Berkshire

The interest in this thread--or lack thereof--shows clearly what most Americans think about this topic. In some ways, American citizens are much like the politicians. A lot of talk, no action. Because if we all really cared, we'd vote people into office who are adamant about reducing the debt. Instead, we do the opposite.

A pretty honest assessment. I also find that dating sites, e.g., ThaiFriendly, are A LOT different in Chiang Mai vs. Pattaya. Girls in Pattaya are mostly for sale whereas girls in Chiang Mai are actually looking for relationships. Also, how old is the OP? Like you say, if he's over 60 looking for 20 yr old hotties, he's not going get anything serious from these girls. I've also met many of these girls. They tell me it's hard to find a good foreign man on these sites, most just want free sex. If you're a young, handsome farang guy, you might find more success getting freebies. But if you're an old dude, either look for someone closer to your age, or be prepared to pay.

Oh please. This is a bipartisan problem and you're trying to blame one side. Perhaps you can tell me how much the debt went up while Trump was in office?

Elected officials talk about reducing the debt, but most don't have the stomach to do anything about it. Because people don't get elected by taking away benefits and raising taxes. In order to reduce the debt, the gov would not only have to tackle entitlements (i.e., medicare, SS, gov pension, etc.), but they'd have to look at the defense budget. It's ballooned to an outrageous amount. But if anyone even brings it up, they're labelled soft on national security. Then there's all manner of subsidies, pork, etc., not to mention a huge amount of fraud and waste. The debt isn't going down anytime soon. Maybe our great grandkids can figure something out....5555

The thing is, if Trump is removed from ballots nationwide, his supporters will be livid. If Trump remains on all ballots and he loses, his supporters will be livid. These people are perpetually mad about something. The country should just ignore them.

Trump may have to worry about DeSantis in Iowa. Meatball Ron just got a boost from CA Gov Gavin Newsom..... [“It’s not anti-woke,” he said of the Republican governor’s conservative policies. “What he really means is anti-Black.”] You all may think this is an insult, calling DeSantis a racist. But this will actually help him with the Trump base. They love that cr*p....5555. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/newsom-desantis-isn-t-anti-woke-he-s-anti-black/ar-AA1ltJK9?cvid=d8275e0b3452443ffd817e5326f0ad90&ei=16

Yeap, was thinking the same thing. If the SCOTUS somehow rules for Trump, then Biden can literally have Trump assassinated and be immune from prosecution. Not that Biden would ever do such a thing....555. A no-brainer decision if there ever was one.

If the Supreme Court rules for the Special Counsel, Trump is going to lose his mind. Can't wait.

Of course Trump will abuse power if elected. He did it the first time. Would be much worse the second time.

Just like abortion, health care is a losing issue for the GOP because they have no alternative. Nothing. It's like their slogan is "put us back in office and we'll make sure you have no healthcare. Promise!" But Trump must think this is a winning issue for him because his supporters are idiots. Well, perhaps he's got that one pegged.

That all sounds fine....in an alternate universe. The names you mentioned, most of America does not know them. But Biden and Trump? America knows them. That's the quandary. There are many, many low-info Americans who'll only vote for someone they know....or think they know.

If not Biden, then who? That's the quandary. We don't want/need someone who's more able-bodied, younger, smarter, blah blah blah. We just can't have Trump. I agree with Mitt Romney. He'd support anyone--Democrat or Republican--so long as they're not named Trump or Vivek.

Polls are notoriously unreliable this far out. Heck, even the GOP primary polls 60 days out may prove inaccurate. It'd be funny as sht if DeSantis were to win Iowa and Haley or Christie wins New Hampshire. Trump would be out of his mind.

You don't need to do anything to become a tax resident in any country, all you need to do is not leave. If you are in Thailand for more than 180 days in a tax year, you are automatically considered to be tax resident. Even though you may not want to be one, there's nothing you can do about it on the 181 st day other than to accept it is so. Yeah, and if he has a Thai bank account and is bringing in cash from overseas, certainly a "tax resident."

No worries. We want the same thing....just to be treated fairly! :-)

Not sure why you're arguing about this. I agree that incoming foreign transfers should not be treated as income. The point is the Thai gov may decide to treat it as income. That's the point. Understand?

Have you ever worked in the USA? I have and taxes do get withheld from wages/salary. You can get some of it back when you file taxes....or end up paying more. Income such as capital gains, interest, dividends, etc. do not get withheld and you'd have to report them on your tax returns. I have no idea how the Thai gov will treat incoming fund transfers. I believe that treating all incoming foreign transfers as income is ludicrous. I hope saner and more rational minds will prevail.

My biggest fear is this scenario. Let's say the Thai gov directed all banks to withhold a certain portion of all incoming foreign transfers. Let's say 20%. The only way to get that money back is to file a tax return and prove that tax had been paid...and/or whatever else. That would be a freakin nightmare. Hence the reason why I brought up the ATM option.

Very convincing. I'll be trying out these gummies soon.....appreciate your insight.

So a two-week tourist using an ATM for cash has to pay taxes on that?

Perhaps this has been mentioned, but what if one has a foreign bank account and decides to bring money into Thailand by ATM. How would the Thai gov tax THAT? This is not a convenient way to bring in money, but certainly an option. As a disclaimer, all of my income (mostly pension) goes to my US bank account and I wire it over when needed.

Yeap, and Comer's dealings appear much more shady. Comer should be investigating himself....if he had any integrity.

Yeap, that would be my solution and would almost eliminate the problem over night. Unfortunately, many of these landowners (sometimes corporations) are rather powerful, influential people. Public shaming might help.

Of course, you have no proof of this. You just conjured that up in your head.

I will explain it to you with facts. It all started in 2019 at a Congressional hearing where Cohen testified. It's all there in the linked article. [The New York attorney general this week credited the 2019 exchange with prompting the probe.] ["I will remind everyone that this investigation only started after Michael Cohen, the former lawyer, his former lawyer, testified before Congress and shed light on this misconduct," James said.] https://www.businessinsider.com/aoc-questions-michael-cohen-2019-sparked-ny-ag-trump-lawsuit-2022-9