KhunHeineken

Yes. Why would you bother leaving 800k baht in a Thai bank for a retirement visa / extension when you are staying just less than 6 months here a year? 3 months in - 3 months out - 3 months in - 3 months out shouldn't cause any problems with immigration. The 800k baht invested elsewhere, at a better rate, will pay for the travel costs.

I had a similar problem a couple of years ago. The first and obvious question, do you have a few bars of service? Is it an Australian phone number that the SMS should be sent to? If so, send your Aussie number a SMS from your Thai phone. Use +61 and leave out the "0" (zero) on your Aussie number. If an Aussie number, did you switch on roaming? If no texts are coming through, it may be the APN settings in the phone. I had to ring my telco back in Australia and they reset things at their end and it still didn't work. I then spoke to someone in the tech section and added the latest / correct APN settings, restarted the phone, and I could start receiving SMS's whilst roaming in Thailand. One of the above may be your problem. Sorry. Just read your post again and see that texts are coming through. Sometimes I get a text a couple of hours later. It could be network congestion in the sending country or Thailand.

It all gets very interesting, should the wife die before you.

Yes, but some interesting tax implications are on their way, both in Australia, and in Thailand.

Very wise, and I agree. There may be more at play here that will unfold as time passes.

It's not a dream, it's a plan, and it's not just for Americans, many other western people feel the same.

Why would it mention "overseas pensioners?" As the proposed changes stand, it would only mention residents and non residents for tax purposes. It about the money, not the person.

My thinking is the same as some other members, and that is, if "gifting" if going to be such an easy way for the masses to avoid paying tax, the Thai government will change the laws. That said, I would think at a minimum, and I agree with you 100%, the Thai missus is going to need an offshore bank account at some stage, even if it's a Cambodian bank account, which is just next door, for any chance of either "gifting" or "splitting" tax liability as a possibility in the future.

Interesting post. So, when Microsoft release an update that screws millions of people's devices up all around the world, what makes you think their antivirus defender doesn't miss something that causes the same to happen to people's devices?

An expat collapses with a stroke. He is rushed to hospital. They run some tests and tell the expat he needs a major operation urgently, or he could die. The cost of the operation is upwards of 500k Thai baht. The expat gets on his phone and immediately transfers 500k from a bank account in his home country to his bank account in Thailand. He then pulls out his Thai bank visa card and pays for the operation. He has the operation and recovers. At the end of the tax year, has the 500k transfer for urgent medical treatment attracted tax as remitted funds? If it has, the operation has costed more, has it not?

The point I was making was, if the premiums are paid from a Thai bank account, then those funds are remitted. Health insurance is quite expensive, so perhaps a way of remitting less, therefore paying less tax, may be to pay Cigna, or any other insurance company, from your home country bank account. A small tax reduction strategy.

The insurance company pays the hospital / doctor bills directly. So I would say no, but this is just my opinion. I have just posted an example where serious medical intervention could be more expensive under this policy because it usually requires the transfer of large sums of money immediately.

Wouldn't you agree that my example, and your reply, is the situation of thousands of expats across Thailand? This would mean, "gifting" is not an option for them. Section 37 of the Thai Revenue Code. https://www.rd.go.th/english/37746.html#:~:text=Section 37 Bis Any person,exceeding 1 year or both. "Section 37 Bis Any person intentionally fails to file tax returns prescribed under this Title in order to evade or in an attempt to evade tax, shall be subject to a fine not exceeding 200,000 Baht or an imprisonment for a term not exceeding 1 year or both." Pretty scary, Mike, but as you say, the law applies equally. I'm surprised you allowed yourself to post it.

As expats age, health insurance becomes more and more expensive. Difficult to pay the premiums without remitting the funds. For those who self insure, as mentioned, any major treatment will now be indirectly taxed, thus, cost more.

Not entirely true. The criminal laws apply equally, but I can't own land here in my name, can you? I'm simply saying the permission to live here, as opposed to the right to live here, is always held over foreigners. Thailand does not offer a reasonable pathway to permanent residency and citizenship. The Thai government says jump to foreigners, and we ask how high, or leave. In my opinion this policy is an absolute mess, but you watch them turn a baht out of foreigners regardless.

Interesting comment. Got me thinking, say an expat needed emergency medical treatment, possibly a life saving operation. That would require the immediate remittance of a large sum of money, and possibly further transfers for ongoing recovery or treatment. Of course, at such a time, money is the least of your worries, but that medical treatment or operation has now costed a lot more due to the remittance tax the transfer/s has attracted.

Such investment strategies may not always go in your favor. It's a risk. I mentioned in another post the Thai banks may not be so happy with this policy because they will miss out on remitted funds from foreigners. You remitted funds and the Thai bank still missed out.

I accept the example you gave, however, go to a different bank, in a different city, and speak to different staff, and your experience may have been very different.

I find it interesting that many are critical of Microsoft and Windows, including myself at times, yet many have suggested using Microsoft for the protection of their device and data.

I agree 100%, and if such a gaping hole does exist, for sure they will move to close it, especially if it is being used as a tax avoidance strategy by the masses. On that basis, I would encourage members who may be seeking to rely solely on "gifting" as their only tax avoidance strategy to seriously consider a Plan B.

As I said before, legislation is useless with enforcement. The Thai government must have something up their sleeve. Currently, we are unable to discuss it because it's scaremongering. I guess we will all find out how they will collect it, and the punitive measures for evading it, or not paying it, early next year.

I'll ask the obvious, but probably most relevant question to many expats here, what happens if Cyril transfers his pension to Nookie every month? Not savings. Not earnings. Not the proceeds from a sale of a property. Etc etc. Nothing else but his pension, on an ongoing basis.

Apologies to members. Of course Mike is correct on this point. I was posting with my personal view that it's best to fly under the radar here for everything. Declaring large sums of money at boarders may bring some unwanted attention. If this is no problem for some people, then they may wish to do as I suggested to another member and open a bank account in Cambodia and do the occasional "cash run" in the same way people do a "visa run." I have said I will be doing this with a Singapore bank account I have after the F1 every year, but not over the amount that must be declared.

She can't legally bring in the 20m gift in cash, she would have to remit it, as the owner.

Interesting strategy, and I agree, it will work. The only thing I can see that would be a concern is you will be paid a pittance by a Thai bank for the three years of money you have transferred in. Never the less, not a bad plan at all.