K2938

There is actually not enough data to decide at this point of time if it is really advisable to get Qdenga if you have not had dengue previously. For this reason, respected Western health authorities such the German ones do not generally recommend Qdenga for people who have not had dengue yet at this point of time. Also, the application of Qdenga for the U.S. was withdrawn for lack of sufficient data (which applicants generally do to prevent a rejection). So this all seems to support a cautious approach which also falls in line with Mahidol University as quoted by the OP ( https://www.thaitravelclinic.com/blog/vaccineinfo/dengue-vaccine-for-foreigners-travelers-in-thailand-should-i-get-it-update-2023.html ). Mahidol was actually also involved in the original development of Qdenga so what they say should have a lot of weight. This is not just some random "travel clinic". P.S.: I was actually planning to get Qdenga, but in view of all this I decided to better wait.

It is just PR. If you run the numbers, then the daily death rate during these new year days was only marginally above the average death rate over the entire year using last year's data (42.7 vs. 40.4 deaths per day). So these horrible year end days do not really exist at all. This is just the rate people die in Thailand in traffic accidents every day and nobody cares.

Based on our discussion I have today contacted some Indonesian firm providing immigration and tax advice. They confirmed that if a retired person is in Indonesia more than 183 days, he or she is taxable on global income. Without any caveats, without any exceptions. Sorry. So if you find some more evidence supporting what you say, then please let me know. But - unfortunately - I do not think it is true.

Thank you for this, but the Jakarta Post article you quoted is from 2019 and these changes have not been implemented as is also mentioned in your second link. That some poor pensioners might get away with not declaring taxes might well be true just as countless farang in Thailand have without penalty not declared foreign income submitted in the year it was earned, but I do not think this is the law unfortunately.

Who did you use in Hua Hin if I may ask?

But Indonesia has worldwide taxation and high tax rates unless you know something I don't

If your question is if there is an ATM BEFORE you go through immigration, then the answer is no. However, the chances of you actually being checked for this are very low. Moreover, if you have any written document confirming that you will be getting an LTR HSP visa, then you should not have any problems anyway. But if you want to make extra sure, you can also have the THB 20k in any foreign currency equivalent. It does not need to be THB. The onward travel ticket is more important because this is frequently checked by the airlines.

Unclear as so much. The most restrictive version I have heard is that it only exempts income actually earned (earned, not submitted!) in a year you hold an LTR visa, but not income from any other year. However, for regular pension payments that would appear to be sufficient for you.

They will not tell you...

"Those who obtain the LTR visa are exempted from paying personal income tax on their foreign assets or earnings. Since the launch of the scheme in September 2022, over 3,000 LTRs have been granted to foreigners. In the weeks since the Sep 15 announcement of the new tax regulation, there has been a 14 per cent increase in LTR applications, according to sources." https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/asean/thailands-tweak-tax-regulation-foreign-income-sparks-confusion-worries

"Those who obtain the LTR visa are exempted from paying personal income tax on their foreign assets or earnings. Since the launch of the scheme in September 2022, over 3,000 LTRs have been granted to foreigners. In the weeks since the Sep 15 announcement of the new tax regulation, there has been a 14 per cent increase in LTR applications, according to sources." https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/asean/thailands-tweak-tax-regulation-foreign-income-sparks-confusion-worries

That is indeed what the guidance issued so far implies

Currently undefined, but likely

1) You do not have to pay taxes in Thailand based on this scenario if all your income is non-Thai. How the situation is in other countries depends on the tax laws of these other countries. 2) Giving your Thai address to your foreign banks also does not change that you are not taxable in Thailand. With this now for the first time actually being reported to Thailand it might however be that Thailand will at some point of time report back to them that you do not really live in Thailand which might cause you some trouble with your banks.

It is not know yet, but it would appear that at the minimum they will ask again for proof that you held this deposit for at least one year and it might well turn out to be five years, i.e. since the start of your visa.

Here, as I have for a long time now. However, I have never been a tax resident. And I do not plan on becoming one. How are you NOT a Thai tax resident if you do spend the majority of the year and thereby more than 179 days p.a. in Thailand?

Moreover, if you are paying yourself a fictitious salary via a UAE company while permanently living in Thailand, then this fictitious salary will most likely be considered to be Thai income anyway, regardless of where it is paid. People got away with this in the past due to lack of reporting. But these times are probably over. So this is unlikely to work for many reasons.

Indeed. But it is a shame that you had to do this. And the more unnecessary hurdles they erect thereby, the less people will apply for an LTR visa.

What you can do is use some of your funds to buy annuities of the appropriate amount. This would then meet their criteria. But as this is probably a really poor investment, you are likely to save money by just forgetting about the LTR visa and buy an Elite visa instead.

And they also do not like gains very much if they are significant. They will then ask to see the gains for many years and given market volatility the gains were probably not constant or at some point of time were even losses and then they will hold this against you.

I respectfully disagree. My hypothesis is that they just could not intellectually grasp that somebody can be very rich without having a huge taxable income and that the really rich people moreover generally have lots of opportunities to structure things such that they do not pay a lot of taxes. These criteria were defined by some bureaucrats very remote from all this.

Unless something changed, deleting things does not remove them from the servers of the BOI even if it might appear like this.

Yes, thank you for this. But if I may ask you, @Guavaman, your conclusion that dividends, capital gains from financial investments and bond interest are not covered by the Royal Decree is something you worked out yourself based on your understanding of the document or this has also been confirmed to you by some tax advisor?

Let's see what @Guavaman says about his sources. He might well be right. Or maybe this is another area where just nobody knows.

This link is to the Royal Decree No. 674. But is the Royal Decree dealing with LTR visa holders not Royal Decree No. 743 (https://www.pkfthailand.asia/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Royal-Decree-743.pdf) (not sure what its link is for the rd.go.th website)? I think you are still quoting from the correct Royal Decree, but the link is incorrect. As @Thailand J above, I am not sure if your interpretation of what is included / not included is correct. But if it were - and prima facie you might well be right and I just always did not pay proper attention to this - this would be a rather unpleasant surprise. If I may ask, is this only what you came up with yourself reading the documents or was this also confirmed to you by some tax advisor?