Are there significant differences in tax burden for a Chinese-invested company in Thailand when repatriating funds in the form of dividends, service fees and technology royalties?
The differences are significant, but "which has the lower tax rate" cannot be equated directly with "which method is optimal". Dividends, service fees, technical fees / royalties, and intra-group loan interest differ in legal nature, pre-tax deductibility, withholding tax, VAT, transfer pricing, and the Chinese tax treatment.