TroubleandGrumpy

Simple and easy - I do the same and will be continuing to do so for the foreseeable future. I will switch to retirement (from marriage) shortly because the local Province we recently moved to does house visits for marriage. I particularly like the fact that my money/investments is safe in my home country, and that Thailand knows nothing about them.

Keep up the good work mate - they must never feel fully comfortable again. Those that made it happen, those that profited off it, and those that supported it. As the years roll forward, more and more will be revealed. If it is any solace to that that supported it, they did not at the time reveal the truth. The makers and the profiteers knew it was not proven safe, through the standard vaccine approval processes, but did not reveal the extent of how dangerous it could be. Many people today cannot understand how the people of Germany could do what they did, when the Nazis were in charge. Those that do know, understand the value of fear and propaganda in making people do what you want them to do. The Nazis were the first Government to utilise that to the fullest extent possible. They now have it down to a fine art, and it was our old nemesis Obama who passed a law making it legal for the US Govt and Agencies to use propaganda in a time of peace - prior to then it was only legal during war.

There is a line between offensive and illegal - as judged by 'the man on a the Clapham bus'. IMO those that drove the young man to commit such a violent act should be held accountable. He did not wake up and decide this - he was driven to it.

“Turning Point” - Charlie Kirk’s Legacy | AI Tribute Song

IMO it does also not extend to awful public statements about things like someone being killed. Yes I know this creates the question of what is 'awful' - but the answer of what is an 'acceptable standard' is in English Law as what would be acceptable or not to 'the man on a bus' (google quote below). "The standard" referring to "the man on a bus" is a reference to the legal concept of the man on the Clapham omnibus, a hypothetical ordinary, reasonable person used as a benchmark in law to define what is expected of someone in a particular situation.

Exactly - thanks for stating that for some it is not an easy exercise - including when the yearly financial reports we can get do not 'line up' with the Jan-Dec requirement that BOI has in place. I wish my income tax return was like that - because most of my income is not reported as taxable income.

BOI stated that they had to see the full complete records that I would provide - no blanking out was allowed.

I will say this AGAIN. Your situation is not a direct reflection of other people's situation. Surely you realise that for others showing proof might require more documents and records than for you. Example reason - not everyone has their wealth measured and reported by the tax office in their home country. Plus many other factors come into it (for me). So I will say it AGAIN. Until the TRD confirms (or denies) that LTR Visa holders who are tax residents of Thailand, are not taxable for their global income under any new Thai taxation system, then I will wait before considering the LTR Visa again. The health insurance issue is also a concern - but the solutions for me to that issue might be worthy of reconsideration. And IMO I can see the BOI lowering the bar/s and maybe even changing things, because the LTR Visa is not popular. There are many reasons for that, and I would not be surprised if two of those reasons are insurance and providing acceptable financial records.

That is the woke left - right there - in full plain sight - and it has no remorse or understanding of what it said. They are so full of hate and division - they are deluded so badly that they have lost their moral compass - and some never had one.

Yes. Right. Teachers and Public Servants are being sacked - and more is coming. Yes. Right. Over 10 years of the left's hate and divisive politics calling Trump and conservatives nazis and fascists has caused this to happen. And Yes - there are no violent protests by conservatives on the streets - unlike when Trump won and 2016 and which started again in 2024 but was quickly shut down this time - have you seen that fact? Dont bother answering - we know you have not - all you know is what you have been told by the radical woke left.

We conservatives are all more than happy to be held to the same level of account for anything hateful any of us say if a senior Democrat politician or supporter is murdered in cold blood. This is not something we shy away from - we dont hide our free speech beliefs behind hateful and abusive comments about someone that has been murdered. You woke liberals may FEEL that conservatives making a comment saying a male should not be in women's sports or toilets is hateful - but it is not - you just FEEL that it is. If Obama or Whoopi was assassinated and conservative people made the same hateful comments about that happening, then they would deserve to be punished too.

Yes I have noticed that myself - me thinks the majority of Democrat Americans have started to 'wake up' and realise that the radical woke mob has taken over their Party. I also think that the Democrats will be totally destroyed at the next mid-term elections because there is only one way to fix this, and that is to remove them from positions of authority and control. I can see 10+ years of GOP running USA coming and that will clearly be a good thing.

You need to stop taking life coaching advice from an ex bar girl.

Dont bother - they are never going to be changed - they are going to be removed - from positions of influence and authority. This moment will be remembered as a turning point in US politics - when the People finally rejected the hate and division of the radical woke left and their media enablers.

The truth is that there has been a lot of unsuccessful assassinations against Trump - more than against Obama and Biden combined. Both sides have their nutters - but it is clear the marxist left have a lot more who are prone to violence. The reason is clear - the left wing media, politicians and judges believe left wing violence is not too bad (mostly peaceful). But any protest activity by right wing nutters is immediately attacked as being murdering Nazis. That is the problem - left wing violence by groups such as Antifa and No Oil should be shut down and prosecuted with the same vigour as applied to neo-Nazi protests. Both side's nutters must be shut down and cut off at the knees.

IMO iPhones being sold in large numbers are coming to their end - slowly - but it is coming. Their price points are far too high in this day and age where a brand new decent Android phone can be had for under 5000 Baht (about 2K if you only want the basic functions). Yes the iPhones are extremely well designed and manufactured, but the days of (analogy) Mercedes/BMW outselling Honda/Toyota are coming to an end. There are Chinese and Korean brand smartphones that while not as good as iPhones, offer far better value and these days they are very good. There was a time a few decades ago when Honda/Toyota was seen as not quality - the same thing is happening with smart phones. We have 2 iPhones (SE2 and 12) and 2 iPads - they will not be getting replaced with Apple devices. IMO right now Samsung and Xaomi devices offer great value for their price. BUT as I have said many times here and elsewhere, IMO dont link your bank accounts with a phone/tablet due to the security and scammer and trojan risks. If you do, then get a separate bank account with only a few thousand baht in it and use that if you must.

Good point. But perhaps there are overseas bank accounts that BOI will accept that do provide a reasonable interest return on the money 'invested'.

Exactly - why pay 20K for absolute rubbish just to get the paperwork, or 50K-100K PA (and upwards) for a decent policy for 10 years, when you have over 1 million in bank accounts here (between Wife and I). It is like paying rent long term when you can afford to buy - makes no sense after 2-3 years (unless done for tax reasons). Sounds like a good plan - it is obvious that anyone who meets the financial requirements to get the LTR has more than enough money to self-insure. As I said before, BOI took the 10 year O-X Visa and changed it - but left in the health insurance khrapp. Be careful about how you 'invest' the 100K - when I asked about an 'on call' cash management or an investment bank account, the BOI said no - they said it must be a standard savings account - cash/ATM card. Probably a good idea to check with them before doing what you said to confirm whatever account you plan to use is acceptable.

I talk about that as the first LTR compliant quote - and then IO got another for 50+K - and then the 22K for a policy you showed that was basically for nothing - with no coverage for most things and a massive deductible. Even that amount totals 220K over 10 years, but the truth is when I hit 70 premiums will increase a lot, and then increase again a lot when I hit 75 (based on other's premiums). Plus if I ever make a claim, the premiums will also increase a lot. I would say 400-500K over 10 years if no claim - who knows how much over 10 years if I ever made a claim. The 400K money not put aside for extension purposes and it could earn interest back home is fair point. But that is only for 6 months (3 before and 3 after) so it would need to generate interest at 11% PA. Plus as the premiums go up every year the interest would need to increase too.

Sounds like a good option going forward. By the way - at the 5 year point do you have to 'prove' you met all the financial requirements for each of those 5 years? Or is it just the year of the 5 year extension?

One reason I was thinking of LTR is that I remitted a lot of money into Thailand over last year - buying house and car and a heap of other stuff. Indications are it would meet the 'investment' in Thai Property requirement. No need to bring a lot into the country over new few years - so dont need LTR for that purpose.

Yep - lets agree to disagree on all that.

Lets agree to disagree on this one. I know a bit about taxation laws having worked with (not for) the ATO for over 20 years and been always doing my own taxes both private and business. What she said and it was very clear - Thais are not taxed on their Govt Pensions and therefore all Thai tax residents are entitled to the same exemption on taxation. She also pointed out, as I have said for a long time, that DTAs are designed for businesses and those working for them, and that local tax laws are more important than the wording of a DTA. This does not apply 'the other way' though - something not taxable in Australia can be taxable in Thailand - such as the sale of a property. Having said all that - if what you think is correct, then that is a good reason not to provide the Thai Government with all my overseas financial information through applying for an LTR Visa. IMO Thailand will do the same under a global taxation system (if/when starts) as Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and many other 'retiree' destination countries, and specifically exclude the income brought into Thailand being subjected to income taxes - as long as it has been 'subjected' to the taxation rules of the country in which that money was earned.

Seems most holders of LTR are in a similar situation regarding health insurance, in that they have not purchased the insurance locally and are not paying rip-off premiums. Some are - but most are not - based on this thread.