khunPer

It's like the length of a rubber band – i.e., it's depending of your life-style and amount of local company – do you wish a 5-start suite or a more humble 1-star bedroom without a window (the latter is about 400-500 baht per night); and do you wish company by locals, and in what quality, and how many?.. For modest accommodation (with window) and meals, and a few soft drinks or a few a bit stronger drinks, you can count something like 1,500 baht per day; not including company by locals...

It's depending of the local immigration office and their rules. I was rejected my extension of stay last time (October), because I didn't register after a short trip abroad with re-entry permission. The rules where I stay is that just a stay outside of the province, I need to re-register in the TM30-system (I can do it myself online as "host" of my house).

I took a break from weed after my rock bands Easter-tour in 1970, still waiting to get back...

From my knowledge and experience, it's the Court that sets the size of compensation, and that includes compensation for one's legal fees. We have a similar system in my home country, where the Court however specify the legal fees in the compensation; they are (very) low and can be 1/10th or less of actual lawyer costs.

No.

Me too, nothing here in Maenam; but we had a blackout Saturday night from about midnight for around 5-6 hours due to a high-power line on the Ring Road between soi 1 and soi 3 had fallen down, or something like that.

I don't recall that the former government talked about casino, but the present does...

In case the immigration officer at next extension of stay-application checks the bank account for balance during the previous 12 months – they often require photocopies of all pages in a bankbook since last extension of stay – your father cannot extend his stay based on retirement and needs to leave the country, and start all over again with a new non-immigrant O-visa. My advise is always: If you can afford, deposit the 800k baht in a 12-months fixed account and just leave them there. Once a year you can withdraw the interest, but never let the balance go just one satang under 800k. Using a fixed account gives better interest, and it also makes it difficult by accident to use any of the retirement deposit-funds. Furthermore, it easy for the immigration officer to check that the financial conditions have been kept.

Indeed it's true, there are probably plenty of experienced long-stay forum-member that can confirm that... If you are looking for company else than shorter periods of pay-and-pay, you need to be aware of being a good family-provider. Furthermore, the Thai meaning of "handsum" is linear equal to size of updated number in the bankbook – many a Thai lady is looking for a handsum relationship – the risk we long-stayers with a fixed partner face is that if the partner meets someone more handsum, then we might we realize the benefits of pay-and-play...😎

With the former government's aim for "quality tourists", thing like this would not be needed, quality tourists can afford both to buy travel insurance and spend some money domestically...

Here is a scan of the official POA-form – my girlfriend normally keeps one – both the person giving POA and the one that receives it shall sign, plus two witnesses; furthermore, the ID-number of the person giving power is going into the square at lower left...

If OP use the Koh Samui-immigration office, they didn't care about TM30-copy for a 30-day extension back in February; but of course always best to bring one, the document checker will just hand the photocopy of the unwanted TM30 back.

I can predict my experience for Samui (I'm resident): If not many then about one hour or less; if many, then around a couple of hours. The immigration office (it's in Maenam Soi 1) is less busy about an hour after lunch; i.e., if coming about 2 pm for a queue number and document check with prefilled form (must be the paper-form supplied by the office and available downstairs), signed photocopies and passport size photo.

3 months if you are backpacker...

When my girlfriend and I have been using POA, we always use the pre-printed standard Thai-form available from paper stores and like stores. The POA must be in Thai language. The person that gives POA needs to include signed photocopies of ID-cards and house book (or probably other address confirmation) – passport's name page iso ID-card if previous owner is a foreigner – and the form needs to be signed by two witnesses, who also must supply signed photocopies of ID-cards. When copying a Thai ID-card, you must have both front and back on the same piece of paper in portrait copy; just mentioned, in case you in the Land Transport Office meet someone that insists on it. Normally the photocopy-shop will know how to copy ID-cards. When we have been transferring motorbike or car to a new owner, it has never been necessary to sign anything in green or blue books; but something might have changed recently.

Anybody that knows when khun Anutin changed the law from 30 years to 50 years..? Thai Newsroom writes, what is normally common knowledge...

Enjoy it fully – if you are prepared to be a provider and can afford it – I talk from experience...

Depending of which place you chose for your massage. If it's on 2nd floor on Sukhumvit's lower numbers in Bangkok, the massage girl might say: "You shy", if you keep your underpants on. However, other places they might refuse you, if you don't wear underpants... I'm not sure if a towel in general works, but it however works well when I'm having a massage lady to come and give me private oil massage in my penthouse spa; the towel is just used to cover some parts of me, and she controls it. So, having a private spa-room and a regular masseuse might be a solution for you, if you want to use only a towel....

Kind explanation to your statement about savings and investment, investment is not different from savings. Thai foreign income tax might well be based with Scandinavia as role model.

This is the present Thai income tax, we don't know details about how foreign income will be taxed. And "pension" might be covered by a DTA and therefore not double taxed, if the tax paid at source is higher than Thai income tax. You need to carefully read the DTA for home country in question, they are different.

Depending of local tax rules – in my country "investment" is savings. If I buy stock for my savings of cash money in my home's hidden safe, it's still my savings, but I might have gain or loss on my savings – it's advised to invest one's savings for better gain than just bank interest. Even "invested" retirement savings are taxed, and it's after the "inventory method", no matter if the gain originates from interest or capital gain. For private savings we can choose an inventory taxed savings account with a maximum deposit limit – savings shall be placed in stock exchange traded stocks – and inventory gains will be taxed at a slight lower rate than normal income tax, which is as low as 17%. Or we can "invest" and pay dividend tax from 27% to 42% and capital gain tax of the profit when sold, but at normal income tax rate, which can be as high as 52%. Thailand might look at the Scandinavian method for efficient income tax of savings.

Thanks for your reply, and it's not only in my country the system is like that, it was just an example. The main problem with Thai income tax of foreigners right now is that we lack clear rules about how, it will be imposed. Prime minister Srettha Thavisin mentioned taxation as "interest", which is a flat rate of 15 percent. However, it's not anything final. The only final thing we to my knowledge know right now is that the Thai government will tax foreign income from this year, and everything before this year – i.e., value per 31st December 2023 – is considered as tax free savings. For us with smaller income transferred to Thailand, which are not covered by a DTA, it might not be a major problem, while for those with larger funds transferred it can be a huge problem; or make them make a move to another more income tax-friendly place. The worst case scenarios is however, the suggestion of income tax on all foreign income or gain, no matter if it's transferred into Thailand or not. Unfortunately, this is how several country's income tax-system works, so not unlikely, if Thailand for example use the Scandinavian countries as role model, which has been mentioned...

No, depending on local tax rules. In my home country for example, you can pay tax of unrealized capital gain on stocks, but also deduct any present loss in future gains for taxation. So, your saving's gain are taxed after the inventory method; i.e. you inventory of savings at year end minus previous year end-value, if any gain in value, you pay tax, even you haven't sold anything or seen any cash.

I don't agree – stock value is savings, savings are not only cash without interest or other gains – your capital gain before 1st January 2024 is savings by Thai rules, as it's earned the year before. It's capital gain after 1st January that is taxed. However, in a country with capital gain tax at selling time – where the rule has been due the whole period the stocks have been owned – it would be your whole capital gain that shall be taxed. In some countries you will be taxed after "inventory" – i.e., value at year-end – which means that you pay tax of unrealized capital gain of your savings, and you therefore might be forced to sell out of you savings to pay tax of money that you have not yet capitalized.

No, your capital gain is taxable, according to my understanding of the new rules – based on following what is normal practise in tax rules – when you sell $1,000 of your $2,000 stock value, you sell half of the stocks, and that half has a gain, as the original purchase price was $500. However, your capital gain before 1st January 2024 – i.e. your stock value per 31st December 2023 – are savings; so, in principle it's your 2024-capital-gain that is the income taxable amount. You need documentation to prove it.