jingjai9

Any stories from people who have already filed their Thai taxes? Any warnings we should know about? Any useful information to pass on? I read numerous lists of what is being taxed, but all that I have read and videos I have watched here on ASEAN Now seem to be laced with uncertainty. I want to know if anyone has been taxed on the money they keep in their bank account that is mandated by Thai law for their visa, e.g. marriage or retirement. Has anyone been surprised at what was or was not taxed? Do employees at the tax office appear to be comfortable, knowledgeable and certain about what they are doing? How long did it take for the Department of Revenue to process you tax forms and give you a receipt? Did you have to retrieve documents you didn't bring with you which you had no idea you needed?

Many doctors want to start a practice and choose an area of specialization. They may choose a field of practice where a need exists, perhaps accelerating the time needed to establish a reputable practice. To comment on their character or motives seems juvenile. Is a male gynecologist a pervert because he sees women naked? I think not. As for the question as to why there are so few female proctologists, my research suggests it is a difficult area for women to enter.

I am glad to hear things have changed for the better. I was there a long time ago and I imagine the tourist industry has changed after all these years. Thank you for your reply.

Can't resist. Did the lions get arrested for having no license?

Maybe the pot is calling the kettle black - Elon Musk is always honking his horn how the federal government is not cost efficient and so on. If Deepseek can develop the AI so much cheaper, perhaps old Elon, Mark and the rest of the tech geniuses should check their own recipes.

I can see it now.,,, the students play games on the computers while the teacher plays on his/her phone. This happens all too often and it is a shame, perhaps an expensive shame.

I worked in Danang for one year back in 2004-2005. Two complaints I had about the country: They seem to enjoy overcharging foreigners for goods and services When spending time on the beach or in other tourist areas, the vendors could be quite aggressive; they will not take "no" for answer, they stay put. Many tourists would stay at hotels with private beaches because vendors were barred from private beaches. There were security personnel to enforce the rule. I would like to go back to VN again. Have either of these two problems gotten any better? I would be surprised if Fredwiggy does not like VN.

I am becoming more convinced that there needs to be some kind of gauge on the strength of THC. As one poster said, the weed is more potent nowadays. Of course the weed could have been treated with something, or a myriad of other variables could be possible. I am hearing much too often about irrational behavior on weed and not only in Thailand. Is anyone here aware of any research being conducted to determine the potency of THC and its behavioral effects?

I had this happen to me, that is, getting charged more at a hospital because I was a foreigner. I was told the government hospitals charge by the type of visa you hold. For example someone with a work visa will pay less than someone with a retirement visa. I think the logic is if you work in Thailand you are contributing to society so your medical fees are less at government hospitals. I had surgery at a government hospital in 2016 and they had me put down a deposit when I checked into the hospital. I believe they base the amount of the deposit on the usual and customary fee for the surgery you are going to receive. I ended up getting a rebate because the amount of my deposit exceeded the costs of my hospital stay.

The Unholy Alliance by Paul L. Williams. It is a history of an alliance consisting of the Vatican, the Mafia and the CIA. The book is nonfiction and so far all of my fact checking has lent credence to the author's claims. There is a podcast of some of this book. The name of the podcast is Eyes Wide Open. LBJ biography by Robert Caro.

Non Asian tourists most often do not have an adequate perception of elephants in many cases. They are often not portrayed realistically in western media or Hollywood or even western newscasts. I think sharing living space with monkeys or elephants is a great mistake, for the people and animals alike. These tropical animals living in semi captivity is most dangerous. Not every animal can adapt as well as dogs to a domestic setting. Even kittens with a domesticated mother will act feral if they are born in the woods. Imagine letting wolves or wild boars run around in or near your community just because it looks cool or some opportunistic businessman found a way to make a few bucks exploiting wildlife.

Why can't the wealthy tech companies invest in US workers with more scholarships, training programs and other support to get US students interested in pursuing a tech career. If the tech industry is allowed to import foreign workers in large numbers, this saves them money which I am sure their lobbyists push hard for. Why can't there be a compromise - the tech industry can have x number of foreign employees if they invest x amount of dollars in training programs for US citizens. I used to l live in Microsoft's backyard, Bellevue Washington and I shared an apartment complex with a good number of Microsoft employees. My next door neighbor was an Indian man and from my many conversations with him, it seems that Asian employees are used to long working hours and they are less combative with employers than US citizens. This makes them easier to manage in many aspects. I work here in Asia and there is more tolerance towards a rigid hierarchy than I ever saw in The States.

We have to remember no one asked us to come here. No one promised me a better life as in "go east old man". I hear western people tell me they don't like their home countries because of the immigration policies. Their mindset is immigrants are being treated better than citizens. I cannot vouch for the veracity of this point of view but I have heard this story about 10 times from different people - USA, Germany, England, Austria, Netherlands etc.

Looks like he is already dressed for jail.

Does anyone have any information where in Udon this so called bad massage took place? It would be a public service if we knew.

I am really looking for someone who can tell me the steps to take for getting a US visa for a Thai person. I was hoping someone who has done this recently could point me in the right direction by sharing their experience or telling which part of the US Consulate's website is most useful. I understand if you have had a US visa in the past and the expiration date of the visa is not more than forty eight months, no interview is necessary.

So he did it last year but now cant remember how to do it? He did the visa ten years ago. The US visas are good for ten years. Things have changed

Does anyone know the procedure (steps) for obtaining a US tourist visa for a Thai citizen? I know about the income requirements, etc. What is the procedure? I mean what do you do first, second, etc. I have a Thai friend who has received confirmation for submitting his D-160 application online. The confirmation says this is the first step in the process. Does anyone know what the next steps are in the process? This Thai person is applying for a tourist visa renewal. The old tourist visa expired one year ago. Thank you

Trump and Musk all already bumping heads. So I think you are right. Musk will not put up with being told what to do for very long. I just hope at this point we get to see neo liberalism on trial to see how good or bad it is in action. Critics of Trump and the neo liberal model often mention that the main reason government agencies need to cut budgets is that the .1% are not paying their fair share of taxes. However, you cannot apologize for inefficient government agencies and maybe Musk and company can do something about this, but will it be at the expense of lower income people who cannot hire lobbyists to do their bidding in Washington?

The problem is that Musk receives billions of dollars a year in government contracts. Also, he will have the power to influence major decisions that could affect the success or prosperity of his own businesses such as Space X and its subsidiary, Star link as well as Tesla. I do not question Musk's ability as a knowledgeable advisor; however, are we supposed to assume he is a nice guy and will of course do the right thing for the country? OR could it be that his own interests come before those of the country and the public good? This is a dilemma - when the billionaire class is put in such influential, non-elected positions.

I have been told that the amount of time it takes to get a transfer completed on Wise depends not only on the amount, but the country of origin. Is it true that transfers from the USA take longer due to banking laws? Does anyone have first hand knowledge as to whether or not banking laws play a factor in international transfers?

I think Thailand has allowed weed and now possibly gambling because they are losing manufacturing jobs and they need revenue. I question how much gambling revenue will stay in the country? How many Thai people have the resources to invest in this kind of game? Will the average Thai citizen be able to apply and be hired for jobs at the entertainment complexes without paying tribute?

I had hoped to find some good information in this post, but it seems most of the energy was spent on disparaging "the other side." I think many people follow Trump because they feel no one else is looking out for them. As we enter the final week of another US presidential election season with candidates brought to us by the donor class, Americans are perhaps being forced to vote for the person they hate least. This election for many is a forced choice. I for one do not really appreciate Donald Trump, but 70 million people voted for him. It sounds quite arrogant to brush off 70 million people as A-holes or ingenuous because they think Trump is the best. Do you dislike Trump for all the things he says or do you take issue with the way he says them? One social critic has opined that Trump is the middle finger of US politics in the 21st century. Many followers of Trump see him as a vent for their despair as the quality of life has continued to diminish over the last generation for many in the US. People whose jobs have been out-sourced; people who feel immigrants are taking their jobs as well as a host of other threats which causes angst among a great percentage of the electorate. A goodly number of people also feel the US is less likely to go to war with Trump in office. Trump speaks using the vocabulary of common people and many admire Trump because he is not just another politician who has been in an elected office for the last 40 odd years. Many Americans feel the US needs a businessman to lead the country. My problem with Trump is that he is not the best person to articulate the viewpoints of his constituency. We do not need a president that exudes reality TV sentiment He can be quite brash, and he sets a negative tone by speaking at numerous rallies across the US with vitriol. I also think Trump is in large part responsible for the mess we find ourselves in today and that is calling people who disagree with us liptards. jerks or A-holes. I think history may look back at this era as THE AGE OF TRUMP. Have any of you ever heard Donald Trump laugh? I haven't and this gives me reason for pause. What happened to the days when people would say, "I disagree with you 100% but I would die fighting for you your to say it?" I am reserving my vote for a year when I have a choice.

The tourist revenue is not free money. The incident described herein is one example of the responsibilities the host country must assume when inviting millions of foreigners into their country; many of whom are ignorant of the culture. The perpetrator of the crime appears to be breaking the law, surely.