Thailand offers generous incentives for headquarters, foreign trading companies, and treasury centers

Overview

Thailand has long offered tax and other incentives to companies with a regional operating headquarters in Thailand, but it has been difficult to meet ROH regime requirements, making the incentives uncompetitive with those offered by other Southeast Asian countries. 

Thailand therefore recently revamped its incentive regimes, creating a new international headquarters company regime, with add-on benefits for treasury centers (TCs), and an international trading center (ITC) regime.

The most prominent incentives include a full corporate income tax exemption on qualifying income for 15 years, withholding tax exemptions, and other non-tax benefits. Thailand now offers one of the most generous incentives packages in Asia, making it an ideal location for headquarters and TC operations. Further, given the recent controversies regarding illegal State aid in Europe, the ITC regime may be especially attractive for multinational enterprises operating a principal structure.