Everyman

People speak as if consumption taxes “don’t count” or something but if they really knew and counted how much they spend on taxes for alcohol, cheese, vehicles, plus VAT, plus a bunch of other taxes they would see that already pay a lot. no “free rides” are happening.

Why does he have so much cash laying around?

It’s not a question of sensitivity. It’s practical. My conception of money isn’t tethered to some far away land. I’ve been in Thailand for more than 20 years, most of them time working and earning a salary in Thai baht. The existence of America doesn’t factor into what I consider expensive, the local economy does. If America sank into the sea like Atlantis, would you pick some other place to anchor your conception of prices? If so, why not pick Thailand?

I have several accounts connected to Wise with Plaid. Different accounts take different amounts of time. From my Citi account is takes a week, from Bank of America, just seconds. So try opening an account with a different bank.

The existence of Yosemite Park justifies price discrimination in Thailand? How is that a sane thought?

What absolute <deleted>.

I wish Bangkok Bank did that. Instead that’s a “Thais only” feature

My Bangkok Bank debit card has my name on it. I got it from the Bangkok Bank branch at the end of soi 6 in Pattaya. My home branch is in Bangkok. They tried to discourage me, and it took a week of waiting but I came back and they had a new debit card for me with my name on it, including full middle name.

Do Thai people actually drink red fanta or do they only offer it to spirits? And why do they suppose spirits like red fanta anyway?

What is the most common higher displacement motorbike in Thailand? 125cc plus, but hopefully more like 250cc It will be Thai mechanics working on it so I want something they will have experience with and parts for.

It basically is common knowledge in the sense that the information is easy to find. The American tax system is big and complicated though and not everyone has personal finance as a hobby. Here is the IRS page about it https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/foreign-earned-income-exclusion It can be a bit confusing with the “tax home,” thing, but the important part is the “physical presence test.” And the amount for the 2023 tax year is $126,500. I was just being approximate with the “six figures.” As I mentioned however, if you are self employed and your income comes from the US you’re on the hook for at least about 15% and there’s nothing you can legally do about that.

There is a randomness implied about “Murphy’s Law,” but the financial system isn’t random. The reasons for things may not be clear, but that is different from being random. In this context, Murphy’s Law is more a statement of ignorance. Which satisfies Occam’s Razor. The short version: The simplest explanation is that you don’t understand what’s going on and you call that “Murphy’s Law.”

As much as people complain about the American system, if you make under six figures in USD and live outside the US you don’t pay any taxes to America unless you are self employed. And then, it’s social security which you conceivably get some benefit for some day. But this requires that Americans understand the tax system and file the right paperwork which many are strongly averse to, it seems.

How exciting! Have any of you tried this yet? I would but I’m in Pattaya.

You could have your “total limit for online spending” set to 0. There’s a menu in the BBL app as shown in the attached photo. You could also be entering the card information wrong. I think if there is no name on the card there shouldn’t be a name entered, or if it says “Valued member” or whatever, that is what you enter not your real name.

So your conclusion is that the global mastercard network doesn’t work? Maybe apply Occam’s Razor here and realize it’s probably a setting on your account. Further, realize that an account at SCB might have the same issue.

Nobody pays taxes to Thailand on worldwide income because Thailand doesn’t do that. What it does have is mouthy officials who love to announce things that never happen. And foreigners that believe them for some reason.

Part of the problem is that the thai tax code is too primitive to exploit these kinds of clever loopholes - it doesn’t have them. It even taxes capital gains as normal income. It’s easy for rich people to just get on a plane and go somewhere that doesn’t reach into their pocket.

So your friend brings in at least 200,000 baht per month, using some reverse math. So that’s nearly a million baht every 6 months that he won’t be bringing into the kingdom. All due to the hysteria and run away speculation. Thailand needs to clear the air on this, who knows how much money they’ve already lost.

After one year with no activity and a balance less than 2,000 baht a monthly fee will be assessed each month until there is a negative balance at which time the account will be closed. This in addition to the yearly debit card fee.

I smoked weed on and off from 18 to about 40. I quit because I stopped enjoying it. In hindsight, I made some dumb decisions in my life when I was on it, that made things harder than they needed to be. I’m glad to be on zero substances at the moment, no cigarettes, no caffeine, no weed no alcohol.

Probably zero. This thread is exhibit A for why even if the worst rumors and speculation about new enforcement of the old tax laws are true, then the sensible thing to do is keep money offshore and/or don’t come to Thailand more than 180 days per year. Both cost the Thai economy more money than any revenue they might collect, and it’s a net negative. But personally, I’m looking forward to the conversation in April about despite *NOTHING* having happened, but about how it will in June or January or the next BS milestone.

I am legally disabled with documentation from my home country showing this. However, my disability is “invisible.” Do they require the disability be obvious?

Any updates on this? I am in Bangkok and eager to open an account at SCB. I have a DTV. I was rejected by them a few months ago and don’t want to bother if they are going to turn me away anyway.

Oh…I have an invisible disability. I guess that’s “better” except people don’t believe me.