Presnock

I too though for more than twice that period of time filed for my extensions with some years well over a million baht in pension funds notarized by the Embassy and included a copy of the OPM (govt office responsible for sending govt pension funds) and never once was anything ever mentioned about taxation in Thailand. From reading the DTA between the US and Thailand, these funds can only be taxed by the paying country unless the receiver is also a Thai national and resident. I note other folks from different countries also have govt pensions which may not be taxable by the Thais unless the DTA's are re-written and approved. From users of this forum I see that many other ASEAN countries are also changing their tax policies and some are ignoring foreign pensions for taxes. BUT, until we see the final approved law we should just about totally ignore all our comments as we are just guessing what MIGHT be or not be. HAPPY NEW YEAR

actually to find out any information just read one page...on that page you will notice it does not give any definitive answers as to what the Thai govt is going to officially do... all the other 199 pages just keep guessing or asking the impossible questions to date and repeating over and over and over and over

once the 12 deposits of at least 65K are done monthly, upon next extension can convert to monthly only and then 800K can be removed.

Amazing 555! Having read posts about this same taxation of all remittances by other ASEAN countries, those that printed their note indicate that those reporting will not tax pensions of ex-pats. Thailand of course, based on those that have actually sat in some of the officials meeting on the program indicate that not all Thai officials agree with the new interpretation. No reasons have been forthcoming either, just like nothing new whatsoever from the Thai government tax department. But, I agree that no monies should be taxed yet as it will only apply IF one is here more than 179 days in 2024 as that is the beginning of this new interpretation of an old tax law. To see 192 pages of the same thing every day indicating that we know no more than we did in September when it was announced. There have been seminars and meetings regularly but still no more info is available than before. Yes, some of us have read the DTA between our country and Thailand so we have an idea of should or should not be the final word. Hopefully, the tax officials are aware of the 192 pages too and will put out at least some update on their thinking. If they want more foreigners to come here, buy condos, etc then they should put something out soon as I think folks will pass on this country to spend their money. Just saying...been here in total over 30 years and while some things have change physically/sceneric, thinking doesn't seem to be progressing much. My opinion anyway. HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!

according to the DTA US citizens getting a us govt funded pension and social security CAN ONLY BE TAXED by the payiing govt unless the person receiving the pension and/or social security is also a native Thai resident but eligible for the US govt pension and social security. Articles 20 and 21 of the DTA apply

US taxes US govt pensions and social security at source only according to the DTA

after a record month of immigration from south of the border, probably a lot more than 20%...just saying

blv you should check the DTA between NZ and Thailand. Some pensions from govt funds are exept in many of the DTA's.

well for the online immigration says 15 minutes only to get pp stamped versus 2 hours.

Well the online system now going to other provinces too should make agents go away as alll one has to do is prepare the paperwork, forward to the io wait for their okay on all and make an appointment for the next day, next week or whenever and then the immigration says 15 minutes only to stamp the new long stay stamp and signature. Sounds really easier to me and a lot less time to do it legally too.

I heard one yesterday say he had done it - took 15 minutes only at CW. I went online to the immigration website and yessir there it is! Seems they did the meeting of OI's in OCt 2022 and then rolled it out I guess experimentally with the first 300 to apply. Check out their website for all the info...basically gather all your Register for online, gather all your paperwork, forward it to your IO, they will review and if correct then will advise you of that, then you make an appointment with the IO within 2 weeks I think 500 baht, within 1 week 1500 baht and next day ? but possible . seems almost too good to be true and maybe will cut out agents? who knows but definitely a positive move.

I read tha Seems it might be available in BKK and CM too, possibly retirement too, checking now

Does anyone know if the Thai immigration has already made the possiblity ot online visa extensions (mentions just about all types) including retirement,being a member in a family with Thai nationals, i.e.wife/kids and possibly in BKK, CM and PK. Has anyone else seen anything on this? Just wondering but it would be a lot easier.

well the picture showed them floating with jackets on...couldn't understand why they waited to the point that they had to cut open the fabric boat cover to get off the chairs and jump into the sea. Scary to say the least...One boat was mentioned by the tourists as "hit by a wave and broke the boat into two pieces"

strange these boats go out when the weather is shaky - I heard the weather for the south was stormy with heavy rains and flooding...then I read that 7 boats sank this week with 8 people still missing. seems this continues to happen too often.

new govt is seeking money in any way possible mostly do to the populist promises they promised prior to the election. Unless the 40 million tourists return next year the economy may shrink even more as the economies around the world seem to be shrinking after the pandemic overspending. But better here than in many other places in my opinion.

well now with Biden, open borders, the illegals (est 12 million) get a lot free bennies and can hang around in the US until the court can hear their asylum case which might take several years with the backlog. This means, that the states/cities controlled by the democrats have to raise the taxes to their citizens to pay for the care of these immigrants and many of these states are already have shrinking citizens as they are moving to states with lower taxes. Politicians in the US are like many around the world - corrupt - can't even pass an anti-corruption bill. Supreme Court set up their own ethics rules which they disobey anyway as the public started screaming at their antics. Too much polarization now with extremes on both sides and none seem to be happy but do resort to violence more and more. Better to stay in Thailand than go back to that. My opinion anyway

Actually, I spent 40 years living mostly in forieign countries in Asia, Europe, central America and Africa. I kept a log of my life in each of the countries, and in almost all, I was trained in the local language so could get around easily and did travel a lot within most of those countries. In my log book, I wrote about the local food, acceptance of foreigners, weather, dangers from volcanoes, earthquakes and terrorists and of course the temporary immigration scenarios. I really like some of the other countries quite a bit like the PI, I am a certified open water diver and with 9000 islands and crystal-clear waters with tons of life it was great as well as the cheap and readily available golf. However, while there I experienced some of the 20 typhoons a year with lots of flooding, active volcano 50 miles from the capital where Iived, earthquakes at the 8+ level so dropped that country from my retirement years. Thailand outweighed all the rest of the countries, yeah Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Malta all have some great varieties of life and I loved them too but...Several Asian countries (mostly SEA) have some pleasant memories too but Thailand far outweighed all of them in that this country was high on the list for just about every category. When I first retired here 20 years ago, I was doing the regular trips to Cambodia, arriving early at the immigration office to get a queue ticket hopefully for the same day when doing my reporting and extension of long-stay and as it has come to pass, it is now easier than it used to be and therefore cheaper too though that isn't affecting my pleasure of being here. When I first came to Thailand, there was no western fastfood at all, one store did open around soi31 I think of Sukumvit that sold western foods but as I kept coming back to Thailand, I could see the modernazation of just about every category. I love the spicy Thai food and while I eat healthier nowadays with all the available fresh fruits and veggies I still eat 1 Thai meal daily. I speak Thai, though not as well as I did years ago as I speak English with my daughter and Thai with my wife but she doesn't like extension conversations as she is trying to learn English. The weather here, especially when I what it is like back in the US, is still a favorite of mine. I hate snow, ice-covered roads, tornados, baseball size hail, etc so have no plans whatsoever to leave. I am on a US govt pension so according to the DTA agreement with the Thai and US govt, I will not be taxed here so I see no real problem with me staying here a while longer. Happy Holidays to all the readers on this forum. Some great stories, lots of useful information. Yeah and some useless stuff too.

I think the operative word is GREED! power and/money - same around the world that I have seen.

accuweather and any city, thailand will give you the weather and air quality also airquality and area? or from lazada or shoppee can buy very cheaply a 2.5micron meter, very small and can even carry it in your pocket and can measure anytime.

well, try living in a fundamentalist Muslim nation...and explain why for over 1500 years the Sunni and Shia have been killing more Muslims than any of the western countries have done. In this case based on my few years in a fundamentalist nation, he probably wanted to marry her but since she wouldn't convert, he couldn't so to him it was better to kill her and die too so they could be together forever. Many people that do worship Islam are peace lovers but to any Christian it is hard to understand some of their laws/restrictionscustoms, when we supposedly worship the same GOD.

Well the operative word there is "yet". I was totally surprised when I came back to BKK and the ease with which we can get around the city now. The way things are going, maybe progress will more the trains everywhere unless of course the city is under water by then. Yeah, if I lived in Ratchaburi, I would have vehicular transportation. I really like the several visits we made to Ratchaburi, some nice areas there, especially near the Myanmar border. The night skies when we stayed overnights were spectacular too. Happy Holiday Season

with the trains/metro going just about everywhere, why drive? I moved to CM to get out of traffic 10 years ago, then daughter began college in BKK and wife and I wanted to be closer to her if there were any immediate problems so we kept our house in CM and rent a house in BKK. Now with the trains etc, there is no reason to drive at all in BKK and now be able to go anywhere in a very comparatively shorter time. But, I still like CM better but recognize all the available conveniences now in BKK.

I think the move to the far right is hitting most of the western countries as they are the favorite countries for those fleeing the autocrats as the immigrants keep finding govt to give them something for nothing while the citizens get taxed higher to pay for the bennies for the immigrants and for making the schools bi-lingual!