KhunHeineken

Been doing it for decades. To the victor goes the spoils. (WW2)

USA is now strengthening ties with Vietnam. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/09/11/joint-leaders-statement-elevating-united-states-vietnam-relations-to-a-comprehensive-strategic-partnership/ Thailand has already chosen Big Brother. They'll have to live with that in the future. Plenty of other markets in the region for the USA to look towards.

I guess Ticketmaster didn't have MS Defender. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c899pz84d8zo

That's the spirit. You tell them. Have you been to Cambodia before?

After the last military coup, the military government strengthened Thailand's ties with China. It's at that point, the USA basically gave up on Thailand and turned their focus towards other allies in the region.

Don't hackers send out scans for open ports, all around the world, as an initial way in? Is there safety in numbers, aka, being average? I don't think so. Look at the viruses that infected millions of devices over the years. I agree. I have had the odd compatibility issue, but it was easily fixed. That doesn't answer my question. It's a simple question, and forget about the paid v free debate. Question: "Why so much confidence in MS Defender?" Where does this confidence come from? If one doesn't need any anti virus protection, as you say, they shouldn't even need MS Defender, right?

You don't say. One question. If you were talking about interest earn within Super, why mention the withdrawals from your Super and the interest that those withdrawals earned at all???? The rest of your post I know this information. I can only go on the words your write, and I have quoted you, twice. The misleading way you posted, as admitted by yourself, doesn't make my information to you wrong, or false, as you claim.

Well, get a retirement visa, and rent a condo. Do a little trading, or whatever it is you do, and get paid in your home country, remaining under any tax free threshold. Move the money into your Thai bank account for living expenses. Technically, you are working on a retirement visa, but the chances of getting caught are little to zero. Put the idea that "rent is dead money" out of your head for Thailand.

I am Australian. Here's just one bank in Australia offering 5%. https://www.rabobank.com.au/term-deposits Forget Thai banks for earning interest. Forget Thailand for investing. Have a look at banks in your home country. If you need to get money out of your home country, I suggest HSBC Singapore. Stable country with a rock solid financial system. Currently paying 3.2%. https://www.hsbc.com.sg/accounts/products/time-deposit/

Yes.

I've never subscribed to the theory that if everyone else is doing it, it must be fine. Are you talking about houses or condo's? Many take short cuts and just put it in the Thai wife's name. Not a smart move. Once again, what are you trying to achieve? More information is needed. Have you considered the cost of the house, left in a bank earning 5% interest, the interest earned per month is more than the cost to rent the exact same house, with no other expenses, taxes, maintenance, fees etc, and the freedom to move if and when you want, or need to?

OP, what are you trying to achieve? Do you want to be a digital nomad, living in Thailand, getting paid into a Thai bank account? Do you want to buy a property in a Thai company name? How much remote / online work will you be doing per year, in USD value?

This is illegal. Yes, people do it, but it's illegal to set up a Thai company solely for the purpose of purchasing a property.

I have said in other threads it can't stay at 800k baht forever. It's been 800k baht for decades, and living expenses have increased significantly in this time, including medical. If they raise the 800k baht significantly, it would be a way to raise the standard of expat living here, as it may force many to Cambodia, but raising it in step with a new tax policy, cha-ching, and not surprising at all.

Their operating systems over the years have had many issues. Even some of their Windows updates have caused problems. Why so much confidence in MS for protection against viruses?

Can not be a yes or no answer without more information. For starters, the DTA between the USA and Thailand. How many days you stay in Thailand in a tax (calendar) year as to your tax residency status in Thailand. How much money you are remitting.

Pattaya is my Beverly Hills. Seriously though, a lot of those IoT's would have vulnerabilities. When it comes to cyber security, you get what you pay for, and MS Defender is free.

Whilst the main interest in these deposits are for criminal behavior, the details are passed onto the tax departments of various countries also. Think Al Capone. Very famous case. I've read so much on this topic that it's hard to remember everything. So, you agree it's a possibility. It certainly appears to me, and many others, to be an option for them, and so easy to implement. Once again, I couldn't care less about the 89% of Thai's working in the cash economy. They don't need visas / extensions, I do. Most of them remit money domestically. Eg. the bar girl depositing cash into a Thai bank in the south tourist areas and then getting on the phone to transfer it to her mother in Issan. If the Thai government want to start tracking such deposits, that's a matter for the Thai's. As an expat retiree, I remit every baht I live on here from offshore. That makes my deposits easy to trace, and me an easy target for this policy. Also, I don't care about the politics / racism about the policy if it only scoops up foreign remittance, whilst allowing Thai's to continue to work in the cash economy without paying tax. Thailand has never been a fair society for the majority of Thai's, and foreigners here. I am only concerned about the impact the policy has on foreigners. I have never sought refuge behind statistics involving Thai nationals when I am considered an "alien" here. I see you are still relying on the TRD to implement this policy to the letter of the law. Eg. assessable income. I have posted about it. In my opinion, the TRD will not look that hard into it. I agree with you, they don't have the man power. I have suggested they will look at your bank document, put you in a remittance bracket, and give you your tax bill. There will not be any real way to discuss / review / appeal the matter, unless you are a high net worth individual. You either pay and are good for your extension, or don't pay, and no extension. As far as being a tax resident or not, pretty easy to tally up 180 days inside Thailand. Just takes a quick flick through a passport. What comes from those who do not or can not pay we can't discuss at this stage, but you have read some of my thoughts on the enforcement escalation from authorities. We will see in 2025 what happens to people who either do not pay, or can not pay. In relation to your crystal ball, I find it hard to believe the policy will rely on volunteering your tax information, simply because it's not in human nature to pay out money for nothing, if you don't have to, with no punishment for not doing so. I hope you are right and nothing much happens, but I am sure the Thai government have crunched some numbers and see they are sitting on an easy earner. Like I said, maybe it's all about just paying 300 / 500 / 1000 baht to the TRD for a document once a year, like we do for a Certificate of Residence, and they don't look into any of your tax affairs. Who knows? My crystal ball tells me they have something up their sleeve to make a baht out of it one way or another, and either officially, or unofficially. Just how, when, and for how much, we will have to wait and see.

Any comments on this device? https://www.trendmicro.com/en_au/forHome/products/homenetworksecurity.html What protects our various IoT's. Smart TV's, video doorbells, CCTV cameras, smart lights and plugs etc? They don't have MS Defender.

You have answered your own questions. Yes, the Super company doesn't care. Yes, you need to be in Australia at the time to benefit from being a resident for tax purposes. Yes, the ATO know you are outside of Australia. They may not know which country you are in, but that is irrelevant to them. This will most likely trigger some more inquiries, and when they see you haven't been in Australia for, in your own words, "a long time" you will be deemed a non resident for tax purposes which MAY open up a big can of worms for you. The guy from the Super company told you it's "sketchy tax wise." I am saying it's risky. A VPN can't get around immigration records.

Risky.

Isn't that where your withdrawn Super money earned the "interest" that you mentioned in your OP? You said: "I have already made a first small withdrawal a year ago and in that time the money has earned interest. " Where did you earn this "interest" from if not in a bank?

You misread or misunderstood. I never said there was 32.5% tax to pay on withdrawing money from your Super fund. This is what you said in your OP. "I have already made a first small withdrawal a year ago and in that time the money has earned interest." I am gathering that interest was earned in a bank account. Therefore, "interest" was earned outside of your Super fund, right? You then said this: " I am just wondering if the interest I have accrued after making an initial and further withdrawals is taxable?" The interest your withdrawn Super earns in a bank account is income, therefore, taxable. If you are a non resident for tax purposes, it's taxable at 32.5%. This is also what another member, gearbox, said: "If your money is outside super then the non resident rules for interest apply." This is what you also said: "It is a fairly small amount anyway, probably under the tax free thresh hold although I been here a long time now and non resident for tax purposes." If you are a resident for tax purposes, you have the benefit of the tax free threshold. If you are a non resident for tax purposes, there is no tax free threshold. I have posted the non resident tax brackets. It's 32.5% for $0 to $120,000. You seem to think that money taken out of Super can not be taxed because it came from a Super fund. This is laughable. Once you withdraw money from Super, and have that money "earn" elsewhere, like interest in a bank, rent from a property etc, it's income, and if a non resident, taxable at 32.5%. Basically, once you withdraw money from your Super fund, it's the same as any other money. Eg. savings. I can't make it any clearer.

I agree. We are easy targets, with no votes lost, and there's another revenue stream just stilling there untapped. The Thai's will turn a baht out of it, either officially, unofficially, or both. For a country famous for military coups, nothing surprises me here. I expect the unexpected. As I have said before, the policy is a mess, so I expect them to make up the rules on the fly. It may even be different experiences, for different foreigners, living in different provinces. Who knows? We'll all get to see how it unfolds early 2025. Maybe the policy will disappear, or maybe it will remain but will have no impact on expats. I just suspect the Thai's have something up their sleeve in relation to this policy.

I don't know what nationality you are, but do you have to give your bank some type of Tax Number in your home country? Do the banks in your home country report large deposits to a government agency? As I have said, you have to supply your TFN in Australia, and any transaction over $10,000AUD is reported. If Thailand was to require the Thai banks to do the same, I wouldn't be shocked, and that's why I put it forward. For all we know, the Thai government is looking at western banking / tax systems with a view to doing the same here. Call them proxies, or whatever, but you even say yourself the banks already withhold tax on Thai's, but given a lot of Thai's don't have savings, as mentioned, living hand to mouth, there's not much tax to withhold. Of course, immigration has nothing to do with Thai's. I've used the word "enforcement" before but perhaps a better word may be a "requirement" to have an annual document from the TRD as part of your extension renewal. Like I have said, you need a bank document showing 800k Thai baht. They can easily add a document from the TRD to the list. Remember the health insurance policy? To be honest, I'm not concerned about what they do to the Thai's as far as this tax policy is concerned. They are Thai, and that's a matter for them at the next election. As foreigners, we are easy targets, and have no rights here. I have never thought I have been, or should be, treated like a Thai here, particularly as Thailand offers no reasonable pathway to gaining permanent residency / citizenship. Can you clarify where you stand in regards to this policy? Do you think the policy will be in force but nothing will happen? Do you think they will try to get the policy working but it will be all too hard and they will repeal it? Do you think the policy will remain but they will change it, significantly, in order to make it work? Do you think foreigners will eventually have to pay tax on remitted funds? You are critical of what I have predicted the Thai government MAY do, but I am unclear of your view on the policy.