retiree

Retirement extension at CW requires these forms. The STM.2, STM.9 and "Statement" are normally given to you when you check in. Site with forms: https://bangkok.immigration.go.th/th/downloads/ TM.7 Application for Extension of Temporary Stay https://bangkok.immigration.go.th/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/14คำขออนุญาตเพื่ออยู่ในราชอาณาจักรเป็นการชั่วคราวต่อไป-ตม.7.pdf STM.2 Acknowledgement of Terms and Conditions https://bangkok.immigration.go.th/wp-content/uploads/STM-2-FORM-2025.pdf STM.9 Acknowledgement of Overstay Penalties https://bangkok.immigration.go.th/wp-content/uploads/STM-9-FORM-2025.pdf หมายเลข 3 กก.2 บก.ตม.1 "Statement" ??? Two questions about the "Statement" form Is this form available online? Do I only fill out part 2 (I guarantor that ...) ? -- Retiree

I have a pill cutter and a milligram scale. However, my experience is that it can be difficult to accurately cut small coated pills like these. I personally would dick around with it, or go to the generic sooner, but for my SO I'd rather keep it as simple and safe as possible while we see how this plays out. Interestingly, the EINSTEIN CHOICE study found that 10 mg was more effective than 20 mg for preventing VTE recurrence, as well as having a lower incidence of bleeds (but not at a level of statistical significance), which would be expected. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1700518 Rivaroxaban or Aspirin for Extended Treatment of Venous Thromboembolism Jeffrey I. Weitz, M.D., et al, March 30, 2017, N Engl J Med 2017;376:1211-1222,DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1700518,VOL. 376 NO. 13

Just adding a request that if anybody gets one, please post the news (so I can stay extra alert). Thanks, Retiree

Was this the Dr.Reddy 10mg dosage?

Thank you for your advice. This is what's approved for sale, besides Xarelto: https://www.mims.com/thailand/drug/info/rivaroxaban?mtype=generic Rivoxam 15, 20 Roxaban 20 Rivarox-20 20 Rivaxored 10, 15, 20 Rivaxored is manufactured by the Indian company Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, which has had some difficulties in the past. Would this concern you, or would you consider overall risk of manufacturing issues to be extremely low? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Reddy's_Laboratories#2011_recalls_of_Simvastatin_and_Toprol_products

Fwiw I got the Tecnis dual focus lens years ago in the US, and have been very satisfied. I get sharp near and far, and use reading glasses at the computer (but not needed for books/closer, or TV/farther). No halos, and seem fine in dim light (i.e. I can see the bar tab).

A few of the pharmacies near Mahidol, West of Victory Monument, sell Bayer 10 mg Xarelto for 1,400 baht / 10 tablet box. A few are more expensive, and the rest don't stock it. Has anybody seen a lower price for 10mg tablets of Bayer Xarelto? A bigger box would be fine. I know the other Thai pharmacy names, so no need to just list them. This is mid-term follow up for (likely 2nd) unprovoked DVT, thigh, middle-aged female. Do not want to use cheaper but higher dose -- just looking for a lower 10mg price. Thanks in advance, Retiree

I'll usually just take half the cetirizine or loratadine tablet; works for me.

Mine was EMS (popped for the 1,550 because I was cutting it close). Mailed at a small station in Bangkok. Was "Processed Through USPS Facility ISC NEW YORK NY(USPS)" then on to "USPS Regional Facility JAMAICA NY INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER" the same day. My one-line summary is from the e-mail they sent me, but pretty identical to the USPS tracking site.

Thanks for following up. I'd interpret that as probably having gone to Wilkes-Barre and then delivered, for a total of 11 or 12 days. Just guessing, but at the last stop they're probably hand-scanned, so it's possible if the tag was marred, or two were stuck together, or there were a lot of you timely guys that day, or if the mailman was running late, it might not have been entered. I guess we'll find out if you get a follow-up 7162 request in the fall.

Have you tried both the Thai and US tracking sites?

So 7162 form, using airmail with tracking, took 16 days from Thailand to Wilkes-Barre, including a 10-day layover between US airport and delivery. No stopover in Scranton Distribution Center shown. Thanks.

Sent 7162 via EMS (1,550 baht) on Tue July 30 - Received in Wilkes-Barre Mon Aug 5. I think this was day 60 (notice was dated June 6, but not received for several weeks). Latest Update: Your item has been delivered and is available at a PO Box at 12:17 pm on August 5, 2024 in WILKES BARRE, PA 18767. Tracking works fine using both https://track.thailandpost.co.th/ and https://tools.usps.com/go . I also got e-mail (clicked send updates on the USPS page). About a dozen incremental steps along the way -- longest blackout was 2 days. Page had been saying signature required, but it was accepted without a sig.

My question was when day 60 occurs, not day 1. If it is after the day the return letter is postmarked it matches all government deadlines I know of, including taxes and voting. It would seem unusual to me if they were to require receipt by day 60, particularly because they have to go to much more effort to verify a death than to check a postmark. But it's their process, so ... 😉

Thank you for this link. The SSA procedures do not specify date of receipt vs postmark for the 60-day limit (or the 45-day limit for the second notice). The SSA will not inform you of successful receipt and processing. What is clear is that while it is fairly easy to have benefits suspended (the following January) by missing one of those deadlines, it is difficult to have them cancelled, and takes a full 7 years (unless you actually are dead). The SSA goes to some lengths to determine if you are still alive, including simply checking if you are still making SS / self-employment tax contributions. They will also accept phone calls at this point. If you are still alive, benefits are restored from the suspension date. See https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0202602320#c C Procedure – FO actions after efforts to locate 2. Beneficiary or representative payee responds to suspense action If the beneficiary or their representative payee responds to the suspense action, follow these steps: ... c. Reinstate benefits effective with the first month of suspension using the guidelines found in SM 03005.160, if applicable.

Will post update. I guess the most informative result will be if it arrives there on day 61. Am I informed of receipt within the time limit anywhere? or will I just get another form in the fall?

Thanks Pib. I just used EMS 1,550 baht. I think FedEx something priority would have been 1,400, probably do that next year. Or mail / registered mail if I'm more on the ball. My 60 days is next Monday, so might make it -- or more likely 60 days means postmarked by -- any idea? and do you know if they reject a late response to the first notice?

Same story, but I did get the letter this year. How do people mail it back? EMS via Thai Post? FedEx? lol I have a week left for my 60 days.

Note that this was an observational study; the mechanism is not clear. Not clear how the benefit was distributed (i.e. mostly average, vs. some little, some folks much) -- have to wait for a more detailed report on the full article. https://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/dementia/111252 Dementia Risk Drops With Shingrix Vaccine Key Takeaways The recombinant zoster vaccine (Shingrix) was associated with a 17% increase in time without a dementia diagnosis, compared with the live vaccine. This translated into 164 additional days without a dementia diagnosis. The findings support hypotheses about shingles vaccination and dementia prevention. Taquet, M., Dercon, Q., Todd, J.A. et al. The recombinant shingles vaccine is associated with lower risk of dementia. Nat Med (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03201-5 There is a link to a preprint, but I couldn't get it to fully load: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-03201-5.epdf?sharing_token=MzU7BhG2gmTGLXj4ijnrfdRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0MWVzS3OFxW79q3WomDJxB3y6xBCVUar8J1P4JKNdWXQue0SMFhuKV7_ywG5ahb5xmjguPbCEni3RzKZUbdflXePM8wtNcGqDF89ZFbTAxL6NItemE6s8T9cdQA1STBKPA%3D

Reporting on this only because I tracked down the app details. The "Omron Evolv" is on Shopee / Lazada for about 4K baht. It is the HEM-7600T-Z model. I bought Shopee / TSMactive because they looked bigger than the other guy; probably same owner lol. This is the model that works with the Omron app from the US Google Play store (which my Android phone uses -- you can only change once per year). The Thai alternative HEM-7600T, which is sold by the "official" Omron store, costs about 900 baht more, and I was told will only use the Asia version of the app. The US version is cheaper on Amazon, but they won't ship it to Thailand. Readings are very close to the Omron Series 7 wrist guy I bought almost exactly 10 years ago, and which is now getting a little balky about starting. I put my left hand across my chest so the device is over my heart, at about the same height as the arm unit. Both seem to have good repeatability; wrist is typically a few mm higher just like the Interweb says. If I had to do it over again I'd just get the cheaper, non-Bluetooth wrist version -- it seems to be just as accurate but is easier to put on & take off.

If that were the case, a DTA would not need to include details about different taxation rules for different types of income. It could just say "we have a DTA, so use the lowest rates." Rule 5 ('favor the taxpayer when "the rate of tax stipulated in the Revenue Code is different from that of an agreement" ') would seem to apply only when there is genuine ambiguity. I think this is a general RD principle. Otherwise, as that same FAQ says: 9. What is the method for elimination of double taxation provided in the agreement? - In a double taxation agreement, there are credit and exemption methods.

You are absolutely right. I jumped to the conclusion that you were referring to GDP, and not income (unlike Schneider and my other citations, who are referring to GDP) -- I guess I'm just used to seeing words like "gray" and "shadow" so frequently used in that context. My apologies for getting this wrong. Your explanation of 48% makes good sense. I just don't see where the figure comes from, or how close it might be to this X or Y ? X% of Thai earnings are below or barely above the limit for reporting and taxation. Y% of unreported Thai earnings would yield significant taxes if discovered. I'm open to a side bet on the fraction of Y that should be, but are not, showing up on tax returns that are currently filed, and which (I think) the RD has its sights on ;)

As noted in this post, the figure that is most often cited in this thread -- 46.2% -- is based on admittedly "poor" evidence that is one step below "use with caution." https://aseannow.com/topic/1306896-thai-government-to-tax-all-income-from-abroad-for-tax-residents-starting-2024/ Prof. Friedrich Schneider is another key reference; he estimates 40.9% in 20141. For what it's worth, he also repeatedly quoted 70% -- and was himself very widely cited -- for 1998-1999, so this seems like a remarkable recovery2,3. The problem with all of these numbers is made plain in a typical newspaper analysis: Visible informal business in the country is widespread and consists of street vendors, food stalls, souvenir sellers, repair shops, makeshift entertainment venues and so forth, ... "if this revenue was just taxed by the general 7% value-added tax, the Thai government could have brought in ..." (quoting an anonymous Thai economist)4 Recall that a) income distribution in Thailand is extremely unbalanced, b) 20% of the population receives 50% of the income, c) the average wage in Thailand is 15,400 baht/month, and d) low-income workers and low-revenue businesses are not subject to personal income tax or VAT (all references provided in the link above). It is intentionally illusory to imagine the income that could be garnered from these folks if only they were "just taxed by the general 7% value-added tax" -- they have intentionally been excluded from such taxation. And it is equally misguided to assume that the government has not carefully considered the effect that applying such a tax would have on a large population that is barely getting by as it is -- more than a third of Thailand's population is either below the poverty line (6.3%)5, or faces food insecurity (28.6%)6. Thailand is not Italy, where so many large and profitable businesses have historically evaded reporting that years ago, tourists were advised to hold onto their restaurant receipts -- the police were known to demand them to ensure that restaurants were charging VAT. Thailand does have a shadow economy (which many posters on this list seem to be eager to participate in). And in cases of corruption, as well as the problems every country faces in taxing drugs, prostitution, and the like, large sums may be involved. But these cost far less than I think is commonly imagined in terms of GDP. Corruption is estimated at $1.5-3 billion of $500 billion of GDP in recent years -- a painful bite of the budget, but only a small fraction of the economy. Similarly, prostitution is not taxed, and is also likely to involve billions of dollars, concentrated in a manner that could reasonably yield tax revenue. But (perhaps unlike corruption) that money is spent in ordinary activities (raising families, building houses, etc.) that boost GDP and are taxed. Overall, I find it hard to see how all of these add up to anything close to the unsupported 40-50% of GDP figures commonly cited. This is a quite interesting topic, though, and I would be grateful for links to any more detailed and accurate assessment of the role the shadow economy plays in Thailand. 1 https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-59846-8_3 New Estimates for the Shadow Economies of 11 Asian Countries from 2000 to 2014 Friedrich Schneider 2017 2 https://www.elibrary.imf.org/display/book/9781589060968/ch01.xml Shadow Economies Friedrich Schneider and Dominik Enste 2002 IMF 3 https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/issues/issues30/ Hiding in the Shadows Friedrich Schneider and Dominik Enste 2002 IMF 4 https://www.gulf-times.com/story/448401/Thailand-s-shadow-economy-among-biggest-worldwide Arno Maierbrugger Gulf Times Correspondent, Bangkok. 2015 5 https://www.adb.org/where-we-work/thailand/poverty Poverty Data: Thailand 2021 6 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1071814/full Socio-demographic and geographic disparities of population-level food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand Sirinya et al 2023

I agree. This is far, far from a done deal. Nor is global taxation (particularly for non-citizen tax residents) something that can be effected with the stroke of a pen. The US, UK, etc. tax codes (each thousands of pages) and guidance (each tens of thousands of pages) took a long, long time to get that way as necessary details were filled in over the years. Note that if this report is accurate, remittance in 2024 will only be taxable for 2024 income. 2023 and prior assessable income will be protected under the safe harbor rule, and the old interpretation of the code. The earliest remittance that might be affected under the Sept 15 rule won't occur until Jan. 1, 2025, for income earned in 2024. On the face of it this suggests that the RD would have time to defend a legal challenge. Hopefully this is something a disinterested Thai legal authority, or an expert in procedural law rather than tax law, will comment on.

A longish response to this important post is on the "short" thread: https://aseannow.com/topic/1311285-change-in-the-tax-law-does-target-expats-living-in-thailand-and-extends-reporting-obligations/?do=findComment&comment=18491090