Enzian

These reforms will be hampered by the government's reputation for setting new conditions and then changing then again in a few years. And how can any foreigner make investment plans in regard to RE until the tax situation is clarified and settled, which doesn't look to be happening any time soon?

So if during this calendar year I remit to Thailand only (1) US SS monies from a dedicated account in the US, and (2) 100,000 baht profits from my business in the US (operated by my son), I should not have to file a Thailand personal income tax return. Correct?

But I've also read in more than one place (one might have been official, can't recall) that one has the option to deduct actual expenses; but I believe that some think that the 30% deduction is the only option. With the actual expenses option I could just show them my Schedule E, though I doubt they would be thrilled by that. But with 30% only, I would have to leave the country; I've brought this up before. Does anyone have anything definitive?

It almost seems like the Thai attitude is that if there is a possibility of getting something for nothing (foreigner tax money in return for no extra rights or benefits) we might as well try it and see how it works out. It won't work out, no more than Ms Harris' fond hopes worked out.

I think where I wasn't clear is that my US SS is not enough alone for my annual cash needs here, so I need to fudge somewhere in order to bring in enough to cover my total spending here. If a certain amount of otherwise assessable money flies below some exemption threshold(s), then that's a place to start. I also question if anything at all will be enforced this year, which is a reason to leave as much SS money as possible for next year in the event that the odds of enforcement increase. I hope that makes sense. Thanks.

What about a plan to remit a small amount of assessable income (be it 60K THB, or 150K, or 210K, or whatever) here at the end of the year (below some threshold of filing or reporting, and please advise), after all year only remitting provable US SS monies from a dedicated account? Reason being to let the pot/account of SS sitting in the US continue to accumulate into next year when there may be a greater chance of some tax thing actually being put into effect? Or am I confounding the remittance scheme and the possible WW PIT scheme? (And you may say that such confounding is what the TRD is already doing.) Thanks.

"Laws" seem selectively enforced on people who seem to have lots of money, but not on that increasing number of guys standing on Sukhumvit around Nana station who keep whispering Need something? Can I help you?

Can I do my 90 day report in person at CW on the same day I'm out there to do my Non-O extension (which is due Dec. 20)? The 90 day point from my recent return from Europe will be Sunday December 22 I believe; the 75 day point is Sat. 7th, so say Monday Dec. 9 or that week. Thanks.

Wow, just wow. Does anything get any more soap opera than this?

Careful what you wish for. Mine is an unpopular opinion, but when Prayuth was in charge were we expats even imagining that we might some day be taxed up the wazoo for our offshore income? Of course Prayuth stood for status quo in the extreme, but we knew where we stood, and it's hard to believe that Thailand won't have at least some form of ongoing oligarchic rule--at least in our lifetimes. So at least consider the lesser evil.

But do the two have an extradition agreement? For example, if a person flees to Vientiane after failing to pay their assessed worldwide income taxes in Thailand, will Laos honor a Thai government request to send that person back to Thailand to face the music? Asking for a friend.

Y Quynh Bdap is a Vietnamese Montagnard activist being held in Bangkok Remand Prison. A couple of weeks ago a Thai court decided to approve a request by the Vietnamese government that he be extradited to Vietnam on charges of terrorism. His case is complex, but it can be assumed that at least some voting UN members are aware of his situation.

This scheme is an early step on the way to a Universal Basic Income (being paid to simply exist, since robots will do all the work and no one needs their brainless asses anyway). Combined with a cashless society where the government knows every detail.

Is it possible the BOT is not concentrating on inflation, but rather on discouraging borrowing and reducing the amount of household debt--something that the banks themselves should be doing through their underwriting practices but aren't doing very well? Also, higher--or rather, historically normal--rates should encourage saving in preference to consumption, which would improve household balance sheets. I can't see these current rates leading to deflation; I suspect it would take stronger medicine for that.

Banks in Thailand have a quirk that Westerners are not used to, for example my gf owes money to a government agriculture bank, which clearly sees her entire family as the unit they deal with, not just her alone. For the security on the loan she took out, the bank did not want the land she was borrowing to buy, but rather her parents larger parcel, but it was not them borrowing the money.

I was just in Poland for a month (I'm US citizen), in which time I was denied a senior discount in museums, on trains, etc. only once or twice out of dozens of entries and rides of many kinds. Thailand and Thai Air need to catch up with the world.

Your profile picture certainly relates. Do aspiring cats feel left out?

So will Immigration be one of those "state agencies" going paperless? Or is it simply an arm of the RTP and therefore not a state agency? While they are at it, could they improve and make tighter their underwriting criteria for banks giving out loans to people with little ability and almost no intention of repayment?

Thanks. Itemizing with receipts is exactly what a Schedule E is, so could I just show them a copy of my Schedule E? It will include property taxes in Alameda Co. CA, depreciation schedules going back years, cost basis calculations perhaps, insurance and utilities records, paperwork receipts from contractors and subcontractors, materials receipts from lumberyards and plumbing supply companies 8,000 miles away, and so on. If they will accept that, and more, then I'm clear. Edit: Assuming no big problem with differences in bracket rates I guess.

The problem, as I understand it, is that Thailand has a completely different way of calculating "taxable income" starting from gross receipts on rental property than does the US. The US IRS has one fill out a Schedule E which can (depending on how busy you've been) reduce one's taxable income to a small fraction of the gross receipts for the year. Thailand, I've been told, is not interested in your US Schedule E; they give a standard deduction of 30% of your gross and then tax you on the resulting figure. So one could have a gross of $500,000 but still plausibly have a US "taxable income" of $50,000 depending on various circumstances, and your tax would be in the low 5 figures. But Thailand would see your taxable income as $350,000 ($500,000 minus 30%), to be taxed at 35%, resulting in a tax liability of maybe $100,000 or so after the US credit. If I'm getting this all wrong, please inform.

What's the lawmaking process for such proposed legislation to (ever) become final, and what are some possible timelines?

My Thai gf once flipped out when I was greeted in public by a woman I had seen earlier--at her, not at me.

Is that a snake in your pants or are you just happy to see me?

For every one of these kind of articles/proposals and similar I simply wanna write "Just shut up and improve education for the masses."

This dumb topic must have been thrown in because of the new PM, but all she proves is that nepotism is alive and well, as if we didn't know. But seriously, I honestly wish her better luck than her aunt had.