Enzian

I've already been out of the country a full 93 days so far this year, so I have some flexibility for the remainder, and the fact that my Non-O rolls over Dec. 20 seems convenient. So is there a written rule that being in country any parts of 180 days makes one a tax resident, or is 180 safe and it's 181? Also, saying they go global, how does Thailand calculate taxable income on residential rental property? Is it based on gross receipts, or gross receipts after the usual (USA) deductions for property tax, debt service, insurance, maintenance and repairs, etc.? Or something in between? Would they want to look at a US Schedule E? Or would rental income abroad be exempt? Finally now, I'm concerned about them establishing something statutory but not enforcing it, or only selectively in a few kinds of cases. Because then if we move with the herd we could always be technically in violation, they would always have a gotcha to apply, or suddenly institute on everyone. Just like it's impossible to file a US Schedule E without there being something there that the IRS could second guess: like why did you put the cost of this piece of work in current expenses and not on a depreciation schedule? Thanks.

The 35-45% is not my figure, it was part of what someone was trying to push on me as part of an argument that nothing will really change; I agree with you that the figures are absurd and can't be that high, though it's impossible to know the real figures since so much happens on a personal level. There are a couple of corresponding points, one being that many of us expats think we are more important in several ways than we really are, and therefore will be left alone, and you might agree. Another is that those who think nothing can or will happen tend to be those who own property, one or several, and their conviction smacks of wishful thinking, because if they are wrong they are going to feel very betrayed and it's not going to be pretty. Myself, I own nothing, I can stay or go, though I'd rather stay; and I have no idea how this will turn out.

Many expats (though not typical on this forum), assume that the ruling elite of this country constitutes what in economic theory is called a "rational actor". I've just had someone tell me that the 800K requirement won't be raised because that amount is enough for emergencies and medical surprises. That insurance requirements won't be changed because the present requirements are adequate to the purpose. And best of all that income taxation won't be enacted because it would drive out expats who contribute 35% to 45% of GDP and no rational actor would risk losing that. I think what's being missed is that the main concern of the power elite is not money per se but to maintain the de facto feudal system that we ourselves also benefit from. They have ways to get money, but if they were ever to lose status it would be all over.

If we want to see the baht chart continue its upward (meaning downward)movement, we should root for Srettha. If we would like not to see the Thai people suffering two or three years in the future, root for Sethaput. Unless, of course, this has in fact all been decided one way or the other and articles like this are just part of the theater.

For the record: as an official policy yes. And my FCD dollar account worked for me for 2 or 3 years till I got the same old IO gal two years in a row who got tired of checking with my bank that my FCD account was real and gave me an ultimatum: I'm going to put this visa in your passport and you are going to walk out of this cubicle and downstairs and move all those dollars into your (til then minimal) Thai baht account, and you better do it. So I did, at 33/dollar, and don't particularly regret it since I got deposit insurance by doing so. What was bad was when they stopped the affidavit method, but there was a personal upside to that which I don't need to go into. The big picture is that IOs will always differ. Sorry so long.

I might agree with you if it weren't for the realities of the educational system.

Of course it's a slow motion train wreck that even the submissive Thais understand isn't going to conclude anytime soon. But look at the bright side: the baht is at 36.9 to the $ this morning. For a long long time a 1000 baht note cost us $33; now its barely $27. And I gotta admit, the std banks here convert CC charges at a decent approximation.

AFAIK we're all still waiting to see lower prices on the shelf, in spite of what this article says. I've almost stopped looking at wine because of how absurd the prices are, though there is one Australian Chardonnay I keep on hand. Also, in this climate a glass full of ice and mixer with a spirit almost makes more sense than wine. I did pick up a 750ml of a name brand vodka at Gourmet Market recently for half of the usual price. I don't think it was a pricing error, more likely phasing out old stock for the new labels coming; it's probably dreaming to think it was because of lower taxes kicking in, but we'll see.

It's strange because in person he looks sturdy; but that's how heart conditions can be, I guess. It's not wishing him ill to hope for his early retirement. He's is definitely one of the crowd (along with Thaksin) generally making things more complicated and expensive for us ex-pats here. Every day I miss Prayuth lol.

There's that old rule not to attribute to malice what can be easily explained by stupidity, but I'm not sure she deserves the benefit of the doubt; and the results look to be the same anyway... and unending.

So this will mean I can get a Nero d'Avola red in Thailand for just a few % more than in Sicily (6 Euros and up), or a drinkable Amarone della Valpolicella from the Veneto at the same price as at Trader Joe's in California (around $25 with tax)? I can't wait!

Who knows? Maybe when the infrastructure road show reaches some saturation point, we can start talking about improving education in this country so as to take full advantage of these deals in the long run. I like the tan leather jacket he's been wearing in these recent pictures; it's a northern Italy speciality. I have a darker one like it I bought in Florence, but his is nicer.

This makes sense and is encouraging on a couple of fronts. One, Stat above (if I read correctly) suggests using a credit (not debit?) card to withdraw baht from a teller at Krungsri (my bank also), which I thought was always a no-no (though with Chase there might be some frequent flyer points advantage, not sure). Second, I've long had a question of whether to tell my son to send X number of bhat, or X number of dollar; we've always sent a round dollar figure and not tried the baht alternative. The result has seemed to be .5 or .6 below Google spot, which is discouraging but perhaps inevitable. The fee is usually $40 (or $5 sometimes if he does it on his phone). Perhaps it would be $0 if we moved larger figures, idk. Any comments on this will be appreciated. Finally, I will remark that by loading up my local baht account a bit before the end of '23, I think I can get through '24 by transferring funds only from a US account wherein the only activity is US SS deposits (in other words, no US business profits, taxed or not). That's my simple plan. And watch developments here.

So will this situation be similar to places in the US where the legal husband will still be responsible for supporting the child regardless of the known circumstances?

If you're (soon) going to run a country, you'd rather not have a failed state next door sharing hundreds of kilometers of rugged border. All kinds of things could happen to make you look bad. And it would be nice if there really had been some discussion of humanitarian assistance, not impossible.

I got my PhD from Berkeley but most of my close professors had come from Harvard, so I say I got a Harvard education in northern California. Chula is interesting because I'm planning to switch to their hospital after some unhappiness with Bumrungrad.

Looking at the above, the heat is definitely affecting a lot of people. Meanwhile I'm sitting in Berkeley where it's currently 14C.

Italy only #8 on the list? Good. Everyone stay away, the land of scams and bad food and wine. You won't like it. /s

How much longer? I left Thailand on Feb. 3, been in the US and Europe since, but am returning to BKK May 7. Could it just keep going through May and part of June?

Perhaps the PT government should keep it up with this flailing about cluelessly trying to solve problems which are ultimately structural and which they really don't want to address. ATM Google pegs the baht at 36.7; it has been falling since March 9. Let's get popcorn and see how long this can continue.

What's the punishment for noncompliance? Having to listen to a recording of Anutin giving a speech in Thai for an hour?

I read the headline like there's a new party called No Move Forward that we need to get to know. Then I remembered there already is, it's the deep state power elite.

Wouldn't he be smart to just ignore the whole thing, rather than getting people talking about it?

Southern Spain is only green if they irrigate, I'm in southern Spain, Andalusia, right now. The arabs in control stepped up irrigation on a massive large scale 800 years ago. Nothing new.

I agree and my favorite is that yellow building on the corner of Sukhumvit soi 4 across from the gas station. Does anyone bother to look at the upper floors of that eyesore? (A coat of paint would not help, the relative humidity would ruin the paint in a couple of years.) But I suggest hat the mentality behind that ugly thing is part of what makes Nana Plaza possible, so no one cares.