Mike Lister

Your time frame is far too short because the covid period was an anomaly, The future is sub 30, it always has been, 38 was a gift from the gods but was a limited offer only.

35 is still very good, historically it is very very good.

USD is still too strong which means investors chasing yield will not be looking to Thailand just yet, I'm not surprised there are few buyers.

Seems very unlikely, THB is strengthening because of high season plus USD is down.

It will never happen. The housing market here is dependent on foreign buyers, it would crash overnight if everyone knew they had to pay tax on the funds used to purchase the property.

Leicester Square, it's only a short walk.

The thought is a good one but not very practical. Rental property deposits very rarely are returned here, they should be factored into the rental cost and any refund considered a bonus. Why? Landlords know that litigation in this area is a civil matter which can take years to get to court and the tenant wont have a visa that lasts that long. They also know that only a Thai lawyer can represent the case to the court and that costs more than the rental deposit.

Common in the North in Chiang Mai

Baht per year, not USD. But your statement still applies, perhaps he likes temples.

All over the place, even my next door neighbour! It's very common amongst the Chinese community here who make money by renting onwards but wont support deposit refund liabilities.

If you're receiving a pension in Thailand of 4 million per year, you are very much the exception rather than the rule, you are almost certainly in the top 0.5% of pension income recipients in Thailand and surely you realise that. It therefore follows that the things that you need to do, is not best advice for what others ought to do.

I agree completely. But I'm betting the contract is already signed and the deposit paid because the op says he's just rented a place, this may be a done deal already.

Stop it! The 35% band doesn't apply until you get over 5 million baht per year and not many retirees have pensions at that level.. https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/thailand/individual/taxes-on-personal-income There is a big difference between the tax table rates and the effective tax rate which considers allowance and deductions and is much lower....as you are VERY AWARE.

Is this like, I'll show you mine if you show me yours?

I don't know why anyone would want to do that. If a retiree has made all the plans to move, this announcement doesn't change much at all and is no reason why they should undo all their planning. And since the tax free window between now and 31 December is still open, that's all the more reason why plans shouldn't be cancelled.

Yes, since you now ask, that's also reasonable. You could try asking him for a copy or picture of his ID card but be prepared he may refuse, if he does, be prepared to walk away. BTW make sure the contract covers the circumstances governing return of the deposit and make sure you understand the contract completely, if you don't, don't sign it.

He wants ID from his tenant, what else is going to ask for! Yes, you are obliged.

A couple of very well known long term AN members were once Tourist Police, this discussion has been had many times. They joined the Tourist Police for the same reason many older guys joined AN, because they want to help others and do something constructive with their time. Some posters in this thread might consider doing the same!

For everyone else there's always google or any of the fifty or so posts on this subject that link appears in!

What is the point of posting useless youtube videos like this, they don't add new information and they don't contain information by anyone who is even in Thailand? They don't add value to the debate, all they do is add more fearmongering but without any substance.

That poster was @KannikaP who may wish to comment. Firstly, have you ever been to the tax office in Bang Rakam where that poster went, the center of the Thai tax system it is not! To say that tax office confirmed the new procedure is a stretch too far when hundreds of others around the country are unable to do so. What happened was that poster got an answer he was happy with and left it there, that's all. The rebuttal to your post is above, quit the constant paranoid worst case scenario fearmongering, it's not good for anyone.

Don't cry.

What obstacles, for example, plese? My observations are that the tax system here heavily favors the poor in several areas, for example: 1) the average monthly wage is around Baht 15,000 per month which is Baht 180k per year. The combination of the 60k per allowance and the 150k zero tax band means anyone on the average national salary, avoids ALL personal income tax. By comparison, the mean average wage in the UK is 33k Pounds per year, that's nearly three times the personal allowance hence around 20k Pounds is taxed at 20%. 2) The self employed are allowed to take a standard deduction of 60% of the value of their sales as the value of their costs (until recently it was 70%). No receipts are necessary, just take the deduction. If they turnover 1 million baht in sales each year, 600k is excluded as costs which means initial assessable income is 400k. Deduct from that 400k the usual allowances such as 60k each for husband and wife and child for personal care allowances, mortgage interest costs, social security costs, health/life insurance costs, etc etc and then apply the 150K zero rated tax band, the effect is the self employed earning 1 million per year, pay virtually no tax, despite having sales of 1 million per year and an income that is almost 6 times the national average,

All agreed, especially that the wallet is a very bad project, I'm unclear why the PM doesn't realise that. It's one thing to use it as an election promise to get into office but it's something else entirely not to break that promise. I mean really, who ever heard of politicians keeping their promises, whatever next! Government debt at 60% is quite low by comparison to other countries. my concern is they might use that as a reason to borrow more which would be so misguided. Also agreed, increasing VAT would solve the debt and the multiplier issues but it's a short term fix. Eventually, the cost of support programs to the poor will outweigh any savings.

Conversely, leaving the VAT rate at the current level is an effective way of helping to support the poor who comprise a substantial part of the population. Whether the rate is allowed to revert or whether it is increased, the negative impact is on the poor, government needs to find a different solution for the sake of the poor and for their sake too. Ironically, you want the rate to revert so that it can pay for the digital wallet, which in turn will cause prices to rise, ergo, a double hit on the poor.