TroubleandGrumpy

Ditto - we have lived in two gated communities built and run by a well know Thai developer (no names), and recently bought a house in a new estate of theirs. Meanwhile, in this cheaper place we are renting in a very basic 'gated community' has had several break ins - luckily not us (yet?). I heard through wife from other Thais that it is often teenagers - they can squeeze in though open bathroom windows etc. If someone is home they will grab what they can quietly, if no one is home they open the door and let in their mates. Place next door has a dog - and he barks when someone in the soi pharts - best protection is a dog that barks IMO.

Sad story. But obviously the house was not in a 'decent' gated community with real security - perhaps I should have added that.

This is why is is a wise move to buya house in a gated community if you are going to be away for extended periods of time.

Bring back Yingluck I say - she was charged under the Junta aligned Courts for being corrupt, when all she did was to be stupid. I saw absolutely no evidence that she personally gained from the rice deal, or any member of her family. What I saw was a politcal vendetta abusing the system thaty the Junta created in an attempt to jail a political opponent. Just like they did in Myanmar. But Ying luck was told to 'get out' and she did the wise thing and has lived in exile ever since. Bring her back and let the cards fall where they may.

IMDB

ROFLOL 🤣 As soon as I read the 'Security' section I stopped reading. Thailand is the number one scammed country in SEAsia - anyone using a phone to pay for things is a potential target. Likewise, anyone using a card at either a 'safe' ATM (Branch, Mall, Makro, etc) or with any small retailer, is a potential target. Cash is King and it is safe - all they can steal is what you are carrying so dont carry too much in one location. Been here on/off (now full time) since 2010 and never been threatended in any way - not so in Australia - robbed twice. I used to carry a throw down wallet - a few hundred baht and some old dead cards - but I never have needed it. But also - dont pull out a huge roll and let people see how much you are carrying - just in case.

I agree - and in the future the Thai Govt will address the issue. But I think they will not remove the gifting rule, but they will probably reduce it. After all, 20 million baht is a ridiculous amount that onyl the wealthy would utilise - which is of course why it was introduced in the first place.

Not impossible - but extremely unlikely. There must be millions of ATM transactions in Thailand every day - IMO there is currently no system to differentiate and report to the TRD those made by each and every Expat. They can report all the transactions made using an ATM from a Thai bank of course, but not for every ATM transaction from overseas banks - other than it total amounts - certainly not for each and every person. And even if they could, TRD would then have to sift through all those records to find those transactions just for Expats who are tax residents and those for tourists and those for Thais who have an overseas bank account.

I see now why some people have got somewhat angry about people discussing gifting - they see that as a way of evading taxes. But if the gift is from 'savings' or any other form of non assesable income, then the reason to do it is to evade dealing with the TRD bureacracy - legally.

That is why most people are not looking at Gifting as a method to evade income taxes on income earned overseas, but thery are looking to avoid being questioned by Somchai at the local Thai TRD about the amount of money (not income) they have remitted into Thailand to themselves. Trying to remit assessable income into Thailand by Gifting and evade taxation liability is not what most people (like me) plan to do. We are just looking at ways to avoid having to deal with the Thai TRD bureacracy - especially during the first few years.

IMO it is only taxable when the income is remitted and that it becomes taxable income if you are then at time of remittancxe a tax resident. Or is Thailand going to apply back-taxes to the income of anyone retiring in Thailand in 2030 for the 6 years from 2024 to 2030?? Obviously not and they cannot do that. BUT that does not mean that Somchai in the local TRD will not try to hit you for back-taxes under your scenario, because of the incompetent rules in the Thai Tax Code and the poor (if any) training provided. Stay away from them IMO.

Maybe take a look at Malaysia and Philipinnes - I understand that they both dont tax FSI (Foreign Sourced Income) that has been subjected to the taxation system of the country of origin, and there are other exclusion conditions too.

I hear you - and agree that Wise was a bad example as they send money into a single person's bank account.

Thanks - that is even more 'evidience' that gifting is a legitimate tax avoidance strategy (for now).

The TRD has allowed 20-30 million Thais not lodging tax returns, and they have done nothing about for many decades. Would they seriously target the partners of Expats alone and not all the other Thais - the social media outcry would be horrendous for the Govt politically.

Yes that is what I also think will happen - one year of 'issues' and then a lot more rational approach. In the meantime, IMO all Expats that are not earning money in Thailand (working etc) and are 'lineball' about whether they should get a TIN and lodge a tax return, should take the prudent approqach and keep their heads down. It is always the foolish ones who rush to be up front who get 'hit' when things are wrong - the wise ones hang back and wait and watch. This is the same sort of thing IMO.

The Burriram track is not big/wide enough for F1 and the facilities are not up to scratch either - OK for the MotoGp bikes, but not the 'big boys'. I doubt very much that the costs to upgrade the track and facilities would be worth it. F1 is a business and is all about making money from the countries that they take their 'circus' to - huge payments and costs are involved - not as much as the World Cup Football, but in that ballpark.

IMO it is something to be avoided in Thailand - both because of 'spending patterns and information', and also because of Thailand's incompetent abilities with regards to IT security measures.

Aint gonna happen - this bloke talks and smiles and talks and smiles and talks and smiles ............... The sad thing is that many Thais think he is doing a great job - all these new deals with overseas bigwigs that will bring in lots of money money money. I thought TAT was ridiculous - this is way beyond even their lunacy.

Deal Talker NOT a Deal Maker - nothing has actually happened and IMO never will.

2 months? Miscarriage because of that?? Give me a break - maybe miscarriage was from carrying drugs up there. Smoke Screen if you ask me - to divert attention away from the drug charges. As in, you drop the drug charges and I drop the lawsuit.

Hope you are correct - but I am worried it will take a year of 'financial disasters' and Court appeals by Thais, before they realise they need to back down and do something reasonable like follow Malaysia's path - the big one being to exempt all FSI that has been subjected to the overseas country's tax rules.

Good advice IMO. But everyone needs to make sure they keep an auditable paper trail of every transaction and transfer - and keep them in separate banks - both here and overseas. Plus of course the tax free limit is twice the amount when you have a partner, because joint tax returns are very easy to do in Thailand.

I would do the same if I was making any income/earnings this year and beyond. You are not the only one leaving for a short or extended period. Most others I know of have decided to spend 179 days in Thailand, and the rest in another place - Cambodia and Laos are easy in and out - Vietnam is also very close. Others have gone to Philippines or Malaysia and most dont intend returning - lots of Yanks now live in Philippines.

Did I also popint out that big companies like Expedia dont actually pay the Hotel for every visit? They have an Agreement and under that they make a single total payment (after fees etc) once a month to the hotel. Friends of a mate have 3 small units in Isaan (we stayed there a few times) and they stopped using them because of the fees and late payment.