gearbox

Interesting graph about the prison population percentages...seems UK is not doing that bad.

https://www.firstlinks.com.au/100-aussies-seven-charts-on-who-earns-pays-and-owns "The ATO breaks it down further by ranking the 100 people by taxable income: The top 3 paid 29% of all net tax The next 6 paid 18% of all net tax The next 30 paid 40% of all net tax The next 35 paid 13% of all net tax The final 21 paid no tax" Let me have a wild guess...that the whingers who complain all the time that the government doesn't give them more money are in the last 2 groups.

The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money. Margaret Thatcher

Sounds like communism. The fair way should be the pension to depend on all the taxes paid by the individual according to their tax returns. All this quasi communism redistribution will end where the Eastern bloc ended. I've seen today on the Australian Financial Review that more than 50% of voters are now receiving government money as their main income. https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/debtfunded-largesse-majority-of-voters-depend-on-government-income-new-research-finds-as-public-spending-hits-postwar-high/news-story/a071d267d2a7468e74228189e1c8b9d8 "Drawing on influential economist Frederic Bastiat’s warning that “the state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else”, Mr Carling argues Australia has crossed a tipping point. “Without a determined reset of expectations, Australia risks sliding into a European-style welfare state — slower growth, higher taxes and a culture where ‘voting for a living’ replaces ‘working for a living’," he said."

Exorbitant import taxes? Thailand has FTA with Australia. Many Aussie products are import duty free. "The Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA) has significantly benefited Australian wine exports by eliminating import tariffs. TAFTA, which came into effect on January 1, 2005, resulted in a zero tariff for Australian wine by 2015, giving it a competitive edge over many other wine-exporting nations."

I went to Chiang Mai 7 years ago for around 10 days. Truly mediocre place. Probably won't go back again. I only remember Doi Suthep from there, a temple on a hill, which some people call "mountain". I can't figure how Chiang Mai could even beat KL or Penang, they are miles better.

There are no suitable Oz visas for people like him. Skilled immigration usually requires a degree and experience. There are probably millions of Indian and Pakistani drivers willing to relocate too.

Still much better than giving an ATM card. The card can be damaged, the pin lost and so on. I knew a Thai/foreigner couple, the guy had a major accident and was incapacitated. The girl had his card but he couldn't remember the pin. Eventually he got evacuated and the girl was left empty handed. He had nearly 1 mil in the bank, not sure what happened with his money, as he wasn't dead, but not functioning mentally either.

Curious to know how the bank would figure out if you died. What if you die outside Thailand? I know people who live outside Thailand but have opened accounts here many years ago. I have my gf as a signatory of my Krunsri account, but is not for inheritance purposes, we both put money there and she usually has more than me. We haven't tried doing a signatory withdrawal yet, she is using ATM card.

The attached image shows the bulk of the Thai exports to the US. Rubber is self explanatory, and substitution importers are not easy to find, so the Americans need to absorb their own tariffs. Nuclear reactors? Hmm I didn't know Thailand is producing them. The bulk is machinery and electronics. Thailand doesn't have any major companies in this area, so it is likely multinationals producing in Thailand and exporting. Not much of the profit is left here, so the multinationals either have to pass the tariffs to the consumers, reduce the prices and absorb the tariffs, or relocate to a different country where there is no guarantee of future tariffs from anywhere. Not much impact on the Thais unless the production is curbed. Life goes on.

The tax residency in Australia is a complex topic, but if you don't have any substantial connections to Australia, like family, house, businesses , cars and bank accounts with fair bit of money you should generally be ok. If you are non resident you don't have to submit tax return, there is a checkbox in the return to notify ATO you won't be submitting returns. If you want to be 100% sure you can apply at the ATO for a private ruling.

If you see the masseuses, you'll figure out in 3 seconds that they are not into deep tissue massage 🤣

The massage is opposite the former Kasikorn bank building in Chaweng, there is iHerbs massage in the former bank building, part of the established iHerbs chain. The two massages are just opposite each other, iHerbs closes before midnight. This place opened recently, there are close to 10 girls there sitting all day around on the stairs with open legs and short skirts😄Most are middle aged, overweight and not very attractive. Most of the times they seem to be all outside, not many takers. It functions in area where there are no similar places next to it, it is mostly old established businesses. Most don't seem to be happy that they moved in from what I know.

I is a happy ending place...it remained closed yesterday, usually the girls are quite active in front of the place. The Thais are saying that it seems he smoked quite a bit of weed before going to massage. RIP.

Good news but they had a few false starts to Europe a few times. The fights to Istanbul never eventuated. Otherwise they are a great airline to fly with a bicycle, cheap baggage allowance and no issues with box dimensions. They are the only airline I know which would fly your bicycle just wrapped with cling wrap.