Restinpeace

1 minute ago, faraday said:

Yes, absolutely.

 

You ever watch any of Dr Jordan Peterson's excellent videos?

 

If not, I highly recommend them.

I have actually. I'm a huge fan especially his observations regarding western culture and religion. A true intellectual of our times.

This forum has a severe pro old age bias that has been around for decades now.

I have to say I get it though. I'm not that old..in my 40's. I find the younger crowd in Thailand to be absolutely obnoxious. They are kind of like the Danny Mac guy who has made the news recently..lots of shaved hipster hairdos, metrosexual tight jeans, and weird passive aggressive effeminate attitudes. I suspect a lot of them aren't just simply quirky but try hards with serious pathological problems.

This isn't a new thing though I remember seeing guys like this from the mid 00's onward when I first set foot in Thailand.

I wish I got to experience old school Bangkok but..ah sometimes life passes you by.

I remember this thread from way back. People don't get 100 year bans for nothing. Also, it's likely immigration targeted that specific apartment/condo block for many reasons..ie. a hub of some kind of criminal activity. If there are a LOT of foreigners overstaying in the same area then something is seriously wrong.

So maybe they got him for visa issues but decided to perma-ban him simply because he was associated or around known criminals up to a lot more nefarious activity. He only has 95 more years to go before the ban is up.

9 minutes ago, Meljames said:

 

He's eligible for the foreign earned income exemption. He's claimed he has a Thai based company that produces the videos. 

Up to $50,000 I believe. If he's making more than that he's liable for U.S. tax. Millions of youtube hits brings in a tidy sum so his tax issues probably haven't been fully realized yet.

His situation is particularly complicated because in order to claim tax exemption he would have to be receiving via online sources directly to his Thai media "company" he founded.

5 minutes ago, speedtripler said:

There is a difference in "could have"  and did damage the tracks 

For obvious reasons you do not want people putting things on the train tracks "just to see or video what happens" when the rain rolls over them

 

Every country would not approve of this idiotic behavior even though people have been putting penny's on train tracks probably  since trains were invented 

If he broke into a trainyard and "tampered" with train tracks in the U.S. it would be considered a felony. He would be seeing real jail time in federal pound me in the butt prison.

These areas are strict no go zones now due to terrorism.

58 minutes ago, dansbkk said:

As an American, he is required to pay taxes to the American Government, no matter where he is earning his money or where he is based.  Whichever company pays him for his clicks or advertising are required to report this income to the USA- IRS department.  He gets an exemption on foreign income and foreign income taxes paid, but if he is not paying foreign taxes, he owes the IRS for any income generated worldwide.  It may suck to be him if he has not been paying taxes to the American Government.

This is correct if he's receiving income from ads/youtube then he is making income as a U.S. citizen and is liable for U.S. taxes. If he's earning what I think he's earning based on millions of hits he's on the hook for probably somewhere north of 35+% in federal tax as a single unmarried male. This doesn't include state taxes either which can be extremely high if he's from any of the democrat states.

So he can wave goodbye to roughly half of his online income and whatever IRS penalities for not filing which can be really steep in the six figures range for the type of potential income he might be generating. If Thais really wanted to screw him over they can get a Thai-American with good english and U.S. citizenship to report him to the IRS.

Even if he gets married to a Thai lady he's still considered single in the U.S. so he'll be in the highest tax bracket until it's official in the U.S.

He would have been far better off paying Thai tax.

1 hour ago, speedtripler said:

 

What about a person who receives dividends + logs into the new York stock market to manage his own assets? 

 

If I bought Facebook shares today  and sell it tomorrow for a profit is that work? 

 

 

Of course it's not considered working in Thailand. None of the investments are based within Thailand and neither is the brokerage software you are using. However, if you're recieving dividends from thai mutual funds or something like that then I can see them taxing it for investment purposes but it still wouldn't qualify as working unless you're actively trading Thai stocks specifically in which case Thailand maybe has laws for that.

I don't see any gray area about this at all. He's clearly working _IN_ Thailand with thai people and the country as the focus of his material. He's also putting up the content while living within Thailand. It doesn't matter if it's media it's still producing property. The real gray area would be a digital nomad who codes for a living or does some affiliate marketing whose job is based completely abroad. A person who recieves income from owning real estate abroad and spends it in Thailand for example is not working in Thailand.

If your primary consumer market/audience is in the country you are in and you are producing content or material for them then you are working there full stop.

He should be prosecuted and deported asap.

I've lived through the rise and fall of several regimes, figureheads, and the bulk of the red shirt/yellow shirt drama in my stay in Thailand. My vote is that it's too early to tell either way. A military junta can always go horribly wrong either way but a middling fake democracy is also obviously not the answer either.

The junta is at least looking at corruption but it's too early to tell what sort of games are being played behind the scene. The usual Thai political game is to say they are fighting corruption when it's really just taking out the competition. Is that what it is right now? It could be or if you're really optimistic you could say that the junta might actually be somewhat honorable people in trying to improve Thailand.

I hope that whatever happens Thailand comes out for the better not just in the sense of economy but socially for all the Thai people. If the regime can fix the issues in the rural areas and make life more prosperous and upwardly mobile then they will have done something that no other regime has been able to achieve thus far.

Nothing has been proven about the future.

Also, the grandparent was saying “i'm preserving my liquidity and not locking my money into a very non liquid asset and potential liability”.

So I don’t think that matches what you are talking about.

Personally I consider my condo purchase part of my diversified portfolio, and a place I can live rent free while I “weather the storm”

An index fund is about as close to liquid as you can get and still be in an investment. It would literally take me a few clicks of the mouse.

Anyhow, there's no right or wrong answer here as long as you come out on top. I don't exactly look down on condo ownership because there are distinct pros to it and i've been fence sitting on whether to buy a place to live. What another user on here said wasn't entirely incorrect. Interest rates are extremey low right now and owning a condo in place of the bond portion of a person's investment portfolio can also make a lot of sense.

The risk profile for such a return is different. With the QEs that have been going on, the financial market is in for a big boom and bust.

There has been warnings that even govt bonds are not that safe, ranging from with risk of currency devaluation to default - see Greek bonds.

A well diversified portfolio of 60/40 or 70/30 of low cost stock/bond index funds has been proven to weather the storm just fine. Plus it kicks off a decent enough dividend. Of course investing in single country bonds or even a single stock is a bad idea.

The market isn't just going to belly flop forever unless you think nuclear winter and armaggedon is coming. In which case we might as well stock up on canned goods and guns too.

We're bound to have a bear market at some point but that's completely normal.

They can indeed to difficult to sell at a profit if you paid too much to begin with, but that is true in any country. It's not just Thailand where foreigners overpay. Even in UK there are stories of Chinese being sold properties 30% above market value. And it happens in holiday areas all over the world. Naive seller just jump in without having any idea of market values.

But it's not true that condos are difficult to sell. Everything ha a price. A property not selling is usually because it's overpriced. Even a complete dump in an awful location with sell at the right price. But selling at the price you want is different.

But rent and you'll always leave the property with a loss. A property doesn't always have to make a profit. The time you lived there counts for something. Some would rather spend 5 million on rent than lose 1 million on buying ans selling. It's insane.

I think you're not taking into consideration opportunity cost of investing your money into something else other than a condo. I can invest that 5 million in a business, index fund, or anything that provides a stable 6%+ return and still rent. This does not mean i'm walking away with a loss.

On the contrary, i'm preserving my liquidity and not locking my money into a very non liquid asset and potential liability.

They may be somewhat resistant to earthquakes but not resistant to impending rising groundwater in the next 50 years as Bangkok becomes slowly consumed by the ocean.

Very easy in Manila as long as you are a true tourist ! Very, very easy !

Well this true tourist didn't feel comfortable showing banking information to a lowly counter clerk (who was quite rude) in a consulate from a country known for serious corruption.

Anyhoo, I just going the visa free route. No harm no foul.

Immigration on entry does not ask for a ticket out of the country. The airline might want to see one out the country within 30 days.

Unless you have made several visa exempt entries immigration will ask for nothing.

Got it. Thanks a bunch.

The embassy in Manila is known for being difficult at times.

The supporting documents they asked for has been reported before. They should accept a condo rental. Tourists do that all time.

You can extend the 30 day visa exempt entry you will get for 30 days at an immigration office for a fee of 1900 baht,

Should I be prepared for any kind of document requests at the airport?

I assume they will ask for proof of exit flight now.

I just stopped by and tried to apply for a single entry tourist visa in the Thai consulate in Manila. The entire place was empty except for a couple people outside. What I heard from the application clerk was a bear to say the least.

They wanted the following things:

Hotel booking/Reservation. I asked them if alternatives to a hotel was ok such as condo rental. The filipino staff asked a lot of questions regarding the ownership of condo?? Apparently this is not allowed now.

Bank certification or copy of credit card. They wanted a full print out of the bank statement showing funds.

Airline ticket reservation (round trip only)

All I can say is..wow. I think i'll just do the visa free entry and shorten my stay to 1 month instead of the 2 months I originally planned.

Thank you for the support and many of the private comments i've received since I posted this topic. I am making good progress with my alcoholism.

The violence when i'm drunk is not rational. I'll throw a chair at a wall, smash a glass, punch a hole in the wall, or kick down a door for no apparent reason when alone. If someone talks with me even in a completely normal manner i'll view it as something aggressive when drunk and it will escalate quickly. These are all things told to me from people who have observed my behavior. It's awful.

I definitely don't have bully tendencies and feel repulsed at the thought of harming people when i'm sober. I can't explain it myself.

I really cringe when I read some of the stuff in this thread such as referring to Filipinos as:

The trailer trash of Asia

Lazy corrupt thieves

Aboriginals

Flips

etc..

Trust me this reputation is wholely undeserved for most Filipinos. The Philippines is a crushing and soul destroying hard place for your average lower income Filipino.

The wealthy families in the Philippines have zero interest in helping out their fellow Filipino. At least wealthy Thais will occasionally throw a bone to the poorer Thais and invest in infrastructure. Wealthy Filipino elite would sooner piss on a burning poor Filipino then hand him a peso. I am not exaggerating there is nothing but scorn and disdain from those on top. The power is checked through violence and extreme corruption.

What can the people do? The country is fragmented into island states that are all controlled by powerful families with their own private armies. The people are powerless. The main island of Luzon may improve slowly but the country as a whole is an extreme basket case.

My last exit from Thailand was Jan. 30 and I haven't been back for about 6 months.

However, in the past 4 years I admit I have quite a few back to back visas in my passport from the distant past (around 2012) but haven't done this in the past couple of years. The last time I visited Thailand it was only for a month.

Will they look at the history of my back to back visas back in 2012 in my passport and reject me on the spot?

Thanks.

It sounds like they have it all wrong. They should be focusing on _middle class_ tourists and not rich tourists. The truly rich are generally value takers. They already have well connected rich friends within the country who will comp them just for the business and social connections. The middle class are the ones who spend tons of money on kitsch and "tourist" experiences. However, the problem here is that Thailand has limited middle class appeal. Bangkok is no New York or London when it comes to cultural impact. Phuket is no South Beach or Riviera. There are no decent theme parks, icons, etc.. which make people immediately fascinated with Thailand at the global level.

Thailand's most famous cultural export is the food, ladyboys, and cheap sex with above average looking women the bulk of the real spenders are hard up young men with permanent stiff ones looking to relieve the pressure. This is not going to change anytime soon. If you take out what makes Thailand special at the moment you are looking at the possibility of no tourists at all.

I'm not sure if Eric Levine is solely responsible for this scheme. It's "unusual" that Major would have the wherewithal and advanced knowledge to dump their shares in the company before everything went south. That's very fishy. Sounds like you had multiple people in positions to loot the company and distanced themselves liability wise when the time was right. Mr. Levine was probably in on it too but he most likely wasn't the sole perpetrator.

Huh? Why would it be unusual? You think the Thai majority owner if a company allows him to just empty money out of a company.

Now that would be a first in the history of Thailand. If this is a scam it would have been known to all from the beginning. Why wouldn't major as a shareholders not be chasing Mr, Levine all over the world for fraud?

I don't think you understand what i'm saying. Major was probably in on it as well. If a company has enough insider knowledge to sell their shares high before things go south it indicates advanced knowledge of what was going on. They may have found it convenient to pump and dump their stock while conveniently sidestepping criminal liability which they know would be coming in the future. Now the focus is solely on the farang owners which is pretty convenient wouldn't you say?

I see two crimes here:

Outright wire fraud/accounting manipulation of the books.

Insider trading

The insider trading activity by the Thai shareholders will probably be overlooked.