ronnie50

Now who's speculating?

In 2021, with an income Gini coefficient of 43.3 percent, Thailand still had the highest level of income-based inequality in EAP, and it ranked as the 13th most unequal of the 63 countries for which income Gini coefficients are available Source: World Bank https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/thailand/publication/bridging-the-gap-inequality-and-jobs-in-thailand#:~:text=In 2021%2C with an income,income Gini coefficients are available.

Also, the plane did not 'veer' off the runway. It used up all 9,000+ feet of it and then contnued skidding across the grass at the end of the runway before colliding with the structure. Doesn't look like it veered on the grass either. So it wasn't able to slow down, and there doesn't appear to be any foam deployed on the runway - and hitting that structure appeared unavoidable.

The runway at Muan (01/19) is 9,186 feet long. Bangkok average runway length is 13,123 feet long and 197 feet wide (runway 2). Maybe thrust reversers on a 737-800 would be jammed during a belly landing if they are mounted to the engines?

It ran out of runway, onto the grass and hit that wall (is it a barrier or is it an actual building?). Why would there be a solid structure like that so close to the end of the runway? Also, isn't it SOP to foam the runway when a belly landing is unavoidable? Looks like the plane is skidding all along the hard surface of the runway and not slowing at all (no thrust reverse?).

Having had hundreds of (legit) massages in Thailand through the years, I can tell almost immediately, if I'm going to get a massage from someone well-trained. As soon as the masseuse lays a hand on your feet at the beginning of a Thai massage or foot massage, she (or he) should bend your feet back and forth and then massage the lower legs one by one for a a few minutes. If they, instead, immediately reach for the lotion bottle, I know I'm not getting a foot massage - just an hour of someone slathering my legs with lotion. Once I find a good masseuse trained at Wat Po (or trained by someone who went through that training), I make a note of their name and become a repeat customer. On Thai massage, in a new place, I ask for a one hour massage - if it's good (again I can tell if the first few minutes) I might ask for 90-120 minutes. If not good, I put up with her thumbs digging into me for an hour - and never return.

Hmm, is Thaksin getting too big for his britches again? Maybe, probably (IMO) but depends who you ask. But, hmm, isn't Naew Na the official mouthpiece of the Democrat Party? (LOL: Democrat Party - with a headline 'Who are you?" - indeed).

My understanding is there are only a small handfull of families that control the retail and food/grocer industries in Thailand. The two biggest, the above CP family and the creators of the Central Patanna family are at the top of the heap. The latter (I recall) owns all the Central group of shopping centers and department stores, Robinson, Power Buy, Super Sports, Big-C, Tops, (maybe Villa), B2S, Office Mate, Centara Hotels Group, and many other subsidiairies including property development (office and residential), and many others. The other few of that small handful are Bill Heneke who owns Minor Foods (I think that is KFC, Pizza Company, DQ, others), the family behind the Mall Group (Paragom, Em Quartier, and all the other "M" malls). And a few other super-rich like the Chang liquor baron. At the end of the day, it's quite difficult in the major cities to find any real competition other than the above. There is a second tier that is still way up there, like the owners of hospitality chains (e.g. another hotel groups like Dusit, and food subsidiaries like Tim Hortons).

Interesting, didn't know that. Thanks. So then it's not so bad for most, provided their overseas employer is not paying the individual's salary from funds sourced in the US. Dual nationals would probably gain quite nicely from this if they prove they live and work in a 3rd country (other than Canada, which I think has some treaty with US making it harder to avoid US tax abroad).

As far as I understand it, yes. Curious if you (or others) are getting the UK State Pension and, if so, does UK tax it at source? I read somewhere they don't - but it means filing tax returns each year (and paying back the tax). You or anyone know for sure?

I'm not American, but that is indeed news to me. So you're saying Americans working abroad are exempt from taxation up to USD 99,000 per year? (provided they do some extra paperwork?). Wouldn't that be kind of common knowledge?

Maybe it's the word 'tax resident' - I know what you mean though, you must pay taxes at source if it was earned in your country of nationality. However, I'm not considered a tax resident of my country(ies) for example.. but if I earned money there, regardless of where I am resident, they'd tax it at source.

Thanks for sharing the PWC link. I've read through it before. Not clear if it's up to date though. Also, I still don't understand how the Thai tax authorities would be able to determine if I'm just transfering foreign currency from a passive savings account, or whether it's interest earned from such an account or otherwise. Do they ask to see all your overseas bank account statements? Anyway, we're getting off topic. My fault.

Interesting about capital gains. In my home country, if you are non-resident, interest earned on term bank deposits is not taxed at source there. It's by design - national legislation - because it's what they consider a benign 'armslength' transaction in which the non-resident had no activity. So Thailand shouldn't have any right to tax it either - or maybe they would - we'll find out at some point..

Some posters above say there are lots of 6 month leases available. That's never been my experience. But maybe.

Not naive, but you're right, I should have said "wealthier expats" or "more well-off expats". It's that upper-middle-class expat I was thinking about - the 4-5 million baht a year types. The yacht reference was a jibe.

Thanks. Very useful.

Yes, correct. With a million other people doing a million different things there. Never any place to park, but, yes, that one near Chatuchak. Do you recommend another place?

Changwattana for the O visa and the main Land Transport Dept for the Thai license renewal. I recall they also make you watch a video and then take a color/colour blind test. I guess a medical can be done at a clinic (not a hospital?)

My Immigration office appointment is coming up to change from Exemption stamp to 'O' with the intent to apply for retirement extension. I have the TM30, lease agreement, receipts, etc., and I already have a bank account (my name only) with the funds transferred and more. Do you think they (IO) would also give me a Certificate of Residency at this stage, or would I need to wait for O-Extension? (I lived and worked many years here, so fingers crossed I have enough docs to make it a one-stop wonder). I ask, because my Thai driving license is coming up for renewal next year, my passport number on it is old, and I read somewhere they ask for a Res Cert to renew (and would an O visa be sufficient?)

Is your friend single and does he own a place in Thailand? That's the ony way I can see that working. If you rent a condo, in Bangkok or Pattaya, or wherever, it's probably on a one-year lease, but I guess there are ways around that..

That's true enough (cooler though still humid). Rainy season takes a break usually mid-July to mid-August. But Sept/Oct can be pretty heavy.

Now, that's cutting it close!

Sure, decent plan, but Autumn in Thailand is rainy season and September and October are the worst (flooding, downpours)

Does anyone know (for a fact) if foreigners are not offered the better locked-in rates? In other words, are Thai customers at the same bank accessing better rates than foreigners with existing accounts there? I noticed the adverts above from Krungthai are in English - are they in Thai too?