Professional Documents
Culture Documents
36
If the deceased leaves a spouse and In the case of leasehold property, shareholders in a Thai company,
heirs in the latter three classes stated where foreigners may lease land and the shares are not automatically
above, the spouse gets two-thirds of the homes for a specific period with the transferred to their beneficiaries. This
estate while the statutory heirs in the possibility of lease renewal, Dennis request would have to be considered
applicable class take one-third in explains that, “if the lessee dies, the by the company’s Board of Directors
equal shares. lease terminates and does not pass to who may have the discretion to refuse.
the heirs. If the lessor dies, the heirs Also, if the nature of the business is
If the deceased was not legally can take over the rights and obligations restricted under the Foreign Business
married or there is no surviving of the lease without the right to renew Act, the transfer may be refused if its
spouse, the entitled class of statutory the lease.” In other words, the renewal effect would cause foreign ownership
heirs inherits the whole estate in clause is not enforceable by other of the business to exceed 49%.
equal shares. parties; heirs cannot force the lessee
to renew the lease. What about taxes? Dennis
Condos, Companies, says: “There is no inheritance tax
Leases and Land If a beneficiary is bequeathed or death duty in Thailand but if
land, which generally cannot be owned land or buildings and certain other
There may be special conditions that outright by foreigners, the consent of assets have to be transferred to
apply to property transfer for foreign the Interior Ministry is required. This beneficiaries, then Land Department
beneficiaries. For condominiums, may be granted in certain cases but if fees and other fees or taxes apply.”
ownership is transferable provided that permission is refused, the land must As for the recent news that the
the total number of condos owned by be sold within a year or transferred to government is considering the
foreigners in that particular development a Thai. country’s first property, land and
does not exceed 49%. If it does, the inheritance tax legislation, Dennis
unit must be sold within a year or For foreign nationals who acquired responds: “Such laws will probably
transferred to a Thai national. an interest in land as minority not come about anytime soon.”