Presnock

Actually, I blv that the Thailand AMerican Chamber of Commerce came to the embassy and offered to provide this informtion. That is why ThaiAMCHAM members get free and if one is employed locally and is a member, they can join the AMCHAM but the original message today on this forum provided a code so that Anyone can register free. I did so...I am retired and wrote that in the work place and I was approved for the meeting. I will pass on whatever I learn if it is actually definitive for Americans (or other nationalities since I read that there are 59 Thai-(other countries) with tax agreements. I sure don't wish to have the Thais charging me tax on my pension even though the US IRS would lower my tax rate so that I wouldn't really lose any money but I just don't want to even have an "extra" requirement to be here i.e. 90-day report although online is super easy, TM30 although not OUR requirement but immigration does require some of US to do that but again online is really easy and even the once a year long-stay reporting - immigration locally has done wonders compared to what we used to have to go through for any of these (except tm30 although old just surfaced again 5 years or so ago). Maybe the 90-day and TM-30 will go away some day in the future. All the storage for the paperwork must fill up several warehouses by now! Next week, immediately after the session with the AMCHAM folks, I will post something on this forum. Hopefully, it will be definitive and accurate as to what will occur with the taxation program.

You don't need to be employed in Thailand or anywhere. As mentioned by the originator here, if you are not a member of Thai AMCHAM, you can still register free using the code listed above. Check it out as several have okay'd "free" registration.

The free promo code was used to register so I will listen and provide whatever is pertinent for anyone. Hopefully it will be definitive so that all will be clear for all of us no matter how we live here.

Yes I registered free with the promo code provided. No problem and I will definitely listen in on the 15th. If nothing else, I will provide my "two cents" worth afterwards if no one else does. Thanks for the code.

Thanks for the info, I did the "free" registration for the seminar and will be listening on the 15th. Hope they have valid up to date info and that it is definitive for what the tax if any will be.

As a US tax-paying citizen who resides in Thailand, I would think that the US Embassy/State Department should be responsible for any changes by the Thai government on the tax situation of US sourced funds since the IRS takes our money every year legally and that if they are going to be required to refund us or lower our next year's tax bill, then it should officially notify us of those changes. SInce the US and Thai governments have an official treaty on the taxing of our money, then the US govt or their representative embassy should be keeping US citizens aware of any of those changes. If they do not then we as citizens should advise our Congress reps and American Citizens Abroad organizations of this shortfall in providing this information. After all, it is not a secret and affects all Americans in Thailand over 180 days a year and we deserve at least a note for our taxes paid each year. My opinion anyway and I do not understand why I should have to join the Thai AMCHAM as I am a retired US citizen and this information should be broadcast widely for all foreigners located in Thailand.

Used to be in the US, (which has one of the largest allowed immigrants) now mostly illegal but get those bennies. Before when they arrived, within a week they were called Americans and roamed around until they found a job and a place to stay. Now they come in legally and illegally (immigration courts take years before they can hear the pleas for asylum and they congregate in one location until they can control the area and begin to try to change the US into the same state as their former country from which they fled. This is driving the far-right politicians to be able to win and screw up the whole government. It is happening around the world except in those countries controlled by autocrats - Russia, China, N. Korean, Iran - they sure don't have immigrant problems like the rest of the "western" nations nor do those living in the sand and stone ages. Sure makes for a world different than that in which I grew up.

Same thoughts about the Afghani'... In Iran 1989- same thing...the Shah wasn't his oldself, at that time women had total freedom, were going to college free, free medical etc...they traded that so that those priests in exile (France) could come back and make women be slaves again! got what they deserve for sure but now the rest of the world will be having bigger problems with the Iranians...just wait, like "little rocket man" once he got nukes...Chinese lost any control they had over him. The last time a military general tried to disobey the politicos, (MacArthur) check out what happened to that WWII hero. Austin can only bow down to the President and the Congress.

Ever since VN, the politicians control what the military can do....

Started in Korea - government politicions continue to want to control every conflict the US military is involved in. Our troops get on set of rules that WE must abide by while the enemy does whatever they want to do...see it every time! The AFGHAN MOUNTAIN folks beat the Brits, the Russians and the US - and what did they end up with? Back to the stone age, just where the men want their women to be - slaves only!

hey he isn't yellow, did you hear him say he was awarded a US Naval Academy chance but decided to go to Delware State instead - oh yeahj just another f'n lie from the # 1 politician...almost lies as much as Trump - another real hero except or heel spurs.

Except maybe the world...sems even within "developed" counries there are daily reports of heated arguments leading to peoples' deaths. No one seems happy lately except a few of us in Thailand. Now they will have the winter weather to add to their woes.

Yeah they are chomping at the bit...uh failing economies too! They won't be able to send any military so the locals will bleed them dry just like they did the Russians in Afghanistan.

Yeah now Iraq seems to be a failed state...if there was no oil then the west would depart quickly. Just like such a great success in Afghanistan - now that country is back to the stone age. All those females that had jobs, were going to school, etc are now back sitting on floor at home. Another wasted country their people and the US debt.

like the article also reported that the crowd joined in the singing and dancing as they obviously LIKED it. I did not see any photos of "scantily" costumes, as a matter of fact see them with sexier clothes on daily tv in Thailand!

I have studied Thai and Vietnamese among the 10+ foreign languages I have studied. I found them more difficult due to tonal sounds versus the different writing system. My daughter a native born Thai/American speaking native fluency in both, also has studied Chinese (5 years) and Korean and as a native speaker of Thai and tones, easily mastered the Chinese speaking without giving it a thought. She also taught herself Korean well enough to pass the level 4 international Korean proficiency test. She continues her study of Korean as she wants to improve her test score and eventually get an advance degree in that language. If one really wishes to learn a foreign language there are a multitude of teachers that can help based on how the student learns. This has been explained to me by my daughter as she has also taught Thai students in Chinese, Korean, English and others in Thai so she told me that each student learns languages in a different way. Works for her!

Based on other problems that they have faced over the years and what they did, they invited "expert" from the developed countries - Japan, US, EU or Singapore even to see if there was a fix that could be done locally. Seems that they couldn't agree with the experts as it might cost too much or too advanced for the locals to accept such a drastic change. I would imagine now though that the elite folks would be tired of having an official language (English) that so many citizens cannot comprehend let alone speak, read and write. There are many organizations that have contacts willing to assist the Thais - I would imagine that with so many students opting to go overseas, it might impact the number of schools tutoring or sole teaching English so that the students can apply for foreign universities. I would think that the public would want their children to get properly trained in English in any case but just too many continue to accept longer hours and too many hours spent in religious, local customs, animist beliefs, regional and ethnic and cultural practices rule over regular academic subjects. In addition to regular holidays, the Thai govt likes to add a weekday to a weekend to extend some holidays. Stats can be googled if one is interested in seeing how Thailand stacks up against other countries. Literacy rating is high but after 15 years of age or so, it seems the youth are disengaged from the work force and are unemployed. Over 50% of Thai students want to study abroad - knowing that is one of the only ways to get ahead locally. Mostly, the stats show Thailand to be in the middle half for many different areas. But, stats can sometimes be interpreted in different ways to benefit certain groups and I think that happens here as it would be naturaly for parents to want the best for their child but TIT so it only works for some. Good luck for sure...we were lucky, finding a school like Chiang Mai International School - made our daughter wanting to actually go to school every day! Making learning fun and beneficial for the future!

You got that right...I am an American, have paid my taxes every year religiously and when Trump was president he jumped at the tax break too....for the billionaires!!!! and big business while we in the middle class continue to be pushed lower and lower with the tax breaks we don't get and meanwhile due to the fewer taxes from the rich, during Trump's 4 years in power, our debt zoomed 8 trillion dollars!! It continues under Biden...but with the Congress we have, they won't fix any of the problems while they continue to blame Biden...I am definitely not a Biden fan but nowadays not a fan of any US politicians! Our Congress refused to even floor a bill that would not allow them to continue with insider trading - from their sometimes very late (by law) in reporting the same some are trading in the 10's of millions...that is why they all retire (on a yearly benedfit from the govt) as millionaires - they or their family - like Pelosi she and her husband reportedly around 6-700 million...Pelosi 200 million - higherst govt salary as Speaker of the House was latest around 255K but as a regular congress person 80K less than that. Seems to be criminal in my mind anyway.

Most elementary schools I have seen, have Thai English teachers, they learned English in the Thai schools...need I say more?

Hit the nail directly on the head there! I speak Thai fairly fluent. My daughter is a freshman at Chulalongkorn Univ. she graduated HS from ChiangMai International School- studied Chinese for 5 years including AP Chinese, worked as Chinese Teacher's aide one year, taught Chinese at a (Muslim) HS near CMIS, taught herself from age 15 (while studying Chinese in HS at the same time) Korean language and has been able to pass level four in the intenational TOPIK (test of proficiency in Korean), native speaker of Thai and English. When she first went to elementary school here in Bangkok, we moved and selected a school reputed to teach English well, (wrong) so after that first year we moved to another part of the city to a school reputed to have great English teaching (within the first 2 months they fired most of their western English speaking teachers and hired Filippinos) so moved again to another school, great reputation pre-k to 12th grade, lots of western teachers...but after the first year, they dropped all above 6th grade and fired some westerners (this school had a 2-year waiting list for entrance - some got in line when they learned they were pregnant) then, they greatly expanded the pre-k and Kindergarten because they could charge more (3 teacher per class to take care of the young ones). I would check my daughter's English homework and noted many errors in the teacher's-prepared homework so I would correct same with a red-pencil and wrote a note asking to meet with the teacher. Upon that meeting, I learned that they were not allowed to ask the western English speakers about any written assignments as those were prepared by the school director and although I was showing them how they were wrong, the teachers said that they could not correct the students either. So, I made the trip to the director, and after 20 minutes of listening while she explained how great she was and her credentials, I showed her several of my daughter's homework assignments. She noted immediately my corrections in RED and said that she would not change anything and who was I to correct her work? Of course I laughed even knowing how that would upset her but I just couldn't contain my disdain for such comments. I was a professional translator from foreign languages to English for US govt officials so I needed to be proficient in my native language. We left again, moved to CM, Rangsit University had just opened a newly built school there. We jumped into that first year - learned although Rangsit had a great reputation in their satit language teaching (Bangkok) so we quickly learned this new school would not be so great nor even close to that in Bangkok so moved on to CMIS and our daughter bloomed tremendously in learning. It suddenly became more fun the more she learned. Even with the pandemic closures, CMIS had already obtained an online training program from Singapore because the school had to close due to pollution before the COVID became rampant here so CMIS kids never missed any schooling. Our daughter is doing well here in Bangkok is happy and continues her foreign-language studies. We were lucky that we could find such a school here, and note many times that other families have been having the same negative feelings about the local schools. Thais spend more hours in school that most of the top schools in the world yet learn very little in compared test results with the foreign students. I realize that there are some students with great parents that enable their child to do well but that is the exception, not the rule. From reading some not to long ago reports schoolbooks were to be upgrade, notebooks were to be provide to all the secondary school kids, etc but then we read about budget cuts and those upgrades seem to be chopped at the beginning...but yeah submarines or frigates are more important that kids learning! Ido believe all the studies show that one cannot cure poverty by throwing money at it...but it gets the votes I guess so what counts? This is factual as far as my daughter was concerned...I do not know how other families feel about this.

Well 50 years ago I went to Laos too. The "hotel" I stayed in had folks speaking English - maybe not perfect but I spoke Thai and they are close enough that we could always end up satisfying whatever we needed to know. As an American native, I realize that most native born Americans are not bi-lingual nor do they want to spend the time learning a foreign language. US govt agencies cannot even fill their vacant billets for foreign language speaking Americans (i.e. the US State Department online jobs mentions that several years ago State could fill only 24% of their foreign-language billets. Around 1980 or so, the US High Schools dropped the graduation requirement for studying a foreign language, usually French or Spanish is an example of the Americans not willing to put in the time necessary to learn another language and now with AI there are new APPs that enable folks to "get by" in many different languages. I don't believe one can really understand the cultures of a foreign people unless they can actually converse with them. I have been fortunate enough to study over 10 different languages.

Absolutely not!

Years ago (at least 48, I was assigned to Thailand with my family. There was a radio station that played the English soundtrack for foreign movies, news programs, etc. Prior to that, there were many US bases here in Thailand with 100's of thousand of US military. Yet during those times too, one would think that English would have at least gotten off the ground but TIT and their xenophobia. Instead of fighting those different, they appear to sign treaties with foreigners but only to keep a certain distance from them so that the powers that are can better control the masses. My opinion anyway as I havelived/worked in most of the ASEAN except for Cambodia and yes, over a span of 50 years Thailand always has ranked the lowest on the locals' English speaking. Many can read English but I am not always sure that they understand it. The folks that do speak English usually have gone to schools outside of Thailand and they went to internal schools that probably had a fairly good English program or private tutoring. My younger daughter at first went to elementary schools that had a reputation for English language but we learn fairly quickly (or not so quickly as we changed schools often) but finally found a reasonably affordable international school with a great program - all English except for the Thai classes. And yes, I speak Thai well enough to go anywhere and talk about just about any subject. I make mistakes but we laugh together. This is still paradise to me.

I continue to regularly see questions about the taxation by the Thai govt of US pensions - I queried a foreign tax advisor concerning this question. They informed me that even though the US and Thai governments have a tax agreement, legally the Thai govt could tax the pension funds sent into Thailand. They said that any taxes paid to the Thai government from pension sent into Thailand, then the US will refund the same number of dollars taken out of those funds by the Thais. Previously in this forum someone provided the tax brackets for Thai taxes and it indicated that the lowest tax bracket begins at 150,000 and I think that was in US dollars so if one is on a US pension, they probably would not have to pay any taxes to the Thai government. Until the Thai government comes out with the final approved law on the taxes, we are all wasting time even thinking about it. If they do tax us anyway, it might mean that they are killing the proverbial goose laying the golden eggs. But, since this is TIT...

That is correct! Japan has always had a strict immigration policy, Australia used to be that way too until they realized they needed more workers. Japan has a birthrate of less than 1 per couple. S. Korea now has a birth rate of .8 per couple and by the end of the century, the N. Koreans will just be able to walk over the border unless things change I read the other day. I sure have no idea of the rate in N.Korea but can't imagine that it is very high. The US problem is that there are way too many now pouring into the country. It used to be that shortly after arrival, an immigrant would proclaim to being an American and was accepted as that. They moved to different areas and learned to live in a different society from which they fled. Nowadays, they tend to flock together with their former countrymen, until they can elect the govt people as they outnumber the old residents and then try to change the society of the Stateside local into their old society from which they fled. I don't get it? oh, our government doesn't fight them for the space as we just turn it all over to them. Now Europe is experiencing the same thing.