TroubleandGrumpy

Take the ATO online test - https://www.ato.gov.au/single-page-applications/calculatorsandtools#DORSLA/questions I recommend never call ATO or Centrelink unless you know exactly what you are calling about. They keep everything on record and can (and will) use it against you in the future. The days of impartial off-record call advice is over - they will ask questions anmd keep your answers. The online tool above is however anonymous so answer the questions and see what they say. If the answer is 'not sure you need to contact us - dont unless you want to risk having them chasing you for back taxes. Go back on website and answer questions differently to see if that affects the outcome. If the answer is what you want/expect then keep a copy of that webpage result and file it away somewhere.

Has the ATO confirmed you are a non-resident for tax purposes? Have you done their self-assessment to confirm? Check all that out and make sure. But if you are a non-resident for tax purposes, then you do not have to declare any income earned overseas. If/when you return, make sure you do so at the 'right' time of year to ensure you have no potential tax obligations in Australia. July is a good time to 'start again'.

Urban Myths seem real and all the negativity about Casionos is exaggerated myths. Casinos bring great economic benefit - and as long as the arrangement is organised, setup and managed well, and the negative social aspects can be greatly mitigated. Right now there is illegal online and in-house gambling all over Thailand - mainly by the locals - with all the associated social costs such as loan sharks etc. but without any real economic benefit (taxes and fees). It can be done and can make a big benefit both ways - Singapore and Macau are good local examples. Would those responsible in Thailand get it right?? Well I have to admit the current lot would probably not - which is a good reason to wait a while. But it is a good thing - if done right.

Bad News for the economy - it could have seen them through the coming bad times.

Mate - I have stopped wasting my time. They cannot 'reason' and while it is fun shooting eco delusional fish in a bucket, in the end it is easier to just empty the bucket. I have said I will come back in 10 years - and if BYD and other cheap Chinese cars are still being sold in the West, then I will admit I was wrong. But even then, I know when they do 'disappear' that the eco warriors will blame 'haters' like me and you, who dare criticise the quality and viability of cheap Chinese EVs, and who keep killing the planet by using ICEs and ruining Greta's life 🙂 The same people that support shutting down the planet because oil is bad and we should all be forced to drive an EV, are the same people that support Hamas - there is something in that. It speaks volumes of their delusions and foolishness, they probably fall for all the scams like - 'this bottle of wonder drugs will make you healthy' - 'shampoo made from the excreted food of an aardvark will cure baldness' - etc etc etc. PS - back in the 1990s I said to a work colleague that this climate global warming was all a scam and greatly over-eggagerated. He reckoned the planet will be dying within 20 years and species will be destroyed - I said the same thing about that as I am saying about the Chinese EVs - it is now over 30 years and they are still screaming that the planet is dying and the world will end. But unlike that scam which has no 'use by' date because it is more like a religion which cannot be disproven, the Chinese EVs will be proven fake within 10 years.

Last time I called CLink the wait was about 25-30 minutes. I find it best to call on Wednesdays and before lunchtime in Australia - Mondays and Fridays are always very slow. Extra people are calling and the public servants have those two days off a lot more than the others.

Same as Hamas - they think civilians dying when they hide behind and under them, is OK because it is good for their cause.

Seems to me that the same people that are delusional about the climate change BS and have fallen for that propaganda, have also fallen for the propaganda about the Chinese EV market and their EV cars. There are none so blind as those that believe is something that is clearly propaganda. IF in 10 years the same China brands are selling their EV cars in the West, because they have been proven to be reliable and value for money, then I will be convinced. The sad things is that when they crash and burn, those 'believers' who are sucking up the propaganda will blame other things for that happening - rather than accept they were wrong and foolish. See you all then - thread bookmarked for future reference - if I/we/you are still here - and AN is still here too.

These days some manufacturers make cars with three things in mind - cheapest possible build and maximum possible safety ratings and minimal exhaust emissions. Seems to me that the Chinese have turned cheap builds into an art form, and will scam whatever they can to pass a test and get good ratings. IMO the only real safety things needed are ABS and air-bags - all the best is BS. I would rather they spend more money on those two things, than all the other 'safety' features that merely give them a higher rating. There are mandatory physical tests that a car must pass, but there are far too many BS safety features that give a car higher ratings. Does it have min required airbags - pass. Does it have ABS - pass. What about the quality of airbags system and ABS - not rated. Does it have a hot coffee warning - Pass. Does it have lane warning - Pass. Does it have a vehicle ahead warning - Pass. Does it tell you if there is someone in the next lane - Pass. Does it have whatever Nanny State BS features than a public servant decided are goo - Pass. They are all BS and devalue the real safety features - and there is no account of quality of those features. I trust the airbags and ABS on a 10 year old Mercedes - way more than on a NETA or any other cheap Chinese car.

It is a BS 'test' done to meet mandatory Government regulations about 'safety and climate change'. Total and utter BS - do the lights work to the original specs?? It is about as useful as a vehicle inspection in Thailand - most cars here would not pass a test done in the West.

What a load of BS - you have no idea do you? They test 'safety systems' and 'vehicle emissions'. The vehicle emissions are Govt set and a car passes or fails - EVs always PASS. The safety systems are what the manufacturers put in their cars - there are no 'standards' for the ABS system - there is a pass or a fail - and that is 1 - number 1. So if a Tesla fails the lights test because they are not as bright as specs and the inside back left light is blown - that is 3 faults. Meanwhile the Ford that failed ABS is 1. According to TUEV tests Teslas are THREE times less reliable as Fords !!!! The study is NUMBER of faults - not what faults. Teslas have more light fails - but I want a car that does not fail ABS tests - way way way more important. Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics. Never believe any 'study' that is based on statistics. People do not die in Australian from Alligator attacks - fact. Because in Australia there are no Alligators. But the Crocodiles kill way more people in Australia than Alligators do in UK - fact. Statistics Lie !!

Funny that - and yet they dont see it. They cannot 'compute' that beliefs are all based on feelings and not facts. It is like 'girl math' - they were 'taught' math at school but they never really understood and they have no effin idea about reality.

But better to be married to a lovely Thai lady with no need to not go 'bareback'.

Did you read the whole report? Or just the headline?? Me thinks just the headline !! I just read it - lighting problems were the vast majority of 'faults' in all model cars - but especially Teslas. Not that they did not work, but that they had diminished from their original specs Example of public service BS tests - 90W instead of 100W - fail. 80W as per specs - pass. 2 – 3 years Tesla Model 3 14.2% Ford Mondeo 13.2% Skoda Scala 11.8% 4 – 5 years Tesla Model 3 19.7% VW Sharan 17.7% BMW 5/6 Series 17.7% I am sure there is another 'survey' somewhere that says a high percentage of Tesla owners in Germany will not buy another Tesla. But the reason is because the country is extremely left wing and Musk sided with Trump - but the headline will be "Tesla owners will not buy another Tesla". All BS and PR and Marketing - same as the Chinese EV cars themselves - until they prove themselves over 5-10 years. Teslas have been sold in Germany since 2012/13? Read the report - the list of cars failing after 5-10 years has no Teslas listed.

The Chinese copy everything - they have very little 'originality'. They make things in China very cheaply on licence and then steal the technology and then copy it - that has been going on for decades. Tesla has 'special' bits and software that they refuse to allow to be done/made in other cheap labour countries - to protect their IP after many years and lots of development and design and testing and refining. There is only so much 'reverse engineering' that the Chinese can do with a Tesla.

Not yet - it takes a few years. Call me back in 5 years and lets see the comparisons between BYDs sold in 2025-2030 and the Teslas. People buy on price - when quality and reliability is far more important is a car (and house).

Putting aside the comparison based on new car marketing blurb and product specs - there is a BIG difference between a HEV and an EV. The EV is way cheaper to make, and HEVs are far more reliable than cheap EVs - Tesla is the only serious reliable high quality EV. The others are catching up - but they have a long way to go. Why do you think Tesla is not as successful in Thailand as the others? Obviously it is the price - not quality - or speed - or reliability. But when it comes to owner's satisfaction Tesla is in front - https://www.nationthailand.com/blogs/business/automobile/40047638 Your sales figures are as big a scam as the whole cheap Chinese EV market - you/they only listed Tesla Model 3 - Tesla has the 4th highest EV sales in Thailand. BYD, NETA, MG and then Tesla. But lets see how many BYD, NETA and MG EVs are still running in 5 years and again in 10 years. Me thinks way more Teslas will be running - and they will be worth a lot more in resale value too. There has been a choice in Thailand with regards to EVs for a few years now - Tesla or cheap Chinese EV. All of those are fully committed to (full) EVs because of 2 reasons. In China it is because the Govt mandated it, and in Tesla it is because they are committed to the EV. But there is another viable and serious choice coming soon - Toyota and Honda will be offering alternatives - both as EVs but mainly as HEVs - because they know the market outside of Teslas and (when) the luxury brands get serious about EVs/HEVs, is Hybrids and will be for many years to come. You are justifying your decision to own an EV - fair enough and up to you - but I am pointing out the reasons why most people are not buying EVs and those reasons are valid. I am also saying why if I did decide to get an EV right now it would either be a Tesla or a Honda/Toyota Hybrid next year. But I am going to stick with the ICE cars for a while and keep watching how things develop and pan out. PS - my mate in Australia has some serious money (never divorced) and he has 2 Teslas - 1 for him and 1 for the wife. But when they go 'touring' for a month each year around Australia, he drives the Toyota ICE - because he knows that Teslas outside of the main cities and big highways are not viable. He knows that the Toyota can be (and has been) fixed in many places that they go on their annual driving holiday - whereas the Tesla will need to be towed back to the nearest State capital city - and even then, up in NT they will probably never have heard of them 🙂

Sounds like a plan !! And you are dead right - the issue - and only real reason is the medical issues and problems that we all will have when we get older. Very few of us are 'lucky' enough to keel over one day and 'gone baby gone'. Most of us have ongoing medical problems for years and years - that is why being here is not a great plan unless you have a lot of money and can live near very good hospitals (Chiang Mai or Bangkok) and can afford them - and getting back before you are too old is so important. I recall that recent story of the poor Greek guy who started getting sick in February and is now looking very bad but the Drs have no idea what he has - and the Thai wife has spent all their money trying to get him better - he is basically now just getting sicker and sicker, and without any real painkillers, and dying is the only way out - not the way I wish to go out. I like your idea of a panel van or a motor home - that way you can go from park to park, while you check out the country. You will probably find a place you like and can afford - then you can get a cheap place to rent (public housing?) and live out your final years with 'real' ambulances and medical services nearby and able to help you when needed. Then when you get very old, they will put you in a palliative care hospice (or set one up in your home) with the proper support you will need. Certainly not as good support as someone with money in UK - but way better than here.

Very good mate - that is exactly his plan - get a few seats - use that 'voting block' to get what he wants. This has been happening in Australia for decades due to the effed up electoral system. With very few total votes, the minor Eco/Green Party plus a few nutter Independents have been driving Australia further and further left. IMO Musk will get a few Republicans but a lot of moderate Democrats - the Party has gone way too far left.

Years ago when on a business trip to Melbourne we were out celebrating a deal and got very drunk we ate a steak meal. The steak tasted 'funny' but I was very drunk and very hungry. Woke up at 3-4am and got to the hotel room toilet and started spewing, Finished that and then it came out the other end. I was in that toilet for hours - first one end and then the other. About 6am I called reception and they said they will get a taxi to take me to a nearby clinic at 8am opening. Next 2 hours while waiting it was on and off both ends - would stop for 5-10 mins then go again - then it was every 15 mins or so. By about 7am the rear end had stopped and it was all dry spewing every 10-15 mins. The Dr in Clinic immediately stuck a needle in my butt and things settled down within 5 mins. He said I must drink lots of bottled water with a bunch of sachets he gave me to add. Got back to room and slept most of the day - woke up extremely hungry. I did not eat a steak again for a long time, and now they are all 'well done' or I send them back - the smell of undercooked steak gives me 'memories'.

Yes it is - but it was not me. My laptop was 'screwed over' yesterday - posts I sent to one thread were sent to another and many were duplicated several times. I recall writing a story about how we plan to return to Australia before I am 80, because Thailand is not the place to be when you are in 'the end game' - if you can avoid it. My Thai wife is an Oz citizen so returning is not an issue. A mate of mine passed here when in early 80s - if he was back home he would have lived another 3-5 years minimum. I saw it with both my parents - the benefits of a 1st world ambulance and hospital system plus free medications and home nursing etc etc etc. His Thai wife spent a lot of money in his last 2 years here - all for nothing IMO - the ambulances were a joke and the hospitals were at best ordinary (in rural city) - everything cost a fortune here whereas back home they were basically free. I told him for years to go back, and then he was too sick to travel - all too late. Plan to go back if you can afford to do that - include getting rid of everything here (sell give away etc.) and the costs to pack and fly and where to live when you arrive and then where you want to live (get on public housing waiting list if you need to) - then put that plan into action when a trigger happens. For the wife and I the trigger is me being over 75 (then it is a year by year assessment), or if either of us are diagnosed with a serious illness, or if we have a bad accident in car etc. and survive.

I hear you BUT after a while the cheap EVs have problems - for the first year or two many of them work fine - but some fail and more do so over time (they dont pick you up in a failed ones mate). Check out all the negative Facebook stories about failed and problem MG EVs in Thailand over the last few years. You wont see much in the 'mainstream media' because the Govt heavily subsidised those EVs as a PR stunt to show they are 'eco friendly' and to meet their 'climate change' CO2 targets. I cannot say that BYD are better or worse, but I would think they are better than an MG EV. As I have said - and will say again - EVs are not 'proven' yet and until they are I am not going to risk wasting a large amount of money on buying a problem in Thailand. Plus the insurance is much higher, and the resale value is much lower. One big positive thing - the service costs are extremely low - unless the battery fails and then the service costs are huge. In appears to me that BYD have very good battery technology - the issue is whether they have the software systems to make their batteries work well and over the long term (10+ years). I have two cars right now and one is a 2010 Honda CRV which has done 150K and goes very very well - although it needs new tyres. If anything goes wrong when we are driving to Chiang Mai or Ubon or Phuket, I know there are service stations that can identify and fix things everywhere - even Mercedes has that in Thailand. Although it is 15 years old the engine works just fine - probably about 80-85% of what it was when new - I cannot say with any confidence at all that a 15 year old battery EV will have the same - the majority will have failed and been replaced by then. EVs have a long way to go, and in Thailand it is even more imperative that a car is reliable and serviceable. Driving short distances around Bangkok - an EV is a viable option there - but out in the 'boondocks' - not a chance. If it has to be an EV then for me it would be a Honda/Toyota hybrid for me.

I have driven a Tesla - a mate owned one and it was a great drive - BUT that is not why I do not recommend EVs. But first - how many of those 600K BYDs have sold outside China - 50K 60K ?? You know - where consumer laws and recalls and safety regulations are a big issue - and which have sent previous Chinese packing. Plus remember this - China made it compulsory for all new cars to be EVs from 2030 so the manufacturers had no choice - much like California is trying to do - just like all Socialist Communist States where 'centralised' decisions are made. I knew a bloke that owned a taxi in Australia - it was an EV car from China. One day the car stopped and refused to move - he got it towed to his house. The mechanics came but could not solve the problem - battery OS all good etc - but it refused to move. The dealer took the car away and a few days later said it was 'fixed' - a sensor on the rear left side door had failed and the 'car' thought the back door was open. Obviously caused by passengers getting in and out of the taxi. Long story short - the dealer was not helpful - and in the end he got some money back and bought a Toyota hybrid - the car I was in while he talked. His 'story' included all the other problems about EV cars from other drivers and owners - and there were heaps - way too many. His advice was this - when taxis are EV cars - then is the time to buy an EV. Right now there are a few P/HEV taxis in the west - but SFA EV taxis - mainly Teslas. I reckon in maybe 10 years EVs might become mainstream - not by Government mandates like in China - but by being able to work in a 'real' environment, where bad cars and brands are destroyed because of consumer opinions and complaints (not like in China). That is why I say if you really want an EV then buy a Tesla - or buy a Toyota if you must (they have 6 new models coming in 2026) - but for me the best EV option right now is a Honda or Toyota Hybrid.

Thanks - something went wrong with my laptop. Still fixing it.

I just gave it a try (basic level) and it seems to be a good source of information. It draws upon Google AI, which I have found to be getting better and better all the time. I recently reverted to Google search as my default, because the results are far better than DuckDuck or Bing or Yahoo. Not sure I want to pay money to 'discuss' things with it though - maybe in the future - but this is for free.