Etaoin Shrdlu

Here's a link to the IRS website that mentions the saving clause. https://www.irs.gov/businesses/tax-treaties-can-affect-your-income-tax I think that for IRA distributions to be exempt from the application of the saving clause, the DTA would have to specifically state that. I don't think the US-Thai DTA does. I agree with Jim Gant's post above. The changes to the interpretation of the existing Thai tax regulations do nothing to negate the effect of the saving clause on one's US tax obligations.

Both countries have rights to tax IRA distributions under the US-Thai DTA. Thailand has exclusive right to tax private pensions, including IRAs. Presently, Thailand only taxes the portion of IRA distributions that are remitted to Thailand. Due to the operation of the saving clause, the US retains the right to tax IRAs after Thailand takes its cut, and this is regardless of whether the distributions were remitted to Thailand or not. The US does allow a tax credit for taxes paid to Thailand.

I agree.

Yes, that's true, but a test of this nature needs to be administered in the test subjects' native language and given to a sample that is representative of the country's population as a whole in order to be a somewhat valid measure of a country's average IQ. My point is that an online test administered in English will skew heavily towards a non-representative sample of Thais, such as doctors, dentists, academics and others who probably have higher IQs than the general population.

Some fine print from the website above: Data from International IQ Test (IIT) are based on data from 1,352,763 participants worldwide who took the same IQ test on the website in 2024. The website providing the test: https://international-iq-test.com/en/ Seems like the test is only given in the English language. What segment of the Thai population would be able to complete this test at all? I suspect this is why the result for Thailand is 102. Administer the same test in Thai to a cross-section of the general population and I suspect a different number would emerge.

But I must add that within the workplace, an employer does have quite a bit of leeway in determining what an employee may or may not say within the scope if their work. I think this would also apply when the government is the employer.

Not yet, but it seems MAGA is trying.

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No whiskey made outside of the US may be labeled "bourbon". The US, therefore, also imposes protectionist restrictions on alcohol, not just the French with champagne.

Palestinians, being Arabs, are semites, too.

Yes, It does! My oversight!

Actually, no, he's not allowed to drive on public roads. Current and past presidents and vice-presidents aren't allowed to drive on pubic roads due to security protocols.

Yes, he would need to be registered in a tabien baan here in Thailand in order to get a Thai ID card and then a new passport, but I am a bit surprised that the consulate said something about having to renew a birth certificate. I'm not aware that birth certificates carry an expiry date, but I also don't know exactly what a Thai consulate issues when a Thai citizen is born abroad. You will want to take every document that you are told you will need plus any other documents you can think of that could in any way be relevant to getting him registered in a tabien baan. Are you already registered in a tabien baan here that you can add him to or have friends or relatives who will let you use theirs? In any event, good luck in you quest.

Obtaining life insurance may require a bit more planning and thought than taking out travel or medical insurance. There are fewer life insurers catering to the expat market. If you have need for only a modest amount of life insurance and you live in Thailand, then a Thai insurer may be able to meet your needs. Most Thai insurers prefer to offer whole life instead of term life. For a number of reasons, Thai life insurance tends to be expensive when compared with cover offered in larger, more developed markets. If you need a significant amount of life insurance, then you might want to look at other options, including Canadian insurers, but bear in mind that some Canadian insurers may not wish to cover someone who lives overseas. Talk to a broker and an estate planner in Canada if you need a large amount of life insurance and/or have a large or complex estate.

There seems to be something different about the plastic bags that 7-11 now provides its customers. The old ones seemed much thinner and for heavier things it was necessary to double-bag. The new ones are much sturdier and feel like they're made out of a different type or grade of plastic. I normally just re-use a cloth bag that I got at Villa Market a long time ago.

This is the first step being taken to attempt to gut Social Security. False claims of "waste and fraud" to try to de-legitimize the Social Security system and then collapse it. Anyone who believes that the current administration won't try to curtail Social Security benefits for the average retiree hasn't been paying attention. This has always been part of the Republicans' ideology. https://newrepublic.com/post/192579/elon-musk-social-security-medicare-entitlements

There are a few things I'd like to add to Charlie's analysis: 1) Consumer protection laws in other countries are often more favorable than Thailand's. This, to a certain extent, can negate the supposed advantage of being under the OIC's regulations and oversight. Being under the OIC is better than not being able to determine who regulates your offshore insurer or having an offshore insurer that is regulated in a small, remote tax haven with lax oversight. The OIC is relatively consumer-friendly and anyone with a complaint will get a fair hearing. 2) While it can be somewhat difficult to measure, there is the issue of underwriting and claims-paying attitudes. Sometimes these attitudes are influenced by the environment in which an insurer operates. Insurers in low-trust societies may see things differently than those operating in higher-trust ones. However, insurers are generally a cynical lot and a policyholder in Thailand may face more scrutiny from an offshore insurer than a policyholder in some other countries. 3) There are too many insurers in Thailand vying for what is still a fairly small market. Because of this, they tend not to get the full benefit of the law of large numbers and economies of scale, making their portfolio more volatile and operating costs a higher percentage of premiums written. As a result, they are more conservative in their approach to underwriting and claims and charge higher premiums for the cover they do provide. 4) Many large foreign insurers are rated by the major rating agencies such as Standard and Poor and AM Best, making it easier to determine their financial ability to pay claims. Few Thai insurers are rated by S&P or AM Best, although some are rated by Fitch Thailand. Fitch Thailand's ratings are valid to compare Thai companies with other Thai companies, but may be a less reliable measure of absolute financial security. If you think it is difficult to get a claim paid in full and promptly by a large, well-reserved insurer, just try to get one paid by a small one that is financially on the edge. 5) The OIC regulates both policy forms insurers may issue and premiums that they can charge. While this can benefit the policyholder in that it helps prevent some sharp practices, it also stifles competition and innovation. It could be suspected that part of the reason for this type of regulation is to prop up some of the smaller and weaker insurers who would struggle to compete if rates and forms had more flexibility. The consumer may be deprived of better coverage and lower premiums as a result.

Job is gone Medicaid is gone IRA/401k down the tubes Have to take out a loan to buy a dozen eggs Don't dare get on a plane because the FAA has been gutted The guy who mowed the lawn and shoveled the walks was deported Can't get the bank to give money back because there's no Consumer Financial Protection Bureau any longer I'm sure that MAGAs will agree that this is but a small price to pay for the sake of knowing there's no DEI at the university they don't attend and no trans people in the bathrooms they don't use.

I would think that his Thai citizenship has been established by the Thai consulate in the US when they issued the birth certificate and Thai passport. Why do you think that your son's Thai birth certificate and expired Thai passport don't establish his Thai citizenship? Has he tried to get a new Thai passport from the US consulate using the expired one and his birth certificate?

I think that the wifi-only iPads are able to provide some location info based upon public wifi networks' IP addresses. Perhaps this is what is meant as a communications feature. I don't think this would be very suitable for navigation purposes, however.

With respect to Apple iPads, I think the chips for the GPS are part of the cellular chipset, so only the iPads with wifi+cellular are fully GPS capable. I have had iPads for many years and have used them with Google Maps for navigation, but all of them have been wifi+cellular.

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Here's a link to a reasonably credible source: https://thailand.go.th/issue-focus-detail/007_057

I think this is an example of even a broken clock telling the correct time twice a day. In my opinion, the greater harm accrues to the biological women who have to compete against biological men in sports where men hold a proven biological advantage. There are other endeavors where the trans community deserves protection from discrimination. This isn't one of them. Dems should let this one go and focus on something more worthy.

Some of them very expensive.