Lacessit

I am increasingly reminded of Parkinson's Law. Obviously, the amount of paperwork we presently submit to Immigration is insufficient to meet the demands of a bureaucracy seeking full employment.

It does seem to me as if EVERY expat/retiree who stays in Thailand more than 180 days is going to need a tax number to give to the Immigration authorities when they apply for visa extensions, irrespective of whether tax is actually payable, or not. The question is when Immigration will commence requiring that information.

I did read it, which is why I am asking whether I need a tax number in November. I am a belt and braces person.

On the one hand, Mike Lister is saying the Australian OAP is taxable if it is transferred directly into Thailand from Australia. OTOH, it is not if it is paid into an Australian bank account, then transferred in lump sums. The DTA does not apply to ANY money brought into Thailand. Have I got this right? My next extension is November 2024. Apparently my first tax return, if required, will be in March 2025. I will have left Thailand for 6 weeks in March 2024. Will Immigration require me to have a tax number in November 2024? I am quite confused by the opinions on this thread.

IMO the first action should be a blood pressure check for hypotension. Check it in your home environment when the dizziness is occurring. Checks with a doctor may be misleading, due to white coat syndrome.

A grass-fed Gippsland eye filet steak, accompanied by a Booth's shiraz and King Island blue brie cheese. At the other end of the process, a good sh!t. And free-flowing pee.

9 hours ago, Mike Lister said: Australian old age pension is assessible income in Thailand. The Australian pension is assessible income in Australia. If one is putting in a tax return there, it is included. Of course, with tax thresholds and offsets, no tax is ever paid if that is the sole income stream. So how can the Australian OAP be assessible in both Thailand and Australia, with a DTA in existence? It sounds like a paperwork nightmare. I can see some solutions to my individual dilemma. One is to marry my long-term Thai GF. The other is to shuttle between Australia and Thailand on the 180 day schedule. When laws become stupid or oppressive, people always find a way to work around them. IMO this change will be no exception. Hopefully, the Thai authorities will see this is driving away future retirees, and sanity will prevail with respect to pensions. I won't hold my breath though.

Permit me to doubt it will be that simple for many posters. Most Western pensions are over the earnings threshold, it's a question of whether Thailand will observe the DTA's in place.

I am guessing we will know more when retirees start doing their extensions over the next six months. Maybe then there will be some clarity as to whether Immigration is co-ordinating with the tax authorities. How they are going to deal with people brandishing copies of their DTA's, proof of pensions being paid in their home country, and those shuffling in and out of Thailand will be interesting. I suspect there are quite a few Thai tax accountants rubbing their hands in glee.

I have had good experiences with Rajavej Private Hospital in Nong Hoi. Quite quick being seen. Possibly a bit far for you, although most of the big hospitals AFAIK are the same distance. I have used Bangkok Hospital for check cystoscopies, professional but expensive. I believe there is a clinic in Hang Dong run by a Dr. Morgan. Apparently she has a very good reputation among expats, and speaks excellent English.

My GF experience is past 8 years now. IMO once Thai women get deep into their thirties, the clock starts ticking and there are plenty of women available. Perhaps if the OP looked for women outside bars and websites, he might have better luck. I am old, and certainly not handsome. I have lost count of the women who suggested they would like a relationship. Maybe it's my deodorant.

The same thing that is wrong with guys that go looking on those websites. If I am making a big purchase of goods, I don't go on the internet. I go to a bricks and mortar store where I can evaluate the quality of what I want, unfiltered. IMO the same applies to women.

Good question, mine too.

My pension is received into an Australian bank account. I transfer sums periodically to Thailand for living expenses. OTOH, I have a friend in CM who gets his OAP paid from Centrelink directly into a Thai bank account. Please share what advice you get. More and more, this is looking like a giant paperwork headache, plus a cluster<deleted> between tax and immigration authorities.

We don't get any exemptions. If deemed to be in a defacto relationship, the OAP is reduced by about 15%. You also get to split your assets 50:50 if the defacto relationship breaks down.

Are the concessions only available to married couples? What happens with single foreigners supporting a GF? What forms of marriage are recognized by the Thai authorities? The way I read it, if one is married, over 65. with a pension income of 600,000 baht, they get exemptions of 560,000 baht. Guys in defacto relationships get nothing.

It all depends on one's attitude. Back in the day, with a gorgeous woman in tow, I regarded it as a triumphal march.

I was in the reverse situation, locked out of Australia. After the lockout ended, returning Australians had to pay for the 14 days quarantine, up until July 22. It was a no-brainer to stay away. It was actually a blessing in disguise, with all the lockdown BS going on in Victoria. In Chiang Rai, the lockdown consisted of two months where the golf courses and swimming pools were closed. Although a couple of the golf courses did stay open.

The urge to procreate is hard-wired into all of us. However, it is also hard-wired into dolphins, who definitely exhibit their own forms of intelligence and communication. Do dolphins have gods? It does take two to tango. I have met my share of horny women. The female orgasm is considerably more complex than the male version. It's a bit of a conceit to think we are the zenith of intelligence and consciousness. For all we know, there is a species a few galaxies away who would regard us as we regard an amoeba. IMO the hope of an eternal life is a fantasy, albeit an attractive one. It's any religion's strongest selling point. Personally, I believe we only get one shot at life, and therefore should make the most of it while we can. Who is going to remember us 3 or 4 generations from now?

Correct me if I am wrong, but haven't you just described a typical Trump supporter?

Many people got COVID after vaccination. I was one of them, in the most vulnerable age cohort. Delta variant. Three days of a sore throat and runny nose, no other symptoms. My unvaccinated GF, 23 years younger than me, was extremely ill for 10-11 days. The significant aspect of vaccination is not whether one got COVID, but how serious the ensuing illness was. The data that came out of Australia indicated an unvaccinated person was 6-7 times more likely to require ICU admission than a vaccinated person. My own experience of COVID supports that. IMO HCQ and ivermectin were two quack remedies, along with bleach ["disinfectant"], another Trump proposition. It's a pity cocaine is illegal, I'll bet that would have been embraced with great enthusiasm. At least it would have made COVID patients feel better.

I do a lot of thinking, I don't know if it is meditation. I doubt I would pay to learn the art.

If Trump did take HCQ, it obviously did not work, as he got COVID. He also got world-class medical care at Walter Reed Hospital, courtesy of the American taxpayer. Presumably some of the people who believed in his endorsement of HCQ were not as fortunate.

Years ago, I was talking with a fairly eminent psychologist, who had testified in many criminal trials. He said most criminals are a product of their home life, peer groups, interactions with authority, etc. However, he did say there were rare occasions when he would meet a criminal who was pure evil, and there was no rational explanation for what they did.