RupertIII

More than 200 complaints have been received by a watchdog group from service members across all branches of the US armed forces regarding US military commanders invoking extremist Christian rhetoric about biblical “end times” to justify involvement in the Iran war to troops. Apparently Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth! https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/03/us-israel-iran-war-christian-rhetoric

Strange - I was also at CW last Thursday (18-12) to extend my marriage visa and got the usual letter from BKK Bank there with no mention of the a/c been locked. I had previously read about this and when the girl at the bank asked me to sign a form for the letter I got my wife to translate the declaration I was signing, no mention of any a/c locking. My wife even asked the bank cashier who told her they never do that, As I said - very strange. Maybe because the a/c I used was a FC a/c.?

This appears quite a useful, free little boycotting tool - https://madeometer.com/

On more than one occasion I have transferred GBP from my BKK Bank GDB FX a/c to a GBP a/c in the UK without any currency conversion.

On last nights news, can't recall which channel, Trump is now demanding an additional 92% import tax on Italian pasta, bring it to a total rate of 107%. Personally I feel the the EU should have used China's example when dealing with Trump. It was quite obvious that Trump was never going to honour his "deal" with the EU and would be constantly coming back with further demands. In my (and many others) opinion not someone to be trusted!

Via e-mail. Following my post on here she clicked the link in the email which took her to her a/c with Wise and re-entered her address details changing the city from "Bangkok" to the name of our amphur and then entered Bangkok as the province which was previously blank. A message then popped up saying they would contact her if they needed any additional info. This she did this last Sunday and nothing further from Wise other than an email confirming she rec'd some funds today, Wednesday.

Thanks for all your replies. No driving licence and all condo paperwork, etc is in Thai. Looking at the statement it is actually a VISA credit card statement, she has a/cs with several different banks so probably easier to go to a local bank and request an English language bank a/c statement.

My Thai wife has just rec'd a request from Wise to prove her residential address. Does anyone know if they will accept this in Thai language, e.g bank statement/letter showing address in Thai language? Thanks.

Total of 36 stations to choose from, including classic stations.. You have to sign up but totally free, no catches. https://www.globalplayer.com/

From the Guardian:- ‘He has trouble completing a thought’: bizarre public appearances again cast doubt on Trump’s mental acuity. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/03/donald-trump-mental-fitness

Just another form of tax levied on foreigners.

I assume a typo?

Today's Independent has an article relating to this. In a few short remarks, the president revealed he has very little knowledge of the U.S. economy; is incapable of remembering where his own representatives or aides are and cannot stay awake during an early afternoon public appearance - https://www.the-independent.com/voices/trump-pennsylvania-speech-mental-biden-b2789677.html#comments-area

In theory I believe they need a search warrant. In reality.........

Is this the "revenge tax" being discussed here? https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2025/6/4/what-is-the-revenge-tax-in-the-us-tax-bill

I have a GBP a/c with BKK Bank and on a couple of occasions have transfered GBP to my UK health insurance company without having to convert first to THB. However this has to be done in person at either at the branch you opened the a/c at or HO. I was hoping to be able to transfer direct from my online a/c but I would then, so I was told, have to convert first into THB.

Below copied from one of the regular e-mails I receive from the FT:- The last time a smartphone factory opened in the US, it closed within a year. In 2013, Motorola announced it wanted to challenge the conventional wisdom that manufacturing in the US was too expensive. But 12 months later, the facility in Fort Worth, Texas, was shut down because of disappointing sales and high costs. If Donald Trump has his way, Apple will be the next tech company to test the theory. The Trump administration wants the smartphone giant to have the iPhone manufactured in America instead of China, where most of them are currently made. “Remember the army of millions and millions of human beings screwing in little screws to make iPhones?” commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said in early April. “That kind of thing is going to come to America.” Supply chain experts believe that the Trump project would face the same problems as Motorola — indeed, some predict an iPhone could cost as much as $3,500 if fully assembled in the US.

This article covers it in greater scope and also confirms that this will apply to tax resident foreigners. https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2025/05/19/thai-revenue-planning-new-decree-making-remitted-foreign-funds-within-one-year-tax-free-for-residents/

Looks as if that could be on the way https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2025/03/20/new-alcohol-law-which-ushers-in-a-new-liberal-era-allowing-for-advertising-and-lifting-drinking-bans/

Am I correct in assuming that an offshore investment, equities, sold in 23, transferred to Wise in the UK and then remitted to Thailand in 24 is not assessable?

What is the problem, why do you require this confirmation? The only reason I can think of is for Thai tax purposes, if so I would think the the TRD should by fully aware that UK state pensions do not increase in Thailand, if not they should be.

I recall reading on AN that in Court it was proven that it was against Thai law based on discrimination by nationality (I believe this is also against international law) but the judgement was that as he was a foreigner he could afford the inflated price plus it was to Thailand's benefit. Thai justice!

A few yeas back I was referred by my hospital to another hospital for a test. My wife Thai phoned the second hospital asking for a price without mentioning who it was for, quoted THB15,000. At the hospital waiting room a nurse approached us just to let me know the cost is THB25000! I think after a lot of haggling and toing and froing by the nurse I believe it did come down somewhat although with all the other bits they manage to add on not sure how much I actually paid for the test.

Thanks for that. It was, I think, Mike Lister in one of the forums stated that expenses of up to 50%, subject to a max 100K, could be deducted against income which, at the time, I took to include pension income. However the above booklet quotes:- The amount of personal expenses that may be deducted depends on the category of assessable income, as follows: • Income under the above categories of assessable income (1) and (2), including goodwill, copyright and other rights under (3), a deduction of 50% is allowed subject to a maximum of Baht 100,000. • Income under (5), the rates of deduction vary from 10% to 30% depending on the type of rented property. • Income under (6), (7) and (8), the rates of deduction vary from 30% to 60% depending on the type of income or type of business. Income under categories 1, 2, and 3 are listed as:- Assessable income is classified into eight categories: 1. Salaries and wages (including income from stock options, house rent allowance and other fringe benefits) 2. Hire of work, office of employment or service rendered 3. Goodwill, copyright, franchise, patent, other rights, annuity, etc. Could any of these be interpreted as pension, possibly other fringe benefits? I am wondering if anyone has ever been put this to the test by previously successfully submitting a return including this expense deduction in respect of pension income?

Thailand's desire for an FTA with the EAEU and increased trade with Russia, as reported in today's BP, isn't likely to help or have they now given up on an FTA with the EU?