CartagenaWarlock

What a croc and lacking comprehension skills! I never said I was sharing with the needy. Please go and read again. I said unfortunates who don't have access to earn and invest in dollars. They are not the same as those who are needy or lack access to food, shelter, and clothing. I'm talking about people who have decent incomes in Thailand but don't have access to earn and invest in dollars. They have the same aspirations as people who have access to earning and investing in dollars, and I'm sure if they were in the US, their median income would be higher than European American's median income. So the only thing they lack is access to earn and invest in dollars.

What nice thing that would be! Maybe feeding the poor? With all the horror stories about visa extensions, waiting in lines for hours, waiting in the bank for hours, collecting all the documents, and updating the passbook at bank ATMs, I don't believe the outrageous claim of 30 minutes. But if you take pride in DIY and not in sharing your fortunes with others who are unable to earn and invest in dollars, it's up to you. I don't take any pride in doing DIY except earning money and sharing it with others who don't have access to earning and investing in dollars.

I believe money brought to the country for investment (like buying a condo) or keeping 800K in the bank for extensions, etc. will be exempt from taxation.

I don't know about the UK, but US FICA taxes are pre-tax deductions. That means you never paid any taxes on that money. In the US, only earnings from a Roth IRA are tax-free. But I'm not sure if Thailand will honor that unless it's specifically mentioned in the double taxation treaty (DTT). Social security is mentioned in DTT, and I believe the Thai government will honor that; otherwise, they will have a diplomatic row over that (not honoring DTT).

I used to maintain a Thai bank account with one million baht, but the daily withdrawal limit is capped at 20K. I used to get young teenagers from Poseidon Model Galley for all-night Hanky-Panky. In the morning, I will give my card and ask them to withdraw 20K and take their fees, and return me the remaining. To my surprise, not one girl ran away with 20K or tried to withdraw more than 20K. And they can see I have a million baht in my account.

It's spreading wealth to unfortunates who don't have the means to earn and invest in dollars.

Maybe you're jealous of their success and the usefulness that millions of their fans find in their videos. This is coming from a person who had to travel 10,000 miles to live like a refugee (year-to-year contract) in a foreign land, possibly using a "wify" visa, and whose voice is only heard in this forum and nowhere else on earth.

I don't believe in that. For me, updating passbooks in ATM machines, queuing up in the banks and IO offices, and genuflecting in front of IOs and their demands and whims for DIY is not an accomplishment in life. Not to mention the dollars you lose by keeping the money in a Thai bank. An accomplishment in life is doing everything using agents by spreading my luck (or wealth) to the people who don't have luck to earn and invest in dollars.

I have a flight from Koh Samui to UTP at 11 on Monday, February 26. The full moon party is on Sunday, February 25. Is it possible to catch the ferry in the early morning at 8 a.m.?

If somebody lives on withdrawing from ATMs only, it is possible for the RD to track the total of ATM withdrawals, but is it practical out of millions of transactions between tourists and non-tourists?

By 2100, robotics and AI will take care of GDP. Countries like China, Japan, Thailand, etc. will have severe issues because of negligible immigration. The migration of Indians from the Indian subcontinent will silently conquer the USA (replacing European Americans with Indian Americans), and Western Europe will always be vassal states of the US (the USA has to take care of Europe's security so that they can run their nanny state paradise). 12% of the CEOs of the S&P 500 are now first-generation Indian Americans, and more C-suite executives are waiting in line to replace European Americans. By 2100, I bet 80% of the CEOs of the S&P 500 will be Indian Americans. The US will retain its dominance and economic might in the world due to immigration. Of course, there will be roadblocks, but America will overcome them.

OMG, what a convoluted way to live in a foreign country! If I were him, I would get an agent and pay him 12,500 baht (Pattaya rate), park my money outside Thailand to get at least 5% (40K for an 800K deposit), and share my luck of being able to access dollars with unfortunate people who could not do so due to no fault of their own. "Win Win" for everybody.

I don't believe social security is free from taxes by foreign governments when the US can tax social security. It's been a long-held IRS policy to deduct any foreign government taxes from your US tax obligations, and I have done so (non-SS incomes) in three countries. https://www.ssa.gov/international/AlienTax_reference_2.html#:~:text=Taxation of U.S. Social Security,Washington%2C D.C.%2C for information.

Social security can't have 80K USD per year. 2024 maximum social security is $4,873/month.

I concur. And more coming with the high-speed trains from Bangkok. If only Pattay had a university, the game will change. It will be like Thai version of Las Vegas. The downtown Pattay (mostly walking street area) is very crowded, indeed. New planning required to move crowds away from that area.

If a person could afford to ring the bell, there should not be any jealousy.

Maybe they tried, but some people won't buy lady drinks.

My experience is the opposite. Direct hotel site rates are exorbitant compared to agoda, booking, hotels, etc.

The quality of forum members speaks volumes about their past. Most are rejects in their own societies and had to travel 10,000 miles to live like refugees (year-to-year contracts) in a foreign land, possibly using a "wify" visa.

Because the forum members must be reminded of the truth that they are nobody in their own societies and their voices have no value anywhere on earth except to the owners of this forum for monetization.

They have to prove that it is economically profitable and carbon neutral before any serious foreign investors will dig into it.

That happens to people when they suddenly realize that they have to work.

And all those farts in this forum are not going to change anything except make money for the forum owners. It's a vicious circle. People rejected in their own societies are forced to travel 10,000 miles to seek a life, and possibly a wife in a foreign land have no voice anywhere on the planet except this forum, and forum owners are clever enough to monetize their frustrations.

Why only Pattaya girls?

Your terminology tells me that you are a low-information person or that your skills do not let you sort out the chaff from the grains. Good luck. There is no VOA for British passport holders.