briley

If anyone says "Plus Plus" I go elsewhere, Italian or not.

You can make a booking without paying in a travel agent but the price is the price when you pay.

The airline hold the reservation on a booking but if they get a lot of booking requests they will call the agent and ask for payment or drop the booking so it isn't guaranteed - but in practice you do get some warning.

As an extra after paying I always give a short time and then phone the airline to check that the agent has paid them and the booking is now confirmed. Stops agents who hold onto your money for the interest and might go broke in the meantime.

It is my understanding that the liquidators still hold 1p per share and that is to be held for a few more years - is it 10 years after the re-nationalision?

You should have recieved all the rest of the money due, last payment of 8.5p per share was on the 6th June 2006.

PS I haven't seen any latest letter

PPS the link to the letter is http://www.rtgroup.co.uk/news/news_pdf/RT_...nual_Report.pdf

But it did take a few attempts to connect

No - ordinary resident does not have any interest to the tax man.

You are either resident for tax purposes or non-resident for tax purposes. To become non-resident you have to be out of the UK for one full TAX year (5 April to 5 April aprox). You are allowed to visit the UK for less than 183 days in any one tax year or an average of 92 days a tax year over the last 4 tax years. (All days about, always forget 181 or 182 or 183 - gettting old!)

So long as you get a letter from the tax people you can get the rental paid without the agent/tennant witholding the tax but you do have to declare it, along with all other UK income each year. Tax man can ask for payment on account to make sure he gets his money. You can appeal against this. I've found that if your tax affairs are in order I've always been allowed to NOT pay anything on account.

I note your selling your principle residence in the UK. If you can make one of your rented properties your princple residence for a bit (about 6 months or so) it can make big CGT savings. A house that has been your principle residence and is then rented out benefits from: No CGT for the period of residence plus 36 months. Exception on the first £40,000 of capital gains tax due in addition to the normal annual tax allowance.

Note your wife gets the interest from savings to offset against her personal allowance. If it doesn't use up all her allowance and 10% tax band worth giving her half a house or so so you can then increase her income to use up these allowances. Giving things to a wife doesn't attract CGT or any other tax.

After 5 years of non-residence you are free of CGT but not too sure if this applies to houses. Must check on that!

Not denying the interest in the festival but I do wonder how the numbers add up.

Friday 22nd and the 2 millionth visitor arrives from Japan.

By Saturday (the 23rd) 2.8 million people had visited the expo.

Wasn't over 800,000 visitors on Friday and Saturday a bit high?

-SNIP-

I feel naked with only my helmet and leather jacket....

Not too surprising with no trousers

Bangkapiboy - yes but, if the BOT hold 30% of the transfer for 12 months then you have to bring in extra to cover this bit.

Mind since USD20,000 or under transfers are OK what is wrong with two transfers, that would buy most condo's I know of.

The other points of interest between the banks are:

Can you get an ATM card?

What is the cost of internet access and/or ATM card?

Corner of Thanon Suthep and Cholprathon Road (Canal road)

Hope it's loud as my wife wants to listen - from our home!

Talking of names (that this topic is not about)

Arab countries use your 'triple' - first three names.

As mine is 'a b c-d' I became 'a b c' and half my surname disappeared for 2 years.

Take two ATM cards with you incase one gets swallowed, lost, stolen, broke or what.

Look for a new tax lawyer.

As a comment you can be non-resident for tax purposes in all countries of the world. I have been, on a number of occasions, non-resident for tax purposes in the UK whilst not being resident for tax in any other country either. But that doesn't mean I didn't pay any tax!

Domacility is another ball game and every country has very widely differing rules. UK says you are UK domiciled if born in the UK and it is very hard to lose this domicility. Inland revenue will only confirm your domicity when you try to claim tax excemption as non-domiciled. As the biggest benefit of claiming to be non-domiciled is no inheritance tax it is difficult to change things if inland revenue rules against you!

For a British national born in the UK or of British parents then domicility has virtually no effect on liability to tax in the UK.

Note that this is a gross simplification of the law/rules.

Personally I doubt you can get malicious damage insurance for damage caused by the tenant. You cover for this in the deposit, 2 or even 3 months rental in advance should give you around £2,000 to play with.

Regular checks by yourself/agent is also an insurance of kind.

Sumrit - AFAIK you earn the money in the UK so pay tax in the UK even if non-resident. However if you are non-resident you don't have to pay tax on any money earned outside the UK. But be carefull that you don't lose your personal allowance by being non-resident.

I used to know the rules about that but recent events leave me being uncertain as to who get a personal allowance, that is the first £5,000 or so of income is tax free.

DD18 - the inland revenue has always said that excluding day of arrival and day of departure was a concession and not a right. If you only visit the UK once or twice a year then I suspect these days will be ignored but the case in question was someone visiting the UK over 24 times a year. There was also the possibility of someone living in, say, France but working in the city and technically never spending a day in the UK as they never visit for over 2 days at a time.

You are non-resident for tax in the UK if you are in the UK for less than 183 days in any one tax year or less than an average of 91 days over the past 4 years. So you can't spend half a year in the UK every year and be treated as non-resident for tax.

First year of non-residence is treated differently.

Taxexile _ I'd be interested in what court ruling, can't access the Sunday Times archive without paying. Any further details?

As you are not resident in Thailand, only visiting on a visa, then immigration will not issue a certificate of residence.

Most Embassies do issue a letter confirming your address, sometime only in the language of the Embasy. OK it English or Thai but needs a certified translation if most other languages.

If you''re in Thailand and listen to the bbc five live you listen to the international version

(link is http://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive/live/surestream_int.ram)

If in the UK you get the domestic stream

(link is http://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive/live/surestream.ram)

Note the '-int' difference.

The international stream does not carry premiership football, cricket, formula 1 and the likes - as said before due to copyright holders refusing the BBC permisssion.

They even refuse to allow world service to stream the Saturday afternoon sports despite the fact that they are available on shortwave everywhere which is farsical.

Application for an extension can be within the last 30 days of your current permission to stay.

So if the visa is valid until 1st Jan you can apply now and the extension will be valid for 30 days from the 1st Jan, until the 30th Jan if my maths is correct - can never cope with day of arrival and day of departure bit as I only have 20 fingers and toes.

Thanks Cromarty - now all I need to do is find someone in the UK who will listen to 5 live for me ..........................

Can orb be set to send streaming radio?

I'm interested in getting the UK version of Radio 5 in Thailand so as to get the football/cricket etc comentaries.

Agreed but make it clear to immigration what you want to do and they will probably ask you to sign to say you were not using the tourist visa, to protect themselves from later complaint by yourself.

Cost of a double entry toutist visa is double single entry, only for more than double is there a discount, only £10 more last time I got one in the UK.

Agree with Paulsmithson - this is one of the few rulings I feel to be totally unfair.

I'd also point out that under the new proposals UK pensions will increase inline with wages from 2012 so the pension will be improving over the years

Thanks Ta22 - had only thought of them as sellers but now recall they have rather nice soldering stations in the shop as well. I'll give them a call tomorrow.

I'm hoping it's an easy fault but suspect a new system will be better, once people start fiddling other bits tend to go wrong.

My 5.1 speaker system is suffering an intermitant fault and needs repair.

Does anyone recommend an electronics repair shop in Chiang Mai?