Klonko

Could you please substantiate this assumption. I agree it will be most probably tax evasion if 100% of joint living expenses are financed by gift or the gifted amount is transferred back to the husband's Thai account. However, supporting the non working wife up to ≈ 50% of joint living expenses and enabling her to finance her share of living expenses from her own account is hardly tax evasion and I have found nothing to the contrary.

Splitting living expenses 50/50% payments to my account and gifts to my wife, gifts for larger purchases in the name of my wife and forgetting DTA (100% offset). Allows for THB 2.44m living expenses.

While I am flying under the radar as plan A, I have retained a Thai tax lawyer (recommended by my home country tax lawyer) to get professional assessment of my personal situation and have plan B (DTA), C (paying 5% tax) and D (179 days) ready. Flying under the radar is fine as long as I am able to land safely.

Cf. following clarifying post: Flying under the radar with less than THB 2m annual account turnover may remain an appropriate strategy for easy living in Thailand. I expect that workable solutions are also in the interest of Thai RD and doubt they will link IO extensions to tax filing.

AFAIK: Thai banks notify Thai RD on accounts with either ≥ 3000 transactions or ≥ THB 1.8m turnover per year. Assuming these thresholds are not changed and you do not have a Thai tax ID, you will not show on Thai RD radar if you stay below both limits. The yellow house book goes automatically with a Tax ID.

Which results in relatively low tax rates:

Tax rates after THB 310k deductibles: THB 1m 3.9% THB 2m 8.8% THB 3m 12.5% THB 4m 15.6%

I doubt aggregating CRS data (AFAIK no tax information) solves the problem when my foreign untaxed income is 300% of my foreign taxed income (20% tax rate) and I only transfer from my foreign account with only taxed income, which transfers would be taxed with 10% in Thailand unless offset under my DTA. I currently plan with multiple accounts unless Thai specifies a favourable ruling this year. I am confident that my DTA would protect me. However, instead of going the legal route, I would rather split my transfers between my account and as gift to my wife resulting in a 5% tax payable in Thailand, still better than being taxed on global income.

There are many workable setups, at least from the perspective of Thai RD. For the less favourable setups, it may help to maintain separate accounts abroad segregating taxed and untaxed income and transfer from the zero interest bearing taxed income account under DTA only when all funds in the account have been assessed by foreign RD.

Is there evidence that Thai RD applies LIFO and not FIFO.

Thai women's choice shrinks in their thirties.

Filing taxes in Thailand with offsetting income under DTA would be cumbersome and costly, but the press release may be intepreted that income in DTA countries is not subject to Thai taxes and filing not necessary, and I hope RD is considering cumbersomeness on its side as well. Anyway, as long as Thai does not tax worldwide income regardless if transfered to Thailand, we will still be able to live ≥ 180 days in Thailand under an internationally favourable tax regime.

Thanks for all replies. I will probably go for Daikin KZ Series and may choose higher BTU than calculated (current "deleted" Samsung AC is increasing fan speed in silent mode from time to time to not so silent mode in order to maintain temperature). Purchase from a shop in Sattahip which has serviced our existing 5 AC..

For our bedroom, I am looking for a new inverter AC (9000 BTU) which is as silent as possible, can operate without draft (no airflow downwards) and has the best possible air filter for smoggie February/March. I have narrowed down to Mitsubishi and Daikin, but there are too many models with similar specs to choose from. Is there any company/anyone in the Pattaya/Sattahip area which can provide reliable professional advice and expertise (English not mandatory)? Quality is more important than low price.

For the time being, Thailand is not taxing worldwide income. If you are in a higher income bracket, I recommend not relying on media releases or AN discussions or your interpretation of the applicable DTA, but to retain professional tax advice to ensure an efficient setup from 2024. However, clarification may only be obtained in 2024 upon practical implementation by the authorities. My plan B is to limit my presence in Thailand to 179 days if I incur substantially higher taxes or have to go through a burdensome process.

Decent quality: https://www.pnfcoffee.com/product/eureka-mignon-specialita/

Long enough to consider it more likely within the next 20 years that agents will not be able to provide workarounds anymore than Elite not to honour existing memberships. It is interesting that as many forum members support MFP and critize corruption as many forum members use agents for visa workarounds.

Assuming that future usability of agents is as probable as the validity of a 20 year Elite membership.

I have to un-/plug the wireless dongle because the CarPlay does sometimes not start on the Ora GoodCat's display (stuck with the initialisation screen). I have the same experience with my Honda Goldwing, but it is more cumbersome to un-/plug the dongle in the trunk while driving. I have not been able to replicate the fail scenario.

I have a dongle for wireless CarPlay, but I have to restart the dongle (un-/plugging) too many times for my taste.

The potential of Chinese nationals living in China (1) meeting LTR or new Elite requirements and (2) contemplating to flee an increasingly unfriendly environment is probably huge and by far exceeding other foreign nationals. Therefore it makes sense to concentrate on the Chinese clientele. Thai come originally from Southern China, but I think money is the key driver, and Thailand has been navigating between China and the United States in the past.. On the contrary, if China is further expanding aggressively, the South East Asian countries will strengthen alliances between themselves and with other countries. Same as with the new Silk Road and in Africa, where countries are realizing that investments from China come at a price and start to look for alternatives.

Visa requirements may be generally tigthened for "long term" stays because Thai authorities probably consider foreigners who can just afford Thai middle class standards for themselves and their Thai family not to add significant value to Thailand. The more the Thai economy is developping, the higher will be the expectations from "long term" staying foreigners. Foreigners with tight budgets - marriage with a Thai helps - can hope for continued inofficial schemes (and should not complain about "inefficient" bureaucracy).

Big C Extra used to sell quite good fresh Thai tenderloin at reasonable prices, but they do not offer this cut anymore. If I do not go for expensive fresh tenderloin or rib-eye in Big C Extra and Central Festival (Topmarkets), it is always a gamble and I have been disappointed too many times. I rather eat once a wagyu beef than 10 times a probably mediocre piece of meat. The local markets are good for pork and chicken (organic chicken are preferable).

In which respect is LTR flawed for retirees which, if they can pay for an Elite membership, probably qualify as wealthy pensioners?

Are there many people considering an Elite visa but not qualifying for a LTR?