KhunHeineken

I wasn't talking about Teams. I was talking in general that many of the VOIP providers cater for businesses, and not many seem to have a simple download software, chose username / password, add some money, and away you go. From my recent research, after the announcement of he Skype shut down, many VOIP providers bang on about how many people you can have in a conference call, line in and line out numbers, porting the number, linking, syncing, SIP trunks etc, when a large part of the market, as shown on this thread, just want a simple, user friendly, and affordable call out option. Have you called a government agency number from Whatsapp or FB? Please provide a link to a VOIP company that has a simple download where you create a username and password, deposit some money, and get affordable call to western countries. A few have been put forward, but all you have said is, "there is no issue at all."

You just keep talking yourself into it and reaffirming what you know to be a bad decision. A bit like guys saying, "my girl is different" despite everyone telling the guy she's not. Australian Border Force is not 'different."

Political prisoners is a poor example, really. Can you put forward another example?

That's the only thing that matters. The rest of all the discussions, across all the threads, is meaningless without the said certificate. Those who do not actively seek it out are leaving themselves exposed to extortion.

A lot of the VOIP providers have a lot of bells and whistles, basically catering to the business market. Personal users do not need or want all the bells and whistles. They just want a simple call / video program / app that is easy to set up and use. This is particularly relevant for the elderly, and their younger relatives who set it up for them. They don't want to know about linking and syncing, and all the other bells and whistles. The race to offer the most bells and whistles isolates a big part of the market that don't want them, nor require them, thus only confuses them, and ultimately loses them as customers.

Yes, the "Thai brothers" are certainly honorable people.

No. You are "detained" awaiting deportation. You are not criminally charged, prosecuted, and sentenced to prison for a length of time for an overstay.

But what about all the Aussie pensioners that have bought a property in Thailand and "their payment may be affected." Why would their payment be affected, Olmate? Could it be because they are non residents of Australia for tax purposes? Surely not, Olmate, because a member posted on this forum some time ago that such laws were "only for guys like Paul Hogan."

No doubt, many will be in the same position as yourself, perhaps myself included. I will know more about my personal position later this month, and what magic the agent is capable of. I would suggest, when Thailand's tax bill is significantly greater than living in another country for 6 months, then Thailand no longer represents a value for money retirement destination, and one should consider spending 6 months of the year in another country.

No need for an apology. It was just lost in translation. It's common sense for farang to minimize their tax liability in Thailand. It's just another bill to pay living in Thailand full time, so why not try to make it as small as possible?

"If you own a home in Australia and you are away from it for more than 12 months or leave it permanently, it will be treated as an asset." "If you rent out your home in Australia or buy a home in another country, your payment may be affected." Doesn't look good, Olmate. Buy a home (condo in Thailand) in another country, your payment may be affected. Surely Albo can change this.

You postedit, thus open to being quoted. No, there isn't. Correct, and so have many others. There is no difference.

Depends what you call "overseas travel" doesn't it? Overseas travel coul be a flight to Vietnam with budget airline Vietjet which is very cheap. Thai Airways charge more. I've been minimizing my remittances since early 2024, opting to bring in some cash, and have some cash brought in for me. Once again, for "overseas travel" to minimize your tax here, it would have to be decent "overseas travel." Everyone should be trying to minimize their tax here. It's just another bill to pay, so why not try to keep it as small as possible, whilst still remaining legal. You read too much into my word "dodging."

Skype will be difficult to replace, especially for the elderly who chat with their kids and grand kids, due to the ease of set up and use. I would be interested in the percentage of people that migrate to Microsoft Teams, past their last Skype credit. If comments on this forum are anything to go by, it appears not many will. In many ways, Microsoft is a like the Nokia phone company on this one. They had a huge market share, and thought they always would, so never invested in R & D. Along comes Zoom and Microsoft still did nothing. Microsoft is always one step behind its competitors, thus, when they have a failing product, their only answer is to shut it down.

Funny how the "brother" that was working as a motorcycle taxi driver in a Southern Thailand tourist area moves back to Issan when his "sister" and her farang move there, and he "visits" a lot. and has no job.

Some members may need to have a prepaid sim card posted over to them from their home country.

After a brief look around on the internet, this company seems to be ok for Aussie expats looking to call back to Australia with unlimited minutes. Calls to other countries are very cheap, so it may be ok for expats from other countries with international rates starting at $0.0050 per minute. https://crazytel.com.au/residential/voiphomephone/ Unlimited calls to Aussie local and national numbers, as well as mobile numbers, for $8 per month. Calls to 13 / 1300 numbers $0.25. I had a quick look at Microsoft Teams and I don't think I will be migrating. I will find another VOIP provider. There must be some companies rubbing their hands together and gearing up for the deadline in May. The owners of some previously little known VOIP companies may end up multimillionaires. Microsoft Teams will not see a cent out of me, and I have been buying Skype credit / Subscriptions for decades.

Shutting down Skype is a crime against humanity.

Funny how everyone takes ZERO risk with immigration laws, which is not a criminal offense if you breach them, but rely on TiT to breach taxation laws, which is a criminal offense if you breach them. Quite a disparity.

We are always only one pandemic, one war, one GFC etc away from "change."

No, but you've paid more for the air ticket. What costs more, dodging some tax, or paying more for the air ticket? Everyone has different circumstances.

No.

Affordability.

Just how much "nothing" do you think is allowable before it becomes unwise to do nothing?

What's it say, Olmate? Is it good news or bad news? Is Albo still looking after us all?