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EdgeCarver
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Thread started to separate different cases posted in thread:
http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Thaksin-Face...ts-t137657.html
Thaksin May Face More Arrest Warrants
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BREAKING NEWS
Potjaman Shinawatra Guilty
10.47am : The Criminal Court on Thursday found Khunying Pojaman Shinawatra guilty of intentionally avoiding a tax payment of Bt546 million for the transfer of 4.5 million shares of the Shinawatra Computer and Communications' shares worth Bt738 million. Also found guilty in the historic trial are Pojaman's brother Bannaphot Damapong and her personal secretary Kanchana Honghern. The court sentenced Pojaman and Bannaphot each to 3 years in jail.
- The Nation
Am I being naive or has no-one else noticed the strange tax rate that seems to have been applied here?
According to my search of tax rates in Thailand the top rate for income tax is 37% (for incomes over THB 4 million) and capital gains are taxed as income (i.e. no special rates or allowances). Even if the WHOLE of the transfer was deemed a capital gain (i.e. the shares were acquired for zero consideration) the numbers quoted are twice the tax rate that should have been applied.
I would hazard a guess that there was consideration in acquiring the shares and so the tax liability should have been much less than half the sum quoted in the press.
Don't get me wrong, I have no truck with tax evaders but should I ever retire to Thailand it would be good to know that the tax law is properly understood by the revenue authorities and properly enforced by the judiciary.
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"In a political transition into a full democracy, which is a sensitive period for all sides, the military should not be involved in politics and politicians should not interfere with the military," he said.
what a strange statement that is. The Government should be able to control the military. Well thats how it works in most other countries.
I agree. I would go further and say it is bizarre.
If the Government is to be in control of all aspects of policy, both internal and external, then it certainly needs to be in charge of Defence.
How would the Generals - unconstrained politically - react to an instruction to defend Thailand against an external threat or tp participate with an ally not of their choosing in war games? Would they operate an Army foreign policy independent of that of the civilian Executive and Parliament? How could that possibly work? And what would happen if the Army, Air Force and Navy disagreed about the threat that Thailand might be facing? Who would arbitrate? Who would command?
How would the Generals pay for themselves? In a normally functioning parliamentary system the Executive presents a set of budgets - including Defence - to Parliament for scrutiny, amendment and approval. As the Executive and Parliament will now be civilian how will the Generals get their financing if the Army is not to be interfered with by politicians. And what could possibly be the role of a "neutral" Defence Minister? In what way could he/she be independent of the Executive and Parliament?
Like Thailand, the UK is a Constitutional Monarchy. In my youth we held the Queen in no less esteem than Thais now hold the King. I recall that my oath on joining HM Royal Marines was to serve Her Majesty and "those set in authority over me". "Those set in authority over me" included politicians for whom I may not have voted, may even have despised but I did not have the choice that seems to be demanded by the Generals to serve whomever they choose at their own whim.
I may have missed something else in the re-writing of the Constitution. Have the Generals granted themselves immunity from prosecution for the coup?
It seems from the statements in the above article that there is only one way the Generals can be confident of achieving their aspirations (of no political interference in their affairs) and that is always to have the threat of a further coup in reserve.
Lucky Thailand to have reverted to democracy. Now, Thai Government, you need to get the military back into their barracks and obedient to the will of the people's representatives in Parliament. Good luck with that!
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I think it is not such a bad figure when you do the maths.
The guy is 63, and with an average life expectancy of 76 for males I come to the following (sorry for spelling).
That is 13 X 365 days a year that gives 4745 days to live.
What does it cost to rent a girl longtime which basically means half a day considering you get her in the evening and she goes in the morning.
From Internet research I find prices between 2 and 3000 Baht.
She is with him 24 hours a day so let us put the labor rate on 6000 Baht a day.
4745x6000=28470000 Baht
So not a bad deal I would say.
That's a bit over the top I think! The most I've ever seen some guy helping a lady financially per month is 30,000 baht, so, if you work that out over the last 6 years that they stayed together it comes to 2,160,000 Baht.
Also, if you check, you will find that many, many britons live way past 76 years of age, more into their 90's actually!
So, how can you justify your figures anyway by assuming that they will get back together and actually live together for the next 13 years. I doubt that very much so why would he have to pay for it?
Also, I think your internet reseach in not correct. The normal price per day, or night is around 1,000 - 1,500 Baht and the price is reduced for longstay!
Isn't number spinning fun?
Here's an alternative point of view.
With THB17 million being roughly equivalent to £250,000 the poor benighted soul could have bought himself an annuity yielding £22,000 per annum - or £1800 (= THB 125,000) per month. That's nearly 9% pa return. The capital is now all gone but the income is guaranteed.
Assuming THB 30,000 for the lady (thanks for the research) that still leaves a comfortable THB 95,000 for monthly necessities like rent, groceries, travel, bribes, etc.
Now, the income is his and she can't walk away with the asset because it's registered in his name.
Of course the residual risk is in currency movements but, hel_l, being alive is a risk - as he discovered.
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U.S. ex-pat here. I have been watching and enjoying the Rugby action in an attempt to broaden my sports horizons. Beats soccer all to hel_l but that is a different thread.
I've read the rules online and had an English friend give me a little primer. Could someone explain to me:
why, if the ball must be released immediately, and the tackler release immediately upon hitting the ground, is there need of a ruck? Can't someone just pick up the ball and take off?
why isn't the drop kick used more often?
after a mishandle, it is only the player that dropped the ball that can recover ? if someone touches it from the other team is it then again live?
Why do Australia and New Zealand seem to be from another planet than the rest of the teams?
Serious questions, not trolling. Just want to enhance my enjoyment of the action.
Cheers!
Here's a useful article from The Times last week:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rug...icle2409879.ece
It's about Nigel Melville., former England scrum half now CEO of Rugby USA.
In a previous article that I can't find he is quoted as saying that only 5% of collegiate football players make the professional draft. That leaves 95% available for Rugby, if only an effective professional set-up can be created. The International Rugby Board is putting a lot of money into the USA to achieve that and in the hope that TV will offer some coverage that will encourage the take-up of the sport.
After seeing the Eagles against England I'm very positive about the future of the game in the US.
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Do a search on "Nationwide Flexaccount" on Thaivisa for plenty of evidence that they pay as near to the interbank rate as an ordinary punter is likely to get when drawing sterling from a Thai ATM. Both the Nationwide and the Post Office credit cards make no charge on foreign currency purchases.
Unfortunately they will not let you open, even though one holds a British passport, a bank account unless you reside in the UK. I've been trying to find a way to open an account with Nationwide, I'm no longer a UK resident, but to no avail. If someone can tell me otherwise I'd be grateful.
This is the Anti-Money Laundering Regs at work. To open a bank account you must attend in person with your passport (or ID card - spit, spit) and two utility bills in your name for your address. I even heard of a Boy Scout who was refused an account for his Troop's spare cash (miniscule) because he did not have the required proof of identity.
I know tourist rates are not the essence of this thread, but I was in BKK for a month in Jan/Feb of this year. Using my Visa Electron debit card issued by the Co-operative Bank I got 10,000 THB for £144.79. The equivalent interbank rate (wholesale) was £144.08 - suggesting my bank was applying a buy/sell spread of less than 1%. Sadly, I also had to pay a Visa processing fee of £2.89 (200 THB). That kicked the spread up to nearly 5%, i.e. I was getting 2.5% less than if I had been able to buy the currency wholesale.
Fortunately, before leaving Heathrow I had balked at buying Thai baht at 61 THB/GBP, when 10,000 baht would have cost me £164!
As an intending retiree I shall be very conscious of the THB/GBP rate.
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I shall always be for England but my brain tells me that this will not be their year in the 6 Nations. Maybe third; unlikely second; highly improbable winners; no Grand Slam this year for anyone.
My real concern is "where can I watch Saturday's matches in Bangkok"? Ideally near Bangkapi or Min Buri but I can travel into the centre for a decent sportsbar.
Anyone have any useful sports bar knowledge?
Potjaman Shinawatra Found Guilty Of Tax Evasion
in Thailand News
Posted
Thank you for the courtesy of your reply.
You are clearly right about the newspaper not spelling out what the claim amounted to. However, you can't assume that I can infer penalty rates or interest rates without any information about either.
All I have - without benefit of the newspaper itself - is the report in this blog.
As a former consultant to Investment Managers in the City of London and other financial centres I know that inference without evidence (particularly in respect of taxes) is a dangerous game.
I would also point out that I was interested mainly in the tenor of the comment - mainly enthusiasm at the findings against Khunyin Thaksin - and only after writing was I aware that in the TEN pages of this thread was there an occasional comment on rates and penalties.
Nevertheless, thank you once again for the courtesy of your reply. I shall try to ensure that my researches and/or enquiries are more thorough in the future so that I don't put you to further trouble.