & Gibbins’ dispute resolution department, has contributed an article to a series on contractual terms in Asia from the Asian Business Law Institute. Previous articles in the series have looked at administrative and tax requirements and contract breach and remedy under Thai law. The article gives an overview of how extracontractual liabilities are treated under Thai law. It addresses issues related to contract negotiations, no-reliance clauses, entire agreement clauses, and concurrent liability. ABLI, which is based in Singapore, conducts legal research and dissemination in order to provide knowledge, guidance, and recommendations surrounding development of legal systems in Asia. The full article on extracontractual liabilities is available as a PDF through the button below.