Karma80

I'm happy with my Toyota hybrid, thanks, especially in a country where scooters still fill up with gas sold in whisky bottles at the side of the road. Want to reduce emissions? Improve public transport infrastructure rather than wait for the top 1% to spring for EV's.

That is of course true. However, it will be very interesting to see what happens in the legal challenges which will no doubt be filed in the tax court. A couple of paragraphs from the Director General of the RD, on the instruction of the PM, does not make law. And this is perhaps the sad part about it all. An environment of uncertainty has been created, and all to pay for a promise of helicopter dumping cash on voters, even at the cost of economic pain for several years. Thailand has the opportunity to leverage its developing status, but instead is blowing it up.

Give that man a medal for calling out the digital wallet snout in the trough circus.

Actually, I think Palestine and Israel have a "few" more than the US or Thailand. But lest I forget, Thailand is the centre of the universe...

We already have digital payments in Thailand via the banking system. This wallet is a competing "currency" issued by the government via the central bank. The difference is they exert control, program where it can spent and at high level is just being used as a bribe to force people into the tax system with the lure of money being spent at their business in this one-off windfall. So who is paying for it? Every single adult, through the widening of the tax net and buying into a dystopian government digital IOU system. I sincerely hope that people in Thailand spend the 10k, get the money bank into the real banking system and dump it. However, the notion of "Super App" means that the government wants you to continue using it, and by "want", I mean to force you by restricting access to other services in future.

Money before morals. I don't care that there are Russians here, and heck - I would leave if I lived there too, but that's a poor look.

To be honest, I've lost track of which ministers, senators and politicians have criminal pasts. I just assume the majority do now and since they made merit, they are now outstanding members of the community. 😛

They already stay here anyway. You would be surprised how many "students" there are in Phuket or just plain overstay. They constantly list number one nationality in Phuket immigrations overstay charts.

Alternative headline: An Indonesian online travel agent report 50 flights booked compared to 10.

Or blind nationalism. Easy to be eager to run back home to fight when you have an overwhelming force, opposing a strip of rubble with a couple of US battle fleets parked there as overwatch. I wonder how many would be so quick if they were Russian and facing a meat grinder.

On the bright side, Thailand pushing forward with it will likely just be an exercise in how to screw your economy for no reason. Sure, people will spend 10k, in the nominated businesses that they can use the walllet - because it's free. Then they will just go back to using cash and prompt pay. Businesses will still enjoy instant transfers. Prompt pay will continue to drive instant settlements across ASEAN. The cost will be a decade of debt and inflation. This government will just point fingers and the whole mess becomes a footnote in the encyclopaedia of incompetence, now several volumes deep.

Drown out the voice of economic reason with your greed, please. A decade of debt for you to blow 10k, but only at places we tell you.

Still conscription. For the poors.

The government doesn't seem to understand that CBDCs compete with the normal monetary system and have many risks, so most countries have not proceeded. There is every chance they will screw the economy with this pursuit of a utopian tax dream or nightmare, whichever side of the fence you sit on.

Go to any place that allows the purchase of land and houses by foreigners and see the impact of Asian money on the local market. Careful of what you wish for. Sims for tourists? Why not. Can't hurt, and anything to increase mobile phone company competition is good.

Is there a country the PM hasn't agreed to take their money co-operate with?

Why. The expansion of the RD directive is regarding remitted monies, not dividends (a passive income which is not Thai sourced), which remain overseas. This is not assessable or included in a Thai tax return. Just as an aside - fun fact - the US is not a CRS signatory.

It was just the uncosted bribe to pay for votes. At worst, it's a way to introduce a CBDC into Thailand, which has some serious implications, especially given the less-than-democratic nature of the governance. Let's not pretend for a moment the intention is humane.

Shock news - one UK bank closes the accounts of a couple of people who are not resident in the UK - just like the terms and conditions of holding an account said all along. You can't expect anyone to have any sympathy for you if you decide to live in Thailand, or elsewhere, and do zero planning for you banking, taxation or other arrangements. There are plenty of banks and fintechs that cater to non residents and expats. The Thai RD directive isn't the sky falling down and you can structure around it quite well in most cases. You were always up for some international tax compliance by moving. Do I wish it was much easier? Yup. But it's not the end of the world.

TAT is already trying to blame the drop in tourism on a war which started a couple of days ago. They will spin any garbage at the moment to avoid the uncomfortable reality that Thailand is not as attractive as it once was. I don't think the Japan Tourism authority is seeing the same thing, as they are dealing with over tourism!

The Thai government talks about a great many things, including the impractical, impossible or just downright illegal from an international legal standpoint. Passing of information from Thai banks about Thai citizens to the Thai RD is one thing, but the passing of detailed transactional and customer information cross border is illegal beyond the scope of ratified agreements between countries. For example CRS.

The senate circus continues to be tone deaf to the mood of the nation and reinforce the public opinion they should go. This isn't a parking ticket - it's drug dealing and money laundering for heavens sake. Laughable. A low bar.

Remind me why I bother to pay my Non-B, work permit, tax, extensions, multiple re-entry, social security and Thai health cover again? Yes, it's only 300 Bhat, but it's just a grubby move and one more small thing to add to the pile of discontent and annoyance at airports.

I don't think this is any way to be talking about the future PM ????

*More frustrated. He didn't exactly start off the people's choice.