Mike Lister

I can confirm that's the price and the pictures are of the place. I personally find the food too heavy but it is good quality and the range extensive. Weekend prices are higher as I recall, a lot of Thai people eat there.

I was reading back through the early part of this thread to see what was said. I've been taken aback by how repetitive the arguments have been. A point is raised, the answer confirmed and the proof provided and all goes quiet. Then, two weeks later, the same point arises again and a second debate is held. Case in point: in mid September, somebody gave the wrong definition of a Thai Tax Resident. This was promptly corrected and a link provided. Three days ago we had the same discussion, about the same topic and once again links were provided. All this is well and good except the same people were involved on both occasions! How many times the same debate was held in-between, remains to be counted. I suppose I'm just reinforcing the point here that this thread keeps going round in circles and accomplishes very little that's useful.

I am aware of the tussle between the two camps and that the state of the economy has been politicised, at the expense of the truth. I have no doubt at all that there will be lots of articles quoting powerful players who say this and that, as we have seen in this thread, sadly, many people take the statements at face value. I have looked at the economy independently plus I have looked for articles by well known economists who might support the current story line. I posted my view in the earlier linked thread which says that I can find no evidence of an economic crisis, neither can I find evidence of another economist saying there is a crisis. On the contrary, the BOT governor tells us the economy is fine, a view that I and the facts seem to support. I think it would be a mistake to try and link the tax issue with the economy, I just don't believe they are related or that they will be. One possible answer is the government is projecting into the future, the potential impact on Thailand of a change in US policy after the elections. Another possible angle is that we don't have sight of some key data or facts that might influence our view.

There is no evidence that I have been able to find that confirm the Thai economy is broke, on the contrary, all the evidence points towards the opposite. I posted earlier today on this subject, it's worth considering, below. There is unbridled and unconstrained anxiety in the minds of some members regarding the topic of Thai tax and the rule change. Some are imagining the absolute worst possible case possible, despite recent information suggesting the impact will be minimal or non-existent and this is unhelpful to the remaining posters. Posters need to get a grip! Secondly, the concern that has been generated amongst expats has indeed been a concern, things could have been managed differently. But in the cold light of day, it is difficult to apportion too much blame on the Thai Revenue, just because some expats did not bother to learn about the system of taxation in the country they started to call home.

Just to remind that the RD has only made one small change to one RD rule and with the stated purpose in mind of tackling evasion by native Thai's. That doesn't sound like shooting form the hip to me.

I completely agree. I haven't yet begun to get my head around what BRICS means for FOREX markets and the whole structure of reserve currencies and cross rates. If you remove USD from the equation or at least reduce its importance, you impact on IMF rules of linked and fixed exchange rates which sounds scary and messy. I read this morning that Jerome has commented for the first time publicly on US debt levels and how unsustainable they are, unusual for the non-politically aligned Fed to do so. He reckons the cliff edge is less than 10 years away, which is far longer than I would have thought.

Oh they wont eh? https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/02/revealed-australian-spy-agency-offered-to-share-data-about-ordinary-citizens And not to stray too far off topic, but! https://www.comparitech.com/blog/information-security/travel-data/

In case anyone is concerned, that technique can't lower your blood pressure to cover up an underlying problem such as a major arterial blockage, all it does is to reduce the abnormalities caused by sub conscious stress.

Can we just head off the inevitable argument.....it doesn't matter if some expats leave and reenter the country several times in the year and are included in the numbers. And it doesn't matter that the numbers may include day trippers and shoppers from neighbouring countries. The numbers have been counted the same way for ever, if they are distorted today, they were distorted all along so it's all relative. Anyway, those people still spend money here, foreign currency typically plus they keep coming back and that's what tourists do.

Funny but true. I think it only makes sense to borrow in the currency that you earn in so BOT has to be given some credit for this thinking. By the same token, BOT knows it will need USD in the future to settle export bills which consume more USD than they receive when import bills are settled. Their solution is to buy USD futures, the last time I read anything on this these amounted to almost 50% of the value of the Foreign Currency Reserves (FCR's). That means the FCR's are some 50% higher than the reported headline figure and that future currency exchange costs are well managed. The US on the other hand says this is currency manipulation which I think is nonsense. What it means is that the US will stop labelling Thailand that way, if they buy more goods from the US! (Just like Vietnam, Germany and Switzerland). So yes, after the crash of '97, Thailand went overboard with currency and economic management and this remains true until today.

Which makes it interesting that less than 5% of Thai public debt is foreign currency debt yet their debt levels are less than 60% of GDP. Domestic rather than foreign debt, appears to be a common denominator.

If you're white coat phobic like I am, and a majority of people seem to be, your blood pressure increases when you visit the hospital or doctors office. That used to result in me having pointless discussions about blood pressure medications and lifestyle, after a while is became boring so I vegan to refuse the tests. Later, I read an article about how to control your BP in a medical setting so I gave it a try and it does work. Now, I spend 5 minutes before the test, going through "the process" and afterwards my BP test result is nearly always excellent. Tell the nurse you want 5 minutes to relax, she will understand and is used to this. Sit with back straight, knees together and hands in lap. Loosen belt and tie and close eyes. Inhale deeply, hold breath for five seconds then exhale via the mouth ONLY, very very slowly. Repeat 5 times. Job done. The exhalation process described above, stimulates the vagus nerve which controls blood pressure. Try it. Historically, I typically would see a reading of 160+, The last time I had the test two weeks ago, I was 113.

An excellent post, I really enjoyed reading that!

History is very much on their side. And if the numbers are not accurate today, they have always been counted this way so that means they've been wrong forever: https://tradingeconomics.com/thailand/tourist-arrivals

I don't get it either, if there's an economic storm brewing it's difficult to see where. I just posted in another thread on this subject, here's a partial extract: "And anyway, by what measure is the Thai economy faltering? Exports are down slightly because the China market is not performing but monthly exports are still pushing USD 23/24 billion per month which is well above trend and the 5/10 year averages. Tourism numbers are recovering and are heading back to pre-covid numbers? Where is this crisis that demands Central Bank rates be cut? Ah wait, it's the crisis that profits in business are not high enough and central bank rate is still too high, to borrow money to give away and ensure government popularity, hmmm!"

Typically what charges are involved if you take a cash advance in local currency overseas when you have a positive balance on your card?

Once again, this is a USD story, not a Baht story or a BOT interest rate story. THB is valued against USD and USD has strengthened since the start of the year, especially since the start of this month. This is because fewer people believe the Fed. will cut rates as aggressively as hoped, beginning in March. As USD has strengthened, THB has devalued further, Thailand has little influence over that. Cutting the BOT rate is not going to change that THB value, if anything it will worsen matters. It's a fallacy that cutting interest rates helps exports, exports are only helped if the economy of the buying country is improving or in good shape and the buyer is able to buy. THB is already 35.5 which is far weaker than its 5 or 10 year average, cutting rates will only weaken it further and cause inflation to worsen, especially if the government goes ahead with its giveaway. USD/THB in the range of 32/34 is good value for both sides of the exports equation although expats and tourists want it much lower, I accept that! And anyway, by what measure is the Thai economy faltering? Exports are down slightly because the China market is not performing but monthly exports are still pushing USD 23/24 billion per month which is well above trend and the 5/10 year averages. Tourism numbers are recovering and are heading back to pre-covid numbers? Where is this crisis that demands Central Bank rates be cut? Ah wait, it's the crisis that profits in business are not high enough and central bank rate is still too high, to borrow money to give away and ensure government popularity, hmmm! https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/index/dxy https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/index/dxy https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=USD&to=THB&view=1W

There is an app., linked below https://www.gsb.or.th/en/online/mymo-2/

This thread will be closed, per the OP's request.

Thanks, you cheered me right up. :))

The stereotype image will prevail amongst those back home for at least two more decades, I became tired of trying to correct perceptions and explain the reality.

The yield curve inverted in October 22 when rates reached 3% so that's either not a realistic measure or there are other forces in play. The economy has become a political tool and scapegoat, even the most goldilocks like landing will be weaponised by the other team which makes it hard to discern truth from fiction. Which is why I wondered about the measure of too hard/too soft, the problem is there's no establish criteria. At least a technical recession is measurable, even if its effects aren't. https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/interest-rate https://www.usbank.com/investing/financial-perspectives/market-news/treasury-yields-invert-as-investors-weigh-risk-of-recession.html#:~:text=An extended period featuring a,those of short-term bonds.

How do you measure when something is too soft or too hard, in economic terms, it's an enigma that's not been defined?

I'm pretty sure they can, I think you under estimate the Revenue. The real question is, do they want to and are they likely to do so. They certainly do have the powers and they do have the abilities, those things are plainly clear. Whether or not they want to start checking small fry, detail level level paperwork of pensioners is highly questionable. The problem with all of this is the risk, if they decide to make an example or an exception, for whatever reason, the penalties are harsh.

The Land Office will almost certainly look into any company that exists solely for the purpose of owning a house or a piece of land, especially when there is a foreign shareholder. I know of two British homeowners in the North who owned their homes this way. The LO investigated and both were given 6 months to revise the ownership details.