CartagenaWarlock

There will never be a crackdown to stop spreading wealth through agents. Why? Because the bosses know that desperate people who can't seek out a living in their own country and have to travel 10,000 miles to survive in a foreign land like refugees can do that only because they are lucky enough to earn dollars and unfortunates are not lucky enough to earn dollars; hence, they need the "spreading the wealth" system to continue.

There are hundreds of no-fee credit cards with mileage points. I have a few dozen.

Ok, got it. Lacking writing skills.

I don't believe it takes three months to get a new passport.

These types of statistics are collected based on surveys of populations in their tribe (or group). Why do you need proof of that?

The bottom line is you cannot get an extension beyond your passport's expiration date. It's recommended that you apply for one now.

It is the same thing for US social security. If delayed, you get more. My ss.gov website shows my FRA at current prices is $3,400, and at 70 it will be $4200. Should I delay it to 70 or take it out at FRA? Another tidbit similar to this concept. In the US, you can take out a reverse mortgage for up to 80% (imagine somebody has a house in California worth 800,000 USD. He is sitting on half a million dollars of cash from your house's current value, or you can sell future equity in your house, and the amount depends on the current interest rate and your age. What would you do?

But they have the world's best fraud protection. By US law, all cards (including Visa and MasterCard-branded debit cards) have a maximum fraud liability of $50. Due to competition, the banks offer zero-liability cards. One phone call, and the charges are removed. Once, I lost my card in a Bangkok hotel, and someone charged me 80,000 baht purchasing gold. I made one call, and the charges were removed. It happened multiple times in the US and UK and all charges were removed.

Is it not the same thing throughout the world? No wonder people have to travel 10,000 miles to live like refugees in a foreign land, possibly using a "wify" visa, even though they are lucky enough to earn dollars.

It's a moronic comparison. The person who is paying 20K baht for his retirement is getting much more than that by investing it outside Thailand. He gets it done in 10 minutes with his passport only. He does not have to do any other nonsensical paperwork. And he is spreading his wealth to unfortunates who don't have access to earning dollars. Have you seen those old men hugging the ATM to update their bank books? It is fortunate to be able to earn a dollar by sheer luck of birth and then travel 10,000 miles to seek out a living in a foreign land. For those, maybe DIY is a great accomplishment, but for others, spreading the wealth to unfortunates who don't have the luck to earn dollars.

I'm not sure how much fraud protection Thai credit cards have or how easy it is to claim fraud for charges.

I have a question about these mail-forwarding services. Do you notify all your credit cards and banks, the SS office, the driver's license office, etc. about your new mail forwarding address? I have used them in the past to forward my business correspondences (long time ago, even checks people sent to me) to these virtual mail boxes.

OP had a simple solution. Get a "wify" visa in Savannakhet and enter or exit as many times as you want. Instead, OP wanted to take short cuts by entering visa exempt multiple times.

At the VAT refund counters at the airport, I only see Chinese. That means they are buying. I also see Russians packed in the post office, sending winter clothes and shoes to Russia.

You pay Thai taxes first and then deduct your payment from your US tax obligation. If you claim to pay taxes in the US, it should not be a problem. But if you don't pay any taxes in the US, then it's a problem.

You get a decent living that you can't get in your home country, and you possibly can't get a wife to live with you using a "wify" visa.

You don't get a visa, you only get an extension by sharing your fortune with the unfortunates who don't have access to earning dollars.

I have sold two condos in the US but kept the house I bought a long time ago. During the summer, it needs yard maintenance. After receiving a fine from the city for having tall grass in the yard, I hired a company to mow once per month from April to November. I don't rent it. I used to rent my condos to AirBNB using an AirBNB management company for 25% of the full service. Great investment during the low interest rate in the past. You put down 5% and get the condo, and then rent it on AirBNB. My condos were in Las Vegas and Fort Lauderdale. The house is in IL, which I still own.

Are you jealous that you had to travel 10,000 miles to live at the mercy of a foreign IO like a refugee, possibly using a "wify" visa, because you could neither get a woman at your age nor a decent living in your home country and had to travel 10,000 miles to find both?

If Russia takes over Europe, there is no existential threat to the US but US would get involved if a NATO country is attacked.

Some make more money in a year than your entire family earns in their lifetime. No wonder people had to travel 10,000 miles for a living in a foreign land, like refugees, possibly using a "wify" visa.

Comparing the interest rate deduction to money brought to Thailand is not the same. Interest rates are accrued when money is kept in the account. If you withdraw it immediately after a deposit in the account, there is no interest or deduction. Moreover, they deduct for every person, whether you stay 180 days or not.

Please do so and see the consequences. You're not a Thai; in fact, you're nobody. You are a refuge in your own society and cannot get a decent living in your own country. You had to travel 10,000 miles to live in a foreign land at their mercy. Most probably also using a "wify" visa.

This will not work. The bank cannot charge 35% tax (tax is progressive, not a flat rate). Banks do not know who is a resident or a non-resident. Banks will vigorously oppose it.

GDP depends on productivity, not the number of workers. When machines take over, less population is not an issue. A smaller population will also require less infrastructure. The issue is maintaining a stable population so that a group does not vanish in the future.