KhunHeineken

Exactly. They COULD, but probably won't, but COULD. Up 2 them. They do get "spend" amounts of different nationalities of tourists from Visa Card and MasterCard, so the ability is already there to do so.

Maybe the first time you will encounter a problem will be at a boarder, trying to leave, after being inside Thailand for more than 180 days. Do let us know if you still managed to catch your flight. Did you ever consider you MAY need a document from the TRD showing your pension is a government service pension, thus covered under a DTA?

Maybe the geeks at GitHub can make a virtual TPM 2.0 to get around Microsoft's BS. Just an idea.

Just curious, not insulting you or being critical, what is the reason for you caring about no capital letters? The member communicated his information, did he not?

Sure. Fast, but at what cost to your privacy?

Well, as common place on the internet these days, if it's free, then YOU are the product. Happy to keep an eye on this thread with your research, and will also research myself. My search engine is Duck Duck Go, which I use in more than one browser. https://duckduckgo.com

The proposed changes do not differentiate between expat pensions, and "guys like Paul Hogan" do they? "Insignificant numbers" will still have the same classification as those in "significant numbers" under the law. There's nothing in the proposed changes that give any exemptions, or allowances. Why would the bulk of Australian pensioners, with absolutely no intention of ever retiring abroad, give a damn? You still post like you believe it will be an election issue. Where do you get that from? I posted what the British government do. Australia may tax, rather than freeze. Same same, but different. How many in their mid to late 60's, which is pension age, are that into social media, enough to protest about it, and if they did, it's a small minority who may even be contemplating retiring abroad. For most, they wouldn't care, because this change to legislation doesn't effect them. You still have the "pensioners will be up in arms" argument. Not going to happen, and even if it did, it would be in "insignificant numbers" for the government to care.

Not sensitive at all. You asked another member for some stats. I jumped in and posted a link with some stats. So, do you accept there are over a million Thai's living and working abroad, with many of them remitting money to Thailand every month? If you don't, can you post a link showing otherwise? If you can, I would be interested in reading it.

I agree. Did you go to The Australian Embassy to vote in the last election? Why would pensioners in Australia care about a policy that doesn't effect them? This will most likely not even be an election issue anyway.

You are correct, but some members would disagree with you. If they are not focused on collection / enforcement, why did they draft the proposed changes in the first place? It seems to me they know there's some money there for the taking, they just haven't been able to take it dues to the current 90 year old laws. Why would they propose and pass the changes, and then do nothing different? Correct. This is because one can claim they are still "domiciled" in Australia, and have the "intention" to return to live in Australia. The proposed changes take that away. 183 days outside Australia = non resident. No reviews, no appeals. Once again, I am talking about the majority of expats who have not been back to Australia for years. They have been outside Australia for more than the 46 days in the last 3 year rule. What argument do you think they can put to the ATO on their first 30% reduced pension after the 1st July 202x after the proposed changes have been passed? The government knows they have been outside Australia for years. Slightly off topic, but the British government freeze pensions when the pensioner is outside the UK. That means, no CPI increases, which, in a way, can be looked upon as a tax, or punitive measure. Is it not possible the Australian government will start collecting their 30%, whilst still giving annual CPI rises, as normal? I mentioned the cutting of supplements after 6 weeks outside Australia, despite the pension not informing Centerlink, just to show how "automatic" the system already is. It would only be a small tweak to also cut the 30%, in the same way the supplements are cut.

Old argument, discussed before. When put to the forum, not one member said they went to The Australian Embassy in Bangkok to vote at election time. So, no lost votes from expats. Why would pensioners living in a Australia vote down a law that doesn't effect them? What makes you think it even will be an election issue? Liberal proposed them, and Labor didn't bin them, so they will most likely not be an election issue. They will probably sail through parliament one day with bipartisan support.

Correct. As I said in a previous post, as per the letter of the current law, we should all be paying non resident tax right now, and that includes pensioners. Another member has also pointed this out. The reason we haven't / don't is the loopholes in the current laws. The proposed changes will close those loopholes. Thus, it's obvious to me, the proposed changes focus on enforcement. The government wants the slice of non resident taxation that they have been missing out on for decades. If the proposed changes simply said: "The aged pension is exempt" i wouldn't have even bothered posting the proposed changes all that time ago, but there is no exemption, so what does that tell you?

Ok. I'll make it more simple. What's stopping the government from doing it? There are no exemptions, means testing, asset testing, or tax free threshold changes in the proposed changes. I don't see where pensions get a free pass. The DTA was put forward, but that is for government service pensions, and that's not an aged pension from Centerlink.

You simply asked for a source and some stats, and I supplied a link. Is the information in the link wrong? If so, can you post a link showing very few Thai's live overseas, sending money back to Thailand?

I agree, but what the proposed changes seemed to be focusing on is enforcement. It makes it sooooooo easy for them to enforce non resident tax. One should ask themself "why" focus on enforcement, if they are not going to chase dollars from non residents, including pensioners. Interesting. So, in your view, an Aussie expat pensioner, who has not been back to Australia in, say, 5 years, who is clearly a non resident for tax purposes, has nothing to be concerned about. Is this not the case with the majority of expats? Many haven't back in years. This is the demographic we are discussing, not people coming and going from Australia. I find it interesting that an Aussie pensioner can go to Thailand, not inform Centerlink they are leaving the country, and "automatically" have their supplements cut off after 6 weeks. This tells me Centerlink is linked to Immigration, does it not? We have read many account of it happening. You use the word "automatically." This is one case of "automatically" having money reduced, yet, many do not consider the same system could be used for non resident pensioners. Questions: Are you at all concerned there are no exemptions for pensions mentioned in the proposed changes? Why do you think pensioners will get a free pass? I see nothing in the proposed changes exempting any non resident, no matter the size of their income being derived in Australia.

I agree. It's the same with the Thai tax in 2025. However, "That's just for guys like Paul Hogan" and "I still have a Medicare Card so I am still a tax resident" and "Albo is in now so they will not be passed" and the many other reasons put forward, were not only incorrect, but humorous, yet members truly believed them to be genuine reasons for why nothing COULD ever change for them here. I remember one member stating, "I don't earn a pension" as for why he believed the pension was not an "income." The topic has debunked a lot of these false beliefs.

I've never reported a post, ever, and I never will. This is something many members have taken advantage of in this thread. I see even after a general waning from a Mod, you are still baiting me. My 910 posts on this thread was in response to the avalanche of ridiculous reasons why none of it would ever happen, and how none of it can ever have any impact on them here in Thailand. In my opinion, this is the single biggest issue facing expat pensioners in decades. Of course, we can always talk about "portability" again, and again, and again, which has never changed, or, the best phone number for Centerlink again, and again, and again.

It's currently not enforced because the current laws are 90 years old, and based on being "domiciled" in Australia, and one's "intention" to return. This is why I, and many others, including pensioners, have NEVER paid a cent of non resident tax, when we are clearly non residents, and deriving an income from Australia, and yes, the pension is deemed an income. It's a huge loop hole. The proposed changes will close this loop hole for the government, in a way that can not be reviewed, or appealed. Immigration records showing 183 days in or out, it's will be as simple as that. Well, there really is no argument. It's there for all to see. I posted a list of all the reasons people did argue, the "Paul Hogan, Medicare Card and Albo" posts come to mind. They have all be debunked though many links, quotes, youtube videos etc, by myself, and other members. There were even members that were under the belief they still get the tax free threshold as a non resident. They were also informed that's incorrect. Can you clarify your stance? Do you think the proposed changes will be eventually passed? If passed, do you think Centerlink will automatically withhold 30% of one's pension after 183 days, in the same way they cut off the supplements? Or, if passed, do you think nothing will happen to pensions? You use the words "consider the ramifications" and that's what this topic is all about, but many put forward humorous reasons for why they think there will be no ramifications at all.

Times are changing, and so are countries. Expats need to be adaptable, or, accept they may have to pay more, in the way of tax, to continue to reside in their chosen retirement destination county.

It's well known that the Thai diaspora is quite large. 2016 stats, but even then, 1.1 million Thai's working / living abroad. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_Thai Plenty on the net about it. This was at the top of the page of a quick Google search. 1.1 million people out of around 70 million people may not sound like a lot, but picture a lot of that 1.1 million people sending money back to Thailand every week / month from working in the west and it's considerable remittances.

Should the issue return, an idea is to buy another router and connect it to the ISP's router using an ethernet cable. You then have full access to all settings, configurations, passwords etc etc because you own it. You connect your devices to your own router. No need for anything expensive. It's just to give you full and complete access to the settings of that router. Basically, just use the supplied ISP router as a gateway.

I'll give his repo another try then.

OP, you have posted about the "pros." Do you have any idea what MAY be happening in the background that could be a "con." (no pun intended)

One minor thing to consider is your passport really isn't a 10 year passport. It's actually a 9.5 year passport. You will not be allowed to board a flight with a passport with less than 6 months validity. Probably ok for a flight back to Australia, but for any other international travel, you need 6 months validity. So, best to get a new passport prior to 9.5 years. I have no idea why this rule is in place. Someone looking to have a 2 week holiday in Thailand, and they still have 5 months left on their passport, what's the problem?

Correct me if I am wrong, but I think age has something to do with renewing online. Once over a certain age, I don't think you can renew online, because you have to read the eye sight chart.