Lacessit

To give the devil his due, he has come up with two potentially useful pieces of information. I suppose out of 747 posts, he had to get a couple that actually contributed. I am wondering if he is an ex-public servant, I just can't see him surviving for long in private industry with such relentless negativity.

IIRC you suggested using an ATM with an Aussie debit card. That's another avenue. IME, when governments do something stupid, people will always manage to find a way to neuter the stupidity.

I don't know. I do know you have a real talent for taking the most negative view of any situation. They can't tax the 800 K I already have in cold storage, so you may have suggested another avenue for me. I transferred enough funds prior to January 1 for another 2 years.

I go to the food court once a week, when I am shopping. I always have pad thai goong. All the cooks there know I don't want sugar or peanuts. Not that I have a peanut allergy, I just don't like them.

Would you mind staying on topic, and taking your children's sandpit somewhere else?

How does the metformin interact with Cialis and Viagra? Asking for a friend.....

So I get a TIN, and transfer savings only. However, there are reports from other posters the RD has told them they don't need a TIN. What do they do when the bank starts collecting tax because they don't have one? That sounds like the makings of a SNAFU to me.

I note they don't actually state they can get visas and extensions with insufficient funds on the website, I guess that is all face-to-face and verbal.

Why would I say anything to Immigration about my income? It's the Thai tax authorities who are interested, and they can't do anything if I prove I am only transferring savings. I have screenshots of every investment as at 31/12/2023. My pension can accumulate in an Australian account for the next 5-10 years, assuming I live that long. IMO quite a few age pensioners in Australia are understating their assets to obtain a bigger pension. Cash is untraceable, everyone knows that. It's why every government wants cashless. They can't really start sending out search parties for cash tucked under a mattress. You are jumping the gun somewhat, no-one knows who is imparting financial information to whom, or if the recipient is acting on it. I expect if/when the Thai authorities start taxing the Australian OAP, there will be plenty said about it on ASEAN.

Admittedly the risk is very low, I prefer not to take it when I don't have to. How did you get introduced to the agent? Was that word of mouth from another retiree? It seems to me there is also a risk of having an agent who is incompetent, or losing/stealing a passport.

Do you have any evidence foreign pensions are being taxed in Thailand?

My bank has my TFN. Next.

What the agent is doing is illegal, facilitated by corruption. If there is ever a new broom in your Immigration locale, there is a risk your visa will be cancelled. Then you will be up sh!t creek in a barbed wire canoe, without a paddle.

IIRC other retirees on this and another thread have posted that when they went to the Thai RD to register for a tax number, they were asked what their income was. When they said age pension only, the RD official said they did not need one. Make of that what you will. You are talking at cross-purposes, the point of this thread is Australian pensioners who are living in Thailand. No-one gives a rat's @rse about how foreigners with pensions are taxed in Australia.

I suggest it would be a good idea to wait for a pensioner living in Germany to give their take on whether they are taxed, instead of speculating.

AFAIK such treaties are not born overnight, they have a prolonged gestation period while government bureaucrats on both sides dot every i and cross every t. There is also the question of how much funding on both sides is dedicated to drafting said agreements. If there are 41 DTA's, do you have any information on where Thailand sits in the queue of new DTA's to be negotiated?

It depends on what one enjoys. I have never been interested in possessions to impress friends, relatives, and neighbors. I prefer buying established, reliable technology to being a lab rat for the latest gadget. I have eaten some very high class food, but can equally enjoy a simple steak. My main indulgence has been the sport of golf. I really enjoy women, I just wish they were not so damn expensive.

Facebook is rubbish, period. Everyone's personal data gets auctioned off once a year. Never been on it, never will.

I left out "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett. One helluva book.

I don't know how anyone can still smoke in Australia, tobacco is insanely expensive. IIRC, $60 for a pack of 20. IMO if the only way a person can enjoy themselves is with drugs, fags and booze, that's a pretty sad existence.

I tried ingesting CBD oil and THC cookies a couple of times, both did nothing for me. THC made me feel a bit woozy. Statistics in countries which have legalized drugs show reductions in crime rates, because there is no longer any profit for the criminal element, and users don't have to resort to crime to maintain their habit. IMO if someone wants to <deleted> themselves up with drugs, it's their business. If they commit crimes while under the influence of drugs, society should come down on them just as hard as if they were cold sober.

Yes, we know. Haven't seen you around for a while, are you OK?

That sounds like the voice of experience. Did using one improve your stamina? ..... Asking for a friend.

If Thailand is no country for old men, Australia is even less so. The Royal Commission into Aged Care in Australia put that beyond doubt. While I am not under-capitalized, I would much rather see my money go to my legatees, in lieu of fruitless attempts to keep me alive with no quality of life. Just pull the <deleted> plug. I have found Thai public hospitals are quite reasonable in cost, albeit with long waiting times and zero privacy. The devotion shown to me by my GF, after being hospitalized here a few months ago, makes me think the OP is painting an overly gloomy picture of end-of-life here. For me, anyway. IMO the only thing Australia has going for it are its enlightened voluntary euthanasia laws.

American infrastructure has been decaying for decades. Just compare the number of kilometres of railroad track China has with America. The decay has been caused by the export of manufacturing capacity offshore, in the name of globalization and the bottom line. The COVID pandemic exposed how vulnerable supply chains are. Most countries are doing serious soul-searching about how to rebuild manufacturing infrastructure. Personally, I think we would all be better off if we lined up all the accountants, lawyers and politicians, then shot 90% to motivate the other 10%. But that's just me.