Fat is a type of crazy

There are lazy thais, and obnoxious thais, and tedious thais, and aggressive thais, and cringe Thais, and smart thais, and some girls who want your money. Same as in Australia. If I had to summarise though thais are generally more friendly, do smile more, are more gentle, the women more feminine in a traditional sense, and maybe are a bit disassociated from the larger world, and put up with things that people from other countries and culture wouldn't put up with. Could be good and bad of buddhist culture and political and economic structure they are used to.

I think as a whole you are correct that people have been slow to act on something that you could see coming - saw a Jimmy Kimmel interview last year and thought holy hell that was hard to follow - is this the guy till 2028. No way.

I concur that in 2024 he's an inappropriate candidate but this narrative that he's had dementia since 2019 and it was hidden I find disingenuous. Sometimes it's hard to see grey when black and white feel better but he was much much better in 2019 and it has seemingly been a slow and steady decline. He has said some silly, inappropriate things and lost his way from time to time for many years but I think that was normal old age and I still don't think he has dementia but is an old guy who can't think fast and remember things fast like a younger person. Imagine you had a week to participate in a debate and have your head around so many issues facts and figures - it would be hard - but he is the President so no excuses. I have seen dementia - if he had it since 2019 he wouldn't be able to had done well what he did in 2019 nor would he be able to function as he can now despite that terrible debate appearance.

I have noted this in other posts I think but the post above notes that what they call civil service pensions - which I assume includes employee superannuation like the CSS and PSS pensions - are specifically excluded by the Double Tax Agreement and only taxable in the state that disperses them and are not taxable in Thailand. So that to me indicates you have been taxed correctly up till now and will not be taxed in Thailand on this income but not a bad idea to look into it further as the other poster says.

If Jill and Joe are determined he should continue then Joe should do 2 or 3 hard, detailed, interviews in the next 2 weeks - not scripted rallies - and prove his case that it was a one off shocker.

Losers say things like that. Are you a loser? Be better Bob. Be the best Bob you can be and maybe Thailand won't seem so bad.

I think you are mistaken i.e. if the income is sourced in Australia it may be taxable in Australia at non-resident rates e.g. the government super pension mentioned, rental income on Australian property, etc. Of course interest earned in Australia is still taxed at 10 per cent for non residents. You can likely get a tax credit for tax paid in the other country but the way your post reads is once you are a resident of Thailand and pay tax in Thailand on all income there is no tax to pay in Australia full stop. This post was quite good in the name of Dinga - it is looking at the new tax rules for Thailand but discusses the Double Taxation Agreement and tax for non residents of Australia. https://aseannow.com/topic/1306896-thai-government-to-tax-remitted-income-from-abroad-for-tax-residents-starting-2024/page/282/

Eric I appreciate your sentiment and your loyalty but what is done can't be undone. That was beyond a bad day. There wasn't much enthusiasm for him before and we can't rely on he's not Trump to get past the finishing post.

You haven't worked it out yet. Bit slow. That's his schtick. Say something like Pho is Thai or Fosters is popular in Australia and a craft beer or purposefully get a thai greeting wrong and get a reaction. Or he got a good deal on a nike tshirt in Thailand for $23 that is clearly a fake. Not sure what his motivation is. Him and Yamu seem to be brothers in arms or the same person.

Wouldn't it be pro rata. So as long as you had in the bank you'll get the 1.5 per cent but each 6 months only. Paid monthly is probably more normal but how have you been ripped off. If you closed the account they'd probably credit you what you are owed unless it is like a term deposit with rules for taking funds out of the account.

But you are right not working can lead to boredom. Friends and family aside I think it's a lot less boring here in low season than in Australia in Winter. So many more options that seem like more fun. Doing nothing is better in warm weather.

If he read the posts of Trump supporters on sites like this, seeing how they mimic the Fox News and other right wing narrative about his presidency and about who Trump is, it would be hard not to soldier on. It takes the same heroic sentiment that made him step up for 2020 to accept that Trump is a bigger threat and waste of space than ever but others need to take it from here. I hope Jill and other family, friends and advisors aren't the types to flog a dead horse, and create a fantasy scenario that he has 4 more year in him.

You added that last bit on afterwards to be mean ... look if you were stuck for 7 weeks in a 21 sqm room amongst drunks and sad people and your escape was to go for long sweaty walks around Pattaya I feel your pain. But it was fairly likely given you would have known before hand but lesson learned and all that.

I am liking the hot but not too hot weather in Jomtiem. Winter at home. Not much pollution. Not too busy. Accommodation and facilities get a lot of bang for your buck. I think I'm a low season in Thailand kind of guy. Nice food and all the other things mentioned many times. Think I'd miss the lack of certain foods, beer, wines, people I know, language I know, seasons if stayed too long.

I think I could identify a fair few posters from the text alone. Or get close. There is one poster who has taken on several identities, and others too, and it doesn't take long to work that out. I don't come here for facts except the rare occasion I have a visa question or something. You come here to read different personalities express themselves and interact and AI is a poor substitute for that.

I imagine there's all sorts of things happening behind the scenes and it will come to pass that Biden will not run. It has to be so. The fact that he polled well after the debate should not be succor for Biden but a reflection on the distrust and dislike for Trump.

Can't see a benefit except maybe the first year. Interest alone you could have a small benefit - but won't that be offset and more by higher tax on the PSS pension and possible other income that you note uses up the tax free threshold. But if other reasons make it work for you then no worries.

I am doing the same as paragraph 2 and get that deduction. So I can have say $18,200 interest as per your example and if I contribute a similar amount to my super fund I get the same deduction. So I still haven't used up my tax free threshold based on that income alone. So that $15,000 interest has nil tax because that first $18200 income is still available. This is setting aside other income which lets assume is taxed at the same rate for residents and non residents though residents have a benefit all the way up to $45000 income based on 2024 marginal rates given the 19 per cent rate between that and $18200.

I too am not sure how you'd be better off unless you have huge amounts available to earn interest. Many would say those huge amounts would do better in other investments but that's beside the point. I note that as a resident you could put funds in super e.g. a separate fund from your government one - get a tax deduction for part of it - and then later in an annuity and pay no tax. I am still working out how that works. Then of course as a non-resident you may have to pay tax in Thailand though it seems Defined tax super pensions are not taxable under the Double tax Agreement. On the interest though lets say you have $500,000 to earn bank interest. At 5 per cent interest that's $25,000 interest or $2500 in withholding tax for non residents. The tax for a resident would be less than that say $1200 based on marginal rates. So you would need a lot of savings to gain a benefit or am I missing something. That is assuming you pay the same tax on other income such as your PSS payment as a resident or non-resident once the beneficial lower marginal tax rates are used up.

Me thinks that maybe your assumptions about the media you seem to despise were a bit off. I give you that MSNBC and CNN have a bias in that the pick the stories the audience likely want and they present too much of Trump and not enough actually important stories. But you may be surprised that they are often critical of the left when warranted. And the criticisms of Trump aren't so much an unfair bias in my opinion as a different world view whereby he really is an appalling candidate and person in an objective way. I think newscaster in years gone by from the 60's onwards, many whom you probably respect, would have presented Trump in a similarly bad light. In summary I was not surprised a bit to see a fairly presented debate.

You could look for some better accommodation than you had in Jomtiem so it's more enjoyable. They say Nimman is nice with lots of food and fun things to do. . Prubangboy knows about that. Maybe he can tell you. You could be his friend.

I went from my airconditioned hotel with pool to my air conditioned restaurant for a nice cold beer with a friend and some hawker working hard in the hot sun all day carrying heavy stuff put their stuff down near me, showed no deference, and was annoyed I didn't buy her stuff. Thailand is terrible now. Boo hoo.

Not too shabby an option though. Work a bit hard for 4 months. Be president.

He seems to have done better in his appearance today. Problem is even if he did really well in second debate people are going to say which one will we get when he's president .. for 4 more years. Please Jill or Barack - have the talk that needs to be had.

America has successful companies. If it didn't have successful companies it would be stuffed. Well now I know thanks.