In November 2024, Thai Prime Minister Paethongtarn Shinawatra unveiled ambitious plans to enhance tax incentives for foreign film productions during a networking reception in Los Angeles, coinciding with her visit to the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Lima, Peru. This event, attended by Motion Picture Association executives and leaders from top US film companies, marked a significant commitment to boosting foreign investment in Thailand’s film industry. Thailand’s Department of Tourism (DOT) prioritized the initiative by updating the Announcement on Guidelines, Procedures, and Conditions for Applying for Benefits Under the Incentive Measures for Foreign Film Production in Thailand in December 2024 to further position Thailand as a destination for large-scale international film and television productions. Key Amendments to Film Incentives under the 2024 Announcement The 2024 announcement introduced major changes, including (1) removal of the rebate cap, previously set at THB 150 million (approx. USD 4.5 million) per project, enabling rebates based on total qualified spending, and (2) an increase in cash rebate rates. The maximum allowable cash rebate rate was increased to 30 percent from the previous cap of 20 percent. The base rate of 15 percent remains unchanged. The primary incentive available under the 2024 announcement is a 15 percent cash rebate on qualified spending in Thailand of at least THB 50 million (approx. USD 1.5 million). On top of this primary incentive, additional incentives are available; however, the total possible cash rebate is capped at 30 percent, and the additional incentives can only amount to an added 15 percent. Also, the total rebate (including both primary and additional incentives) for films with a budget of less than THB 100 million (approx. USD 3 million) is capped at 25%. To obtain a higher rebate rate, productions may apply for the following additional incentives: Compliance Requirements Foreign production companies

On February 18, 2025, the Thai Senate approved an amendment to the Act on the Establishment of and Procedures for the Tax Court. This follows the July 2024 approval by the Thai cabinet and subsequent preparation of supporting secondary legislation. This important amendment to procedural law, once it takes effect, will extend the exclusive jurisdictional powers of the Tax Court to all criminal tax, customs, and excise tax claims in addition to the court’s existing jurisdiction over all such civil claims. The amendment, while now formally approved by the legislature, is awaiting the king’s signature and will take effect 180 days after its publication in the Government Gazette. Based upon its projected publication date, the amendment will likely take effect by the end of the third quarter of this year. This development is set to offer a more sophisticated Tax Court litigation process for highly specialized and often complex criminal tax and customs claims, something with which Thailand’s traditional criminal courts have struggled. It also ensures that all tax and customs matters are adjudicated before the same court, saving time, party costs, and judicial resources. This appears likely to result in more consistent adjudication of criminal tax and customs disputes, a benefit for the Thai government and party litigants alike. Any ongoing criminal tax and customs claims already commenced with the respective criminal courts on the date on which the amendment becomes effective will remain under the exclusive jurisdiction of those criminal courts. The Tax Court will have exclusive jurisdiction over all other claims. This important legislative change offers those managing or otherwise facing civil and/or criminal Thai tax or customs disputes the opportunity to more effectively plan and execute a uniform defense strategy before a single, qualified forum.

Thailand has adopted the OECD’s global minimum tax framework through the Emergency Decree on Top-Up Tax B.E. 2567 (2024). Published in the Government Gazette on December 26, 2024, this legislation implements a 15% global minimum effective tax rate for large multinational enterprise (MNE) groups. The emergency decree took effect on January 1, 2025. The emergency decree was enacted through expedited procedures to implement “pillar two” of the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) 2.0 project’s Global Anti-Base Erosion (GloBE) Rules. This swift implementation ensures Thailand can collect relevant tax revenues and prevents potential revenue losses from MNEs that might otherwise shift profits to jurisdictions with lower tax rates or to countries that have already implemented similar top-up tax legislation. Key aspects of Thailand’s implementation of the global minimum tax through the emergency decree are described below. Top-Up Tax The emergency decree introduces a dual mechanism for collecting additional top-up tax from MNEs whose effective tax rate falls below 15%. The first mechanism is a domestic top-up tax that targets MNEs operating within Thailand when their local effective tax rate is lower than 15%. The second mechanism is the income inclusion rule, which determines when a company’s foreign income should be included in the parent (main) company’s taxable income. This rule applies to Thai-based entities—including ultimate parent entities (UPE), intermediate parent entities, and partially owned parent entities—that hold ownership stakes in low-tax foreign jurisdictions. Scope MNEs subject to Thailand’s implementation of the global minimum tax framework are defined in the emergency decree as those whose UPEs report consolidated revenue of at least EUR 750 million (approximately THB 28 billion) in at least two of the four accounting periods preceding the relevant fiscal year. Reporting and Payment In-scope MNEs must comply with specific reporting obligations to the Thai Revenue Department. The filing deadline is set