Lorry

I am afraid on Samui I couldn't communicate with the locals, I don't speak Russian

There is no healthy Thai bread. The much lauded Farmhouse sponges "breads " contain 5% sugar and are unbearably sweet. It's useful as bubble foil, though. Baguettes at BigC (not Lotusss) are edible, but sweet, of course. Macro sells bread without sugar. Tastes like cardboard. Some German bakeries sell ok bread, not all.

The rice has been harvested, ready to burn the fields. The local sugar mill did a test run, working fine. 7-11 reintroduced free plastic bags. Preparing everything to gas us one more smog season (while we still enjoy the present, clean air). I have a ticket out of here. Happy breathing!

I wouldn't mind if all those YouTubers shut up. Had to endure a conversation this morning, about how fascinating Msphere is on YouTube - must see!

Your answer is complete BS. This mail is just a logical consequence of CRS (and FATCA). It's actually very nice of Kbank to send people this mail. They ask questions first. There is a Belgian guy who posted, his bank told him after the fact what they had done with his financial information. In my home-country, they don't tell you at all, neither before or after the fact. And, of course, they don't ask you questions. They just send your financial information all over the world without you ever knowing.

They wrote it in the emailed answer someone posted here. They are not obliged to ask everybody. Only if there is reason to suspect foreign tax residency. CRS is much more relaxed than the US FATCA, European banks often ask every single customer to fill out a FATCA form.

Thats normal slave labor, like in sweatshops in many places or, for example, in the Thai fishing fleet. The scamming industry is different in 3 ways: - the product is illegal (scamming calls) - the slaves are not only from poor countries like Myanmar, but from rich countries, too (Taiwan, Russia) - it operates often outside the jurisdiction of nation states

It's Paederus. The effects are sometimes called Nairobi eye. When I had it for the first time, everybody asked me how I had gotten into a fist fight. I never got it that bad again, but, yes, I respect them very much. Never touch!

Sure, I told him JT's address

That's 39 out of about 390,000

We just found the same thing in our bedroom. GF doesn't like them. I put a plastic bag over it and let it fly outside.

1. The others should do it, too. Some are slow. Some dont care about self- certification and just assume you are Thai tax resident (this may get the bank into trouble) or assume you are a foreign tax resident (this may get you into trouble ) 2. Download the forms from their website, links have been posted in this thread. 3. Yes. But the girl at a small branch may not know what you are talking about.

I guess they won't accept many of the TEDAs etc. They won't accept DTAs, only after a looooot of hassle. They won't accept gifts (that has been said by another poster) or inheritances from outside Thailand. Most important: they are preparing to be well informed of our financial situation once taxation of worldwide income starts. The red Kbank emails are very hostile. I expect the worst.

I am sure my local RD office will be very unhappy if all the farangs in the neighborhood (there are many) turn up and want to file nil returns or similar cr@p. I remember my last filing. I include the complete conversation: ไม่มีรายได้อื่น? ไม่มี That's the level, they (and I) can handle. But from Kbanks red mails, it's clear, that - as in my home country - the TRD uses the banks as tax inspectors, expects every foreigner to get a TIN (guess why?) and is going after the pensioners. I never believed those who in the beginning said they wouldn't go after the pensioners - they are. Low hanging fruit. Who will win? The local RD office and @JimGant? Or their bosses, far away, and @chiang mai?

Yes Staff at the branch will have no idea. In their desperation, they (or you) will call the call center. Call center will have no idea. After about 30 minutes on the phone, call center may find someone who has heard the letters "CRS" and who will tell you something that's most probably wrong. Hints: They all know FATCA. They will ask you if you are American. If you are not, they say it doesn't apply to you - wrong (if you are American, you are f...d). CRS applies to many farang. Unfortunately, the people in the bank who deal with CRS are the team FATCA. And these guys don't talk to customers. I Normally not. They will ask again. They really have to do this, late a bit ( like a year or 2) is ok, but not forever The bank has to ask people if they have reason to assume they have a foreign tax residency. Somchai from Ban Nadi in Surin? No. Tony? Yes, in theory. Yes, if your account has been opened recently - if the branch would have known. It probably didn't know and didn't care. Yes, its part of CRS. Very common. People rent condos (and pay deposits) like this.

Editorial in the Bangkok Post: https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2907696/mae-sots-sour-trafficking-record Victims from 60 countries. According to victims, they are swept through immigration at Bangkok's international airports and driven through border checkpoints to Mae Sot without issue. Some are even flown directly to Mae Sot. Undeniably, local corruption is involved. Once in Myawaddy, the victims are imprisoned, their phones confiscated, they are forced into debt bondage, and are forced to scam people worldwide. Those who refuse or fail to meet quotas face torture, including beatings, electrocution, and other abuse. They must pay a ransom if they want to be released. Thailand cannot ignore its responsibility to take legal action against crimes happening within its borders -- especially against corrupt officials and those involved in money laundering. Additionally, the government must address the telecommunications infrastructure enabling these online call centres. Who might provide this "telecommunications infrastructure"? (Hundreds of thousands of SIM cards, base stations with masts, power...) I asked Somchai, the guy who sells mobiles and SIM cards in front of our condo. He says it wasn't him.

This is not so much about Thai taxes, as about home country taxes. Example: We, Kbank, got the information from Mr X (from his self-certification), that he is a tax resident of Timbuktu. His Timbuktu TIN is 1234567. So, in compliance with CRS, we will send financial data about Mr X to the Timbuktu tax authorities. So Timbuktu tax authorities can levy taxes, eg on the interest he received in Thailand for his 800,000 B. Timbuktu, of course, will return the favor. If Tbank learns that a certain Mr T (who holds zillions of Timbus in a high-yield account) is a tax resident of Thailand, they will notify the Thai tax authorities. So Thailand can tax Mr T's capital gains from Timbuktu.

So you know now. They learned it from the plutocratic democratic West.

(Actually, they are not so new anymore. But I managed to avoid them until now) What ViaBus calls "38/3-8", that's what ordinary people call "bus 38"? The sign on the bus may read "38", or "3-8", or both? What Google calls "3-11/48", that's what ordinary people call "bus 48"? The sign on the bus may read "48", or "3-11", or both ? Am I correct? (I just guess) If ViaBus and Google don't agree, which one is probably right? BTW Google recommends walking on the water of our local Khlong for about 1 km (that's not even a shortcut) - do they mean wading (it's only 2-3m deep) or swimming?

This email and the forms are the normal self-certification for FATCA/CRS. Necessary for the bank to participate. Every bank should have sent this to all old customers in the beginning of the year. Some are slow. (Actually, all are slow.) New customers should have given all this information to the bank when opening the account. Some old customers may have provided this information, but cannot remember it. They are very US-centric because the land of the free is the most intrusive one the US asks a lot more than the EU (CRS is basically the EU version of FATCA - I know this is a simplification)

There are many brands of triamcinolone oral paste. Every pharmacy has it. Just go and show them the ulcers. Works very well.

Yes, it's a flying saltwater crocodile. They are toxic, poisonous and venomous. Just by breathing the same air as you, they transmit rabies, covid and H5N1. Leave this place asap, drink 2 gallons of methanol and take a bath in 100%bleach.

Catholic, too. When I was young, it was easy to recognize a prostitute in Spain, eg in Madrid: every woman between 15 and 45 who was not at home. Spain has changed a lot in the 80's and 90's. About Poland or Ireland, I have no idea. Islam is not the only patriarchal religion. BTW in Iran, since the revolution, women are not groped (too dangerous for the man). Quite the opposite in Turkey and Pakistan.

I see Thais filing taxes. And the ones I see not filing taxes, some do worry about taxes. This is something new, the same people wouldn't know how to spell t-a-x 5 or 10 years ago. I have yet to meet a freelancer filing taxes, but I don't discuss taxes with freelancers often.

My Regional Revenue Office can more or less muddle through with English, at the level of a waitress 30 years ago. In the Area Revenue Office, no English. (Both in Central Bangkok, in areas with lots of foreigners). BTW the existence of the Regional Revenue Office is not known in the Area Revenue Office. When shown name and address of the Regional Revenue Office, staff at the Area Revenue Office had no idea what kind of place that might be.