Etaoin Shrdlu

There is no evidence that Christ was born near the winter solstice. Christianity just arrogated a pagan festival to convert Germanic and Nordic tribes.

I kind of like to think that all the lights, trees and other decorations are just celebrations of Yule, which is completely pagan and has nothing to do with any of the Abrahamic religions.

5 hours ago, Repton1 said:

Appreciate all the responses. Very useful and informative. Yes I have been residing with PR status in Thailand for several years now, during which 6 months ago I applied for and received a reentry permit/endorsement. I also recently exited and reentered Thailand with no issue. I am also aware of the updating of the red police book every 5 years. 
However I recently found out a friend of mine, who is also a PR holder, has under advisement of his agent reported to immigration annually. I see various mentions of this online from various sources though seems a bit vague. See https://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand-visa/permanent-residence-thailand under heading "Annual Reporting". Is this information incorrect/out of date? Thank you.

The information in the link is not correct. There is no annual reporting requirement for PR holders.

12 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

That's basically the idea, ha ha.

Yup!

Why not give gays the right to be just as miserable as the rest of us?

One of my children had an expired first-time 2 year license and wanted to renew it before returning to university in the US. Couldn't get an appointment at the local DLT office in Bangkok in time, so went to another province nearby and managed to get it done.

It would therefore seem that the system is capable of doing so, however each individual DLT office may have a different policy.

Good luck.

The typical time between having the implant inserted and the crown placed on it is usually between three and six months. 

My daughter had an implant and crown within the past year and the cost was around 75,000 baht.

One used to be able to find lawn bowls at the RBSC Polo Club. Might still be there, but don't know.

As far as I am aware, Thai insurers only offer annual cover for health insurance.

I think you will find this to be the case for health insurance from almost any major international insurer as well, although there may be niche insurers that offer such cover. I would expect it to be expensive in any event.

3 hours ago, earlinclaifornia said:

The local police administer a written agreement with both as to responsibility. In the USA all states have a fine for not having your vehicle insured. Hence myself wondering what advice could he have been provided.

 

https://www.kbb.com/car-advice/insurance/penalties-driving-without-car-insurance/

 

 

The only mandatory "insurance" is the Por Ror Bor scheme which provides limited no-fault medical along with death and disability benefits to people injured or killed in motor vehicle accidents. The benefits are quite low by Western standards.

Por Ror Bor isn't liability insurance, so there is no cover for damage to third party property or actual legal liability for bodily injury. 

Thailand does not require real third party liability insurance for motor vehicles.

4 hours ago, timendres said:

 

Working provides a path to permanent residence. The path is very expensive, in my opinion, for its limited benefits.

You have to be sure that your salary meets the minimum (I believe 60k per month), and you need that for three years.

Then you will likely part with somewhere between 300k and 1M baht to complete the process, depending on how you do it.

The one big benefit for permanent residence is the ability to purchase land, if I recall correctly.

As for citizenship, I am not sure, as I have never looked into it.

PR holders aren't able to own land.

If you have an iPhone you can turn off data roaming in the settings menu. I'm sure Android phones have similar. I've never had a data bill from AIS while overseas while my phone's data roaming was turned off. Just make sure you turn it off before you get on the plane.

17 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

If that is the case, all one would have to do is take a photo of any bike same colour and model and get a number plate with the same number as the original bike.

There are many ways to commit insurance fraud and I suppose insurers can't stop them all. Photos would probably prevent the less determined and inspections would stop even more. Nothing is perfect. 

16 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

I could be a random thing... i.e. with specific insurance companies, 1 in every 10 applications has to go through this process.

 

For most of us its hasn't cropped up because we don't have 1st class insurance on our bikes. 

 

My latest bike was 230,000 baht...   it had insurance for the first year, after that I haven't bothered - its also something I forget about.

(I'm not even certain if its taxed or insured at the moment, I vaguely remember taxing and getting the Por-ror-bor online, but not sure exactly when).

If you were to upgrade cover to include physical damage to the vehicle at renewal, you would almost certainly have to submit photos or let a surveyor take a look at your vehicle. Insurers aren't going to pay claims for damages that occurred before the relevant cover incepted. They make sure they aren't going to do so by requiring photos or an inspection if upgrading or if they are insuring a used vehicle for physical damage for the first time. 

16 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Unusual, i just got a renewal through from AA MSIG no requirement for photos, for some reason they think the op might make a fishy claim

If you are renewing an existing policy with the same insurer with the same level of coverage, there shouldn't be a requirement to submit photos. It is only when you either switch insurers or upgrade the level of cover at renewal that photos may be needed.

21 minutes ago, JimGant said:

 

Yes, under the current system, where income remitted the following year is tax exempt (and we filter this thru a home bank account, not via direct deposit to Thailand). But if all remittances, whenever remitted, are subject to taxation, and income has to be parsed from savings, then it becomes unmanageable (when I Wise a huge chunk of my savings account to Thailand, a savings account consisting of multiple after tax direct deposits) -- and established with an inheritance -- and where accounting rules, like Fifo or Lifo, don't apply to remittances (these are GAAP terms) -- how are you going to sort out this fungible mess of dollars?).

 

Anyway, we've heard rumblings about converting to an income vice remittance system. And, if Thailand is serious about collecting more taxes from overseas income, then this is the way they'll have to go; because their current 'brought in next year' is very clever at tax avoidance, and doesn't require a parsing between income and savings: It just gives blanket cover to all cash flow sent into Thailand, with the understanding that any income involved had to be earned in a previous year, otherwise the sender was nuts. Now, however, with the new proposed rules, parsing must take place, as you can't tax all remitted cash flow -- and such parsing is impossible, with reasonable screening resources. Thus, we'll either return to the old system, if the fat cats have their way -- or income, not remittances, will be the taxation of the future. 

Yes, good point. Remitting commingled funds that include income earned after December 31, 2023 does create a big problem under the new interpretation of the rules.

We'll have to see how this plays out.  I suspect eventually Thailand will move to taxation of global income, but that will require a re-write of existing tax law and may take some time.

38 minutes ago, JimGant said:

 

Oh, yawn. How are they going to determine what amount of your remittance to Thailand is income or post-taxation savings? They can't, and they won't, as they're not brain dead about all the negatives being addressed on this thread. Most importantly, foreign direct investment (FDI) would evaporate if the they taxed all remittances -- and they're not about to go there.

 

Yes, there's income out there to be gained, if Thailand did away with the remittance rule (and the Thai fat cats didn't prevent that tax avoidance scheme from happening). So, say they did -- now worldwide income, subject to DTA exemptions or primary taxation authority rules, would dictate how taxation goes forth in Thailand. In my situation (US), I still would not need to declare my Air Force pension and Social Security pay as assessable income in Thailand (as US has "exclusive" taxation rights on those). But my IRA annual payout (due to RMD) would, under the DTA, be taxable primarily by Thailand, with the US as secondary taxation authority -- meaning, Thailand keeps all the taxes; the US keeps only the taxes, if any, not negated by the tax credit from Thailand. For me? Since Thai taxes would be less than US taxes on this IRA payout, my total tax payout from both countries would be no different than under the old rules, where I didn't need to file with Thailand. And, now, in all fairness -- Thailand finally gets those taxes dictated by the US-Thai DTA -- which had been precluded due to the 'remitted in a a later year' Thai law. Fine by me.

 

Anyway, for Yanks, nothing's going to change with your worldwide tax bill -- only that more of your taxes may go to Thailand, where before they went to the US. Thus, no need to plan for a 185 day vacation from Thailand (186 in leap year) to avoid taxes.

 

Now, for those of you screaming about the unfairness of having Thailand tax some of your income, but who now have none of your income being taxed, including in your home country -- welcome to the new OECD effort for "fiscal fairness." And, yes, CRS and FATCA reporting will be a "gotcha" for you, should Thailand go to taxing income, and not remittances. And Thailand really has no choice, as trying to parse remittances for taxation purposes is a non-starter.

 

But, maybe the Thai fat cats will win out, and this new tax proposal will self-destruct. Thailand will survive -- just jump of VAT a couple of points.

 

If you're a Yank, I wouldn't waste too much time reading this thread, as all the doom and gloom doesn't affect you.

Good post.

Thai tax rates get up to 35% faster than US tax rates, so it is possible for some people that their tax bill would be higher when paying Thai taxes, especially under a global taxation scenario. To some extent this would be mitigated by non-assessable income such as Social Security and/or military pensions as well as for those with really high income where US tax rates go up to 37%, although there are probably few Americans here that would fall into this tax bracket. There is also the issue of qualified dividends and capital gains being taxed at lower rates than ordinary income in the US, but not in Thailand.

These are things to be aware of, but not lose sleep over. If Thai taxation of overseas income stays on a remittance basis, then it is generally easily managed.

The insurance company wants to make sure that the motorbike doesn't already have accident damage from before they start their cover. They won't pay to fix damage that was incurred prior to the start of their policy. The way to prove that there is no existing damages is to submit photos.

1 hour ago, Eudaimonia said:

 

Yes, I forgot to mention that I am not a US citizen, I just like to invest there. As a nonresident alien, I have never filed anything with the IRS. The broker withholds 15% of my US dividends, and that's the final amount. It's shown on Form 1042-S, which I get every year.

I should have deduced that from your post even though you did not mention it specifically. My mistake. You should be ok then.

1 hour ago, Eudaimonia said:

Here's my action plan. Maybe this is helpful to someone, or someone can point out mistakes. I am not in retirement age yet but live off investments abroad, so this change certainly affects me.

 

I have a portfolio of stocks from different countries. I now set up a new broker account and moved all my US stocks and ETFs there. Selling and buying back shares that have appreciated realised all capital gains so they will not be taxed later.

 

The main reason to have two accounts is that dividends from various countries have different withholding taxes. For example, the UK and Singapore are 0%. Those would be taxed when remitted to Thailand after 1.1.2024. That is why it is best to have separate accounts.

 

The US withholding tax for Thailand tax residents is 15%. I already have a Thai tax ID, which I have sent to my broker, so they apply the double tax agreement and withhold 15% tax from my US dividends. 
 
Calculating Thai personal income rates using the progressive levels (5-35%), I see that the overall tax rate rises to roughly 15% at around 1.4 million baht. I plan to remit up to 1.4 million per year and use a withholding certificate from my broker to prove that I have already paid 15%. I expect to attach proof of the withholding tax paid and be able to claim it as a credit (The Revenue Department has promised they will amend the tax forms for this). That means there should be little or no Thai tax to pay.

 

What if 1.4 million baht is not enough in the future? Maybe I need to buy something expensive. Luckily, according to the latest order No. 162/2566, the new rules will not apply to income earned before 1.1.2024.

 

Before the end of this year, I will transfer some funds to a new offshore bank account that is ring-fenced for remittance purposes. In January, I will send some of that money to my Thai bank account, and as pre-2024 earnings it will not be taxed. So, I have some savings as a buffer. It is possible to remit that pre-2024 money later as well, but if the offshore account accrues any interest, that interest part would be taxable in Thailand. We do not yet know how such mixed funds will be treated.

 

(If I sent more money to my Thai account now, in December, it would be assessable income because I have earned it this year. That has always been the case, according to the old law. So I have to wait until 2024.)

 

My other broker account, with non-US stocks, will never be used to send anything to Thailand. I can use those funds when staying abroad. At this point, they will not be assessable income in Thailand. However, even that might change in the future. Therefore, it is best to sell (and buy back) those shares now as well to realise the capital gains before 2024.

 

Does this sound like a feasible plan? Have I missed anything?
 

The 15% withholding that your US broker remits to the IRS is most likely not the actual amount of US taxes you will be required to pay.

I think you will only get a credit against your Thai taxes for actual amount of tax paid as evidenced on your 1040 tax form and not the amount that gets withheld by your broker. Depending upon your income level, the actual tax you pay on your investment income to the IRS could be more or less than the 15% withheld.

2 hours ago, liddelljohn said:

CITI  shifted by them already and my Citibank account closed  in january this year , It was all done by CITI and UOB automatically  so now I have  no contact point for  CITI   only UOB

My experience is different than yours. I'm still using both the Citibank online website and the Citibank mobile app. All of the branding remains Citibank and the account number is the same, 

Here's a screenshot of part of the notice I received by email from UOB on November 30th:

5 hours ago, liddelljohn said:

 

The other Bank is UOB which was Citibank  they amalgamated   last year and I often used Citi to make offshore payments , UOB supposed to be seamless but now they cant see the old  data  which shows all my incoming funds ???? so they wont do the transfer ??  spoke with them on Phone ,, the data is in Citibanks records  ????

 

 

Citibank hasn't yet shifted accounts to UOB. I recently received a notice that UOB will take over Citibank accounts in the second quarter of 2024.

You may want to call Citibank and see what they can do for you.

If you are remitting your offshore income as defined by the new rules, then you would be required to pay the tax. I don't think it will matter how or to whom the funds are remitted.

Western Union is an option. Probably more expensive than transferring from your bank, but I think you can transfer out up to 800,000 baht if you go to one of their locations.

https://www.westernunion.com/th/en/send-money.html