potless

A Jewish couple are planning their 40th wedding anniversary and the wife asks her husband if there is anything in particular he would like as a present. He replies " I believe I have been a good husband, I have supplied all your needs, tended you when you are ill and respect you as the mother of our children. I have just one request. I wish to make love doggy style, if only once. Give me your answer tomorrow. The next day, his wife says "I will agree to your request but there are 3 conditions. First, that we do it in the dark, secondly I will not be fully naked, and thirdly, most importantly, we do it in a street where nobody knows us".

Which will come as no surprise to most people. The only reason that David Cameron promised to hold a referendum on EU membership was because the UKIP party was eating into the Tory vote. That got the Tories over the line in the election. The subsequent perceived mishandling of Brexit, the complete failure of securing the borders and many other blunders left Tory voters disaffected. Then successive incompetent leaders who seemed to come from another planet. I cant think why anyone would vote for them in the foreseeable future. I wouldnt vote for Labour either.

Thats a given. There was a degree of flippancy in my post, as in disrespectful lightheartedness.

Some things to bear in mind. In 2008 the financial requirement was doubled to 800k. This came on the back of the weakening of the Thai baht over the preceding years. Foreign currency inflows had dropped considerably. In 2005 a rate of over 74 baht to the GBP. In the summer of 2008, a rate of up to 66 baht dropping to just over 50 at the end of that year. I would guess that the government took those factors and a degree of inflation in their decision to raise the bar, HOWEVER, existing retirees were grandfathered in and didnt have to meet the the new requirement. Maybe the same again. I would also suggest that the income you have puts you in a stronger position than many others. Anxiety and depression go hand in hand. As others have said, you have nothing to worry about. Go with the flow

On Tuesday at 10.34 am regarding the video interview with the T.R.D. I posted : A question that should have been asked to the T.R.D. official is "are all your tax officials up to date with the latest information on a nationwide basis?" No chance of that though. It would have been fun to watch them squirm. I note your other replies thanks.

Surely the simple answer is that you would show them whatever they give you after filing your tax return. My question was rhetorical.

As far as I know, the answer is no and no indication that they will do. I go for my extension in June. As non tax resident, what would I show them?

The husband beats you up.

I think they can already access those services just by being a Thai citizen. There may be benefits for the punter. Lady issues him with a card that gets stamped on each visit. Ten stamps and you get one free visit. Accrue points on your "ONE" loyalty card. Post a review on Trustpilot or Facebook and get a 10% reduction. Not quite true. I sometimes do it as a sideline to boost my pension.

Putting the "sod it" attitude to one side, there are posters on this forum that have stated they have imported enough money to last them several years in order to have no interaction with the tax office. There are others that have made themselves non tax resident, myself included, for 2024. In those two scenarios, what paperwork would the aforementioned retirees produce at extension time? There are also non "sod its" those who have visited their tax office and been sent away with no T.I.N. because no tax due. Would a non resident for tax be refused an extension because they have nothing to show immigration? Thus, would it be compulsory for everyone on a retirement extension to register with the tax office even if they are not liable for tax or are non resident for tax? Would it be worth the hassle for the tax office and immigration to instigate such a policy? I know there used to be a scenario where people generating income in Thailand had to show a tax clearance certificate to leave the country, although I dont think that is enforced. Just a few points to consider in a land where anything is possible of course.

Thailand will reciprocate with a giant pander.

Phuket and Bangkok are already rammed. Far better to use a rural location.

If you find a good German restaurant it will likely be busy. I advise going there early and putting a towel on a chair.

I wonder if they have considered that if legalised, their work will be taxable.

An unknown percentage, the elderly in particular, will feel that The Grim Reaper will be knocking on the door before the taxman does. I have come across this "Sod it, I might be dead by then" attitude.

There may be a few super wealthy U.S. expats out here so I am just putting this out in case they may be unaware. I read that the USA estate and gift tax credit, currently $13.61 million, rising to $13.99 million in 2025, is due to halve in 2026. Just saying.

A type of IRA. I googled USA Roth and and read the Wikipedia article Roth IRA. It describes the differences between the Roth, The IRA and the traditional IRA. Also the requirements and a variety of other information. My head is still spinning.

Got it. Whats a Roth ?

Maybe not my concern as such, but of interest as to how the income of people in general is treated differently for different nationalities for essentially the same product. I think the UK/Thailand DTA was written over 40 years back. People with a pension from government employment have that pension taxed exclusively in the UK. Company pensions, the state old age payment, personal pensions etc are assessable.

I noticed those points on the video with the TRD official. And as to that last paragraph, he may also say what he thinks the interviewee wants to hear. A question that should have been asked to the TRD official is "are all your tax officials up to date with the latest information on a nationwide basis"? No chance of that though.

Thanks for the reply, however as a Brit, I have no knowledge of these U.S. products. I think a review of all DTAs is needed on the international stage and standardisation where possible. Not going to happen though is it.

For sure, but its the source of funds that may be open to question. I will hang on to them (I have 2) anyway for the foreseeable future.

All opinions welcome thanks.

Yes thanks, thats how I view it too, though I remitted most of my liquid cash last year anyway. Many years back I bought a product named Index Linked Savings, issued by the UK government via National Savings and Investments, with all increases tax free. Around a 66% increase up to now. Although the product clearly states that it is a savings product, would the TRD view it as an investment as opposed to savings, purely because they will likely not understand the product. Who knows.

Pertinent questions for sure. I have no idea about the original source of the only "cash in the bank" phrase. I read it on various threads and it was repeated as fact on an ExpatTaxThailand video where a T.R.D. official was present. What to believe? Agreed. That is what pi***ed me off last year when I read about investment profits being taxed. I didnt feel they were entitled to tax on gains accrued over previous years. What made it worse for me was thinking both the capital gains AND original capital were assessable. My bad. Your reply to me about CGT has actually come as a relief. That would be good though I wont hold my breath waiting. My investments as at the 31st December 2024 showed an increase of around 17% compared to 31 December 2023. Not tax resident in 2024. I foresee heads exploding on both sides of the tax office counter. Badly handled by TRD considering they have had plenty of time to prepare for this.