Expert advice, strategies, and insights for modern professional services firms.
ETDA released a revised draft Artificial Intelligence Act for public consultation in July 2026. It is a bill, not law, but it points clearly towards risk-based obligations for AI users, transparency duties for generated content, and a contested strict liability rule. Here is what the draft reportedly contains, what remains unsettled, and how a boutique firm can prepare without waiting.
Thailand has prohibited nominee shareholding under the Foreign Business Act for years, but 2026 brought a sharper enforcement approach: verification of Thai shareholders and tracing of the funds behind their shares. Reported penalties are serious and reach advisers who facilitate a structure. Here is what has changed, what remains unsettled, and how a boutique firm protects itself and its clients.
A long-stay visa is not a licence to work for a Thai company. The Destination Thailand Visa allows remote work for foreign employers and clients but not Thai ones, and the Long-Term Resident visa treats work differently by category. Here is the map a boutique firm needs, the misunderstanding that causes most problems, and where to verify before advising a foreign founder.
Thailand's standard corporate income tax rate is 20%, but qualifying SMEs pay 0% on the first THB 300,000 of net profit and 15% up to THB 3 million. Qualification turns on paid-in capital and revenue, so a capital increase made for commercial reasons can quietly cost a client up to THB 195,000 a year. Here is how the tests work and where an accountant adds value.
Thailand awards a trademark to the first party to file, not the first to use it. An SME that has built a brand for years without registering it can lose the name to a competitor, a former distributor, or an opportunistic filer. Here is how the system works, why early registration is cheap protection, and how a boutique firm can raise the question with clients.
Thailand's mandatory ISSB-aligned sustainability disclosure applies to listed companies, phasing in from the SET50 in 2026. Private SMEs are not in scope. But listed companies need supply chain data from their vendors to complete their own reports, which means SMEs are being asked for sustainability information they have never had to produce. Here is how a boutique firm can help clients get ready before the question becomes urgent.
Thailand has granted a five-year personal income tax exemption on digital asset capital gains, from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2029, but only for transactions through SEC-licensed platforms. Mining, staking, and remuneration in digital assets are taxed differently, and accounting method choice changes the result. Here is what a boutique firm needs to get right before a crypto-active client raises the question.
The Labour Protection Act (No. 9) B.E. 2568 came into force on 7 December 2025, expanding maternity leave to 120 days, introducing 15 days of paid paternity leave for the first time in Thai private-sector law, and adding a mandatory annual reporting obligation for employers with ten or more staff. Most SME owners will not know this changed until their accountant or lawyer tells them. Here is what changed and why raising it now is a concrete way to build client trust.
Succession is consistently identified by wealth advisors as the greatest vulnerability to the long-term survival of Asian family businesses, not because families don't understand the risk, but because they delay action until a crisis forces it. For a boutique firm whose client base is mostly family-run, raising this conversation proactively is both a genuine advisory opportunity and a way to protect the client relationship itself.