Trip Hop

5 hours ago, hotchilli said:

One easy solution is to make property owners responsible for activities in their rented premises.

They should be mandated to make/or have a weekly inspection to make sure of no illegal activities.

And to make sure inspections are carried out, if any property is found to be operating illegal activities the owner will face a mandatory prison sentence.

90% of this would stop overnight as without a residence they cannot operate.

 

That would be known as harassment in the west.  The right to "quiet enjoyment" has been enshrined in UK common law for centuries. 

12 minutes ago, Baba Naba said:

 Sure! Testosterone for one....

My bet is on that as Sustanon wouldn’t be hard to get hold of as it’s common amongst bodybuilders.

Either that or claimed todger enhancement if the local plod came to find out about it! 🤣

Usual hot air from someone who wants to make himself look intelligent but doesn't understand the complexity and restrictions of rolling out a program such as this.  If they want to go down this route they'd be far better off with static cameras strategically placed but as others have said, they need to be prepared for a decline in tourism due to some objecting to having their every move watched.  I suppose anything for the BiB not to have to leave Soi 9 on a hot afternoon though!

19 minutes ago, johng said:

You recommend dunutters go to Legend Siam ...noted...but why would it be ok to donut there...

As we both know the carpark at Bahn Amphur is large and deserted at 1.00 AM.  Yes he caused some noise...not unknown in Thailand.

To loose visa and deported is overkill IMHO.

I didn't "recommend" anything but if he was going to do it why not go somewhere more out of the way with no houses with direct access?  It's not as if he's a tourist who doesn't understand the locals and the need to respect them.  It's a quiet fishing village where a lot will be up at 4am and the guy is a guest in the country, so act like one.  Maybe deportation is a bit too much but you don't know the history on this as there may have been complaints against him or other farangs previously?  You should know yourself that when the authorities feel that they need to make an example they will and he just might be the unlucky one on this occasion.   

22 hours ago, johng said:

It was nowhere near residents, in a large deserted car park at 1.0 am in the morning

...a smack on the wrist and stern warning not to repeat the stunt should be enough

Revoking his visa would be quite an overaction IMHO.

If you check the video you can see the large house like building shown below containing several shophouses immediately behind the vehicle.  To the right of that where the vehicles are parked there is the main soi leading into the beach from the centre of the village which is reasonably narrow and also full of small shophouses.  The fact that in the video you can clearly see the white ticket booth like building to the left shows how close he actually was?  Apart from weekend daytimes, Ban Amphur is a sleepy fishing village which is dead after 9pm, so why he felt the need to do this here whilst Legend Siam's car park is only down the road is beyond me?  Maybe small dick syndrome made him want to show off to the youths which sometime gather at the other end of the car park?  Either way, he deserves what he gets!

1 minute ago, Andrew65 said:

An old friend once got rinsed after using his plastic in Soi Cowboy, and apparently it had happened to quite a few people. (By that I mean non physical cash).

Not saying that this was the case with the Hungarian guy, but there are also 'depth-charges', what my old Royal Navy guy used to call it. They're dropping extra bills in your check bin when you're not looking.

I now use plastic for everything in the UK, but it would still be cash only in Thailand.

Cash only here unless it's something big at a reputable store and still like my cash in the UK too.

Perhaps someone can enlighten me here but I thought the Thai payment QR codes only work with for those with Thai bank accounts?

If this is from an existing structure things like this don't happen immediately and cracks would have been visible first.

I'm not sure how close this is to the ongoing works but in the west when we are building anything similar near to existing structures, they are inspected regularly as well as being continually monitored for the slightest movement.  A similar process here could no doubt have saved this man's life as well as others. 

2 hours ago, bobnuts said:

So much on this, and understanably so. I myself am likely to come into the situation of a frozen state pension in a couple of years though I do have a workplace final salary pension as well so the basic state pension is an "add on". 

 

Like many I have wondered how the Philippines qualifies for increases but not Thailand. This is due to the bilateral agreement entered into between the two countries. This was signed in 1985 and came into force in 1989.

 

I also wondered why Thaialand has not been approached to do the same and like some presumed this was likely because Thaialand did not or would not agree but after a little searching I came to unedsrand that the Thatcher government, elected in 1979 announced in 1981, as a part of policy focused on reducing public spending and tightening government commitments, especially regarding overseas obligations like automatic pension increases for expatriates stopped considering or pursuing any further agreements.

 

The Philippines SSA was already in discussion and was allowed to continue to signature and passage into effect but no new agreements were considered.

 

So it seem as if this is another Thatcher, or more specifically Geoffrey Howe's doing.

 

I think it is an important part of retirement planning to understand what the implications of retiring in another country are, and to research all financial aspects especially. Anything less is like expecting your host country to honour your UK library card or take payments in pound notes.

 

So far as paying tax on pension payments is concerned, if the money was earned (arising) in UK and you were in PAYE then I think your National Insurance payments were free of tax, this part of your income was not taxed at the time you paid into the scheme. Clearly as income invested for later payment (pension) it will be taxed somewhere. The alternative would have been a higher tax bill whilst in work. I'm not 100% on this bit but is how it was explained to me.

 

Bob

Employee NI is paid at certain percentages on your gross earnings over certain thresholds. Similarly income tax on your salary is paid at certain percentages on your gross earnings over your tax-free allowance. Neither is deducted before calculation of the other. Employee contributions to an employer or personal pension attract tax relief either at source or later through your tax return. Employer contributions to an employer or personal pension are paid gross and excluded from corporation tax. Tax relief on both types of pension contributions apply up to a combined maximum of £40k contributed to your pension each year. When you withdraw your private or employee pension it is treated as taxable income and taxed once it exceeds your tax free allowance. 

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

I am too old to be getting over anything.

Your response only highlights the "I am all right Jack" attitude to injustice.

Look I could harp on about the £35k that the government cost me over Covid that would be worth double that now if it was invested with my other money. Or the £40k that my LA cost me with their lies about 15 years ago which similarly would have now been worth 3-4x that amount. I just don’t because it’s only money and in the words of my very wise father, you won’t be the first and you certainly won’t be the last. Life is too short to be bitter, so as said, get over it!

4 minutes ago, sandyf said:

You are wrong. Contracting out came about in the 60s under the GP scheme. that came to an end in 1975 and in 1978 the SERPS version was introduced. It wasn't until 1989 that people had a choice.

Your distorted view is irrelevant, the policy was blatant discrimination.

 

Get over it!

3 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

As a former banker he may have spent his life watching fellow Brits suffer...interest rates, mortgages etc.

Now it's his turn to feel the pain.

Not necessarily, the term banker is commonly used for both investment bankers and those that just work in as bank.  In the case of the former you might be correct but in the case of the latter definitely not unless well up the management chain.

33 minutes ago, Blueman1 said:

But Why Would She have an IDLR Visa ?? He's Said his Wife has NEVER Even been to The U.K. 

Missed that bit and very strange how anyone can pay NI without an NI Number for which you need to have at least a spousal visa and be in the UK? 

7 minutes ago, sandyf said:

One of the greatest acts of discrmination perpetrated by the UK government was "contracting out". Parliament passed an arrangement that benefitted them and only part of the UK population. Under the scheme, the government allowed the "select" to put part of their NI contributions into an occupational/private pension scheme. In 1989 they even bribed some to contract out.

Those that could do so, now get the returns from that part of their NI index liked globally. Those not allowed to contract out had to remain in the government second state pension and then be faced with it being frozen in certain jurisdictions.

From recollection and a quick search to confirm my memory, not entirely true.  Contracting out SERPS was initially brought in for members of defined benefit (DB) schemes but later expanded to anyone who was in an appropriate government approved private or employer pension.  True that if the 2% reduction in NI was paid into a suitable scheme as required and invested in certain funds, it will have brought benefits.  However many lost out either through their money being invested in investment funds that didn't perform well or cashed in at the wrong time such as a stock market crash resulting in a lot of class actions for wrongful information being brought against the financial institutions that persuaded them to opt out.

3 minutes ago, Blueman1 said:

Well Yer MUST Be EARNING Some Cash then M8 ??

Not really, total taxable income of about £23k I estimate.

5 minutes ago, GarryP said:

After checking the https://www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record website, I learned that I could back pay 6 years. I then contacted HMRC and submitted an application to back pay. However, when I received the approval and detailed letter on amount to be back paid, I was allowed to back pay 17 years. Definitely worth it in my case. Now paying annually and only for a few more years. Definitely worth the investment in my case, as it is a great return on investment frozen or not.  

Don't make the mistake of back paying for any more than 35 years in total though as that is the amount for maximum state pension.

16 minutes ago, Blueman1 said:

But I Don't want to Sleep in their Doorway.....

There's no pleasing you is there? 🤣

1 hour ago, Blueman1 said:

I don't think that there is a set period.  You just go back, inform the DSS/HMRC that you are back living in the country and give them an address....So, What Address Would I Put on my Sleeping Bag in The U.K. M8 ??

The local dole office, you can use it as a mailing address I believe?

35 minutes ago, Andrew65 said:

In the UK I think that National Insurance is 9%, that's what the state pension is calculated from. We do still get healthcare included, and we used to get 'free' university, up until around 1998.

A common misunderstanding about NI and your state pension which is actually funded from taxation receipts.  They do however rely on your number of NI qualifying years to work out how much you receive.  You don't actually have to work to qualify for a year though as claiming unemployment allowance or sickness benefit is classed as the same.  So it's a mad world whereby if you do work a little but paid under the NI secondary threshold you don't get a qualifying year for your pension but if you don't work at all and sign sick/unemployed, you do!  

9 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Please explain how that works. You go back to UK for how long?

I don't think that there is a set period.  You just go back, inform the DSS/HMRC that you are back living in the country and give them an address.  I suppose it will take a few weeks for any paperwork to be sent out and completed but as soon as that's done you can technically leave again.