TroubleandGrumpy

True - BUT - Expats marry/befriend a LOT of Thai girls/whatever and help their families. PLUS - Expats buy a lot of Apartments - or buy Houses for the Thai Wife - and cars/bikes. AND - Even if there is only 150K of them here (still?) that equates to about 150 Billion Baht - or about 3 million 'quality' Tourists (as per TAT stats). If there are 300K it totals 300 Billion Baht or 6 million quality tourists. Expats are not worth keeping here year after year after year???

Do the research yourself - here are some quick links to start you off. I will not spend hours finding them all again. I decided to decide which one was best (tax and Visa etc) if/when the decision is made to leave Thailand because of the taxation issues (and indeed their probable move to make having approved Thai health insurance compulsory). If you want full and detailed in-writing explanations and full referenced details of my many months of research - send 20K Baht to my bank account. Yes it takes a long time to find it - they keep changing websites and info locations (as below). Is your foreign-sourced income exempted from tax? (pwc.com) Bureau of Internal Revenue (bir.gov.ph) For some reasons Philippines Tax Code - Section 2 Para D has been moved. Income Tax in Vietnam for Foreigners | All You Need to Know (premiatnc.com) Mahanakorn Partners | Law Firm, Accounting & Tax Advisory Indonesia Tax Guide 2023-2024 (deloitte.com)

OK - so you do agree that prices/costs here now are high and they have never been this high before. I dont agree your opinion that those prices/costs will increase even more if the Baht falls.

I agree - the Aust system is one where you must be a resident to be able to apply for the Pension. In order to keep the Pension while living overseas temporarily or permanent (portability) you must be a 'Resident' and approved for Portability. Which means a Citizen or a Permanent Resident. You cannot lose Citizenship, but if you are away a long time, then Permanent Residency can be withdrawn - and you would therefore lose the Pension (and it has happened and will probably happen more). There is also a 'benefit' in regards to Thailand taxation of the Pension - the Australian Pension is only paid to residents of Australia - wherever they are living - that is why Portability (of Residence) was created. And as per the Aust-Thai DTA, taxation of a Pension paid by one State to residents of that State, can only be taxed by that State (the State that pays the Pension). There is an exemption, and that is where the person receiving the Pension from one State is a Citizen of the other State and is living in that other State and is a tax resident. What that means is that an Aussie living in Thailand's Pension is not taxable by Thailand, but a Thai Citizen/Resident (that part means permanent Resident) living in Thailand who is receiving an Aust Pension, can be taxed by Thailand under the DTA. Yes I know there are some saying it is taxable, and some saying it is not - but IMO the meaning and intention is clear - the Pension is not taxable.

Just replied to your earlier post - and now read this one - my bad. For further clarification - although portability is basically automatic if you return 3-4 years before, or wait the 2 years period out - it is a fact that CLink can deny portability if you clearly never intended to stay in Australia once the Pension was granted. That is not easy for them to do and that decision has been over-turned several times after appeals, but several appeals have been denied by AAT because the person clearly never intended to stay (told everyone, rented room in hotel, etc etc.). So anyone thinking of going back early, or when they qualify, you need to 'pretend' that you want to stay living in Australia forever. In my case the family of my Thai Wife (also an Aust Citizen) had a medical situation (genuine - her Mother had a serious operation and a Brother is still sick), so we moved here for a while/years.

WRONG. If you return to Australia before getting the pension and establish residency (2 years is seen as a reasonable time) then once you do get the Pension (if qualified) you will also get portability approved - but best to check first before leaving. I know that and I did it. Example - eligible for Pension in 2028 and return now - get Pension in 2028 and portability is approved. However - once you have been overseas for a while and then return to get the Pension (if qualified) then you do have to wait 2 years before portability will be approved. Example - eligible for Pension now/next week/month and return now - you will get the Pension now, but you must wait 2 years before portability will be approved. Fact.

We already have that now - are you living here and buying things?? Prices and Costs are at an all time high now - well since 2010 when I first came here. My Wife's family say the same thing - everything costs more now.

We are living here (from Australia - both Aussie citizens), depending on how the tax situation and the high Baht we are likely to move to another nearby country (Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, even Cambodia or Laos) and spend less than 180 days - and/or just move back to Australia. Given there are about 150-250K retired/married Expats in Thailand, I find it truly astounding that they have not taken the decision to 'exempt' older retired/married Expats from income taxes, unless it is earned from working or investing in Thailand. Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia have all excluded retired Expats from being taxed on their money brought into the country from overseas. They all figure that it is better for the country - after all why do they bring in their money if not to spend it in their country - and it is not like they get any free Government (or Private) services like the local Citizens and Residents.

They make a great pair - two of the best I have seen - all class.

What is the bet ?? I am still waiting. Are you all talk and no action - like your Avatar. Back up all your BS - bet something on the result.

OK - done - you will be ignored from now on.

I heard you the first time - no need to say it 3 times.

Funny - I dont remember you posting links about Biden's senility Or Obama's narcissism.

MSM and Dems BS - Yes I want another 4 years !!

I agree - Daiken and Mitsubishi are the best. The fact is that Thai 'tradesmen' are the worst. Having an outlet pipe with a 90 degree bend and the outlet pointing upwards is just stupid - but they do it all the time - un-effin-believable. But if you tell them, they get offended. Most likely the problems being mentioned are caused by very poor lazy install work. IME the further you get away from Bangkok the worse the tradesmen become - there is is 50/50. Chiang Mai and the big 4 Isan cities tend to be better - but not a lot. Same with the medical services - and most other things too.

CNN settles lawsuit with Nick Sandmann stemming from viral video controversy The settlement will allow CNN to avoid a lengthy and potentially unpredictable trial. Sandmann sought $275 million in damages in the lawsuit he filed against CNN last March. CNN settles lawsuit with Nick Sandmann stemming from viral video controversy | CNN Business Many many more mate - they all lie - you obviously cannot listen - and where is your link????

What's the bet - chicken ?? Scared Trump will win and you will lose?? Come on - lets have a bet !! Quote from late October 2016 - Hillary Clinton has a 12-point lead over Donald Trump and has reached 50% support nationally among likely voters, a new ABC News tracking poll shows. Presidential poll: Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump by 12 | CNN Politics Sorry to embarrass you, so soon after you embarrassed yourself.

He denies making those remarks - lets see how it goes going forward. It could be like what Trump said about Charlottesville - or it could be bad if it was true. Yes - a Trump political weakness is his inability to sometimes just shut up. Ann Coulter has called him out several times about it. But the truth is he is blunt and direct - not a smooth lying politician/diplomat.

Am I worried about an MSM lead media fake news attack?? About as much as I am about Trump slagging off on Taylor Swift. Not a problem. Soon forgotten when the MSM start hate campaigns. Dont worry - our side will do it too.

Deal - me too. Or is that a woke liberal thing to say??

And you are the dumb one - or did I get that around the wrong way??

Forgot to mention - I use VLC app on the NVidia and laptop when wanted - it works great (and it is free).

A day is a long time in politics - plenty of time to turn that around. Harris is just about over the honeymoon period - reality will hit in October and that is when things will become clearer.

Unplug the ethernet cable and dont connect via wireless - those 'smart' TVs are khrapp and will download 'updates' and 'enhancements' without seeking permission - while reporting on your usage (for improvements LOL). Their OS is rubbish and there are far better options available - use the TV only via HDMI. LGs have excellent picture and reasonable sound too - connect computer via HDMI and play them that way. Alternatively, and even better - get a good media player (like NVidia shield) and connect that to your TV. It is a little complicated to do that directly - I have my movies on an External Hard Drive and I connect that to the Nvidia (via USB 3) and the Nvidia plays the movies and sound to the TV via HDMI. The Nvidia can handle 4K movies both raw and upscale, and as long as the LG TV can display them (it should) the improvement in quality is obvious. When I get a new movie (downloads etc or whatever) I do that on the SSD drive connected to the computer and then I unplug and plug the SSD into NVidia when I want to play them. I used to have a USB switch with remote - been meaning to get a new one - reminder to self. Also - get a surround sound system (Bluetooth connections not cables) and then output the sound from the TV via the optical sound out connector into the surround sound system - most modern quality TVs have one. That gives you great sound and makes the movies more enjoyable. I have a few 4K Blu-ray videos for those 'special' movies I really like - and for those I use a Blu-ray Player to the TV via HDMI. Unfortunately a 'real' 4K movie even compressed is over 30GB so any hard drive is going to be quickly full. Most of my movies are 2-5GB and they all fit on a 4TB External Drive. When SSD External Hard Drives come down in price a bit more (they have a bit over last few years) then I will get a 4TB SSD. That will give me faster/larger output to the NVidia through the USB connect. Plus it is a few years old now (2017) so it will be time to get a new NVidia device soon.

I responded in kind to one of the only intelligent and rational responses I got (not from yourself) with my own and we both exchanged a few more points. The result was we clearly understood each other's views and we agreed to disagree. And then in response to my last post to the other member, you jump in and accuse me of 'running away'. Like most things you say - completely missed the issues and points. That is why jumping into someone else's conversation is not always a smart thing to do - because you are not aware of what actually happened previously.