jitenshaman

Sunrise at Phu Chee Fah, Chiang Rai

Hmong girls in Mon Jam, Chiang Mai

I've tried my Thai driving licence and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I thought a tambien baan would also allow you access at Thai prices, but in truth, at the moment, I can't be bothered to jump through all the hoops to get one. So, the facts of the matter are that when we are asked to pay the 'farang' price we either pay or we don't visit. A simple choice at the moment, which, although unfair, is a fact of life here in Thailand. In general terms, although maybe not in the case in question, I bet if you spoke fluent Thai you would get a much more favourable response on production of your Thai driving licence, but unfortunately that is beyond me at the moment.

Sadly, Mikosan, it used to be the case that if you spoke Thai, you did get a favourable response, but then again, 7-8 years ago, when I would get off a bus in Phang Nga and speak Thai, I'd immediately be invited to someone's house to drink whiskey, whereas these days I just get a look that says, "he's useless, he lives here and we can't rip him off."

What I would like to see here is parks tariffed according to their merits. In Costa Rica you pay more for the national parks as a foreigner, but they are worth every single dollar, and nobody walks out of those parks complaining because they are well managed and you feel like you got something for your money.

Here, Khao Sok, especially out on the lake, used to be magnificent. So did Khao Yai if you could get into the jungle. Koh Tarutao is beautiful, and most folks used to love Koh Similan and Surin (before the speedboats carting thousands of Russian day-trippers began to mar them). The big parks might be well worth 400 baht, but they now do this with every single little green space, and most of the places have become rubbish dumps with few trails, facilities, or any kind of explanations for tourists. So where is the tourist money going? It certainly isn't going towards maintaining the parks and making them an excellent tourist attraction. I used to enjoy going back to places like Sam Roi Yod or Erawan, but I now refuse to pay, as I feel they are just rip offs.

Unfortunately, one can't really plan a national park trip here, make the time, expense of travel, etc, get to the middle of nowhere, and then be told that a Thai drivers license, work permit, or other is no longer acceptable, that one has to be Thai...and thus then turn around and go home.

When I went to the Emerald Pool this year, I got my wandering around the park in, photography, went for a swim, went early ahead of the masses that they bus in from Krabi and Phuket, and left, and I will never ever go back. From a business point of view, it's horrible business, getting once only customers, but unfortunately there are a lot of places here that operate under such premises.

F@@@###ing Racism here. I am absolutely sick of it. Applies in every corner of this land. I refuse to pay the additional and if they insist I walk away.

Me too, If they wont accept my Thai driving license then I tel the to **** Off.

Please everyone if you get charged more than a Thai to enter somewhere then walk away, if enough people do it then they will have no choice but to stop it.

That's not necessarily the right response either -- I'm from Delaware in the US, and in-state residents pay less than out-of-state visitors to enter state parks and other state government-run facilities, perhaps by 50 percent. The rationale is, Delaware residents pay state taxes that help upkeep the parks, whereas out-of-staters don't. That seems fair to me, and I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt that that's at least part of the rationale at play here. However, having to pay ten times the local rate is certainly excessive, and producing a national ID card should end any argument.

Foreigners have to pay 200 baht (last I checked) to visit the Grand Palace in Bangkok and other major sites, whereas Thais get in for free -- is that fair?

Perfectly fair!

It is fair. Most Thais go to the Grand Palace to make merit, most tourists go there to sightsee. One also can't really make any comparisons between highly "developed" countries such as Japan, US, Europe and their policies with other places that highly rely on tourism as a money maker. Non Indians pay a relatively whopping fee to enter the Taj Mahal and any Indian national parks. As a visitor to Sri Lanka, I pay 10 times the going rate to enter Yala National Park or any of the big Buddhist historic sites. At Angkor Wat, I pay 20x what Khmers pay, and at the pyramids in Gaza, I am charged well above what an Egyptian pays. If you are not Kenyan, you pay a whopping fee to go to Masai Mara and if you aren't Tanzanian, your Serengeti and Kilimanjaro fees will be huge. However, for the most part at all of the above sights, I feel my money is well spent and that I am seeing some of the world's most amazing attractions. On the other hand, you don't pay extra to enter a US or Canadian national park if you aren't from there, and Norway and Japan don't even charge anyone. I don't have gripes with tourists being charged extra, although when the charges become obscene or unworthy, they become very dubious. China charges more than U.S. park fees to enter national parks that don't even come close to comparison, and I don't know what they do now, but there used to be ticket takers hitting every boat that arrived to Koh Samet trying to extort a 200 baht national park fee because Samet is a national park (one with dozens of 7-11's, rampant overdevelopment, garbage, and not a single attraction that merits anything remotely like national park status (as opposed to say Koh Tarutao or Khao Sok).

I have no problem with Thais paying far less to get into public attractions. Tourists should pay more, considering our average income is 10 times the average Thai. Thais should not pay anything to enter Wats, etc that are sacred to Buddhists, whereas tourists who are just there to gawk and snap selfies should pay. It is not racism, it is just logical.

It happens all over the world. Local residents of Southern California can get drastically reduced season passes to Disneyland not offered even to Northern Californians. Students from out of state or other countries pay much higher tuition at US universities, because local residents pay taxes to support the institutions, and they are there for the greater good of the US. Thais who have higher incomes pay taxes to fund national parks etc and Buddhists support their local and regional temples, wats, etc with donations of whatever they can afford, so they should not be expected to pay additionally to worship.

I am so sick of Thai Visa old farts complaining about such inequities, those who complain the most deserve to pay the most, to pay for your bad karma (no I don't believe in karma spiritually, but sociologically it works). We relatively rich bastards should be happy to spend more than Thais to live in the country.

Get over it!!!

Foreigners who live here and pay taxes are not tourists. And if we are going on average income, well then why don't they make different prices for Isaan residents, Bangkokians, or based on income? There are also plenty of Thais whose average income is well above 10 times the average Thai.

When you live in Southern California long enough to meet the requirements, you get discounts at Disneyland just like the other locals. When you meet residency requirements in states, you no longer pay higher tuition. Unfortunately, the same does not hold true here. You can have lived here half your life, be fluent in Thai, and be a full tax payer, and yet you will still be overcharged. What would be interesting to see is if a farang who has a Thai ID card and is a Thai citizen (yes there are the rare few) whipped it out and what response they'd come up with.

it is sure he is muslum and this is relate to a terrorist attack.

He looks like a Christian militant to me...

Nah, for sure a Buddhist in drag.

Hmong boy and his top, Mon Jam, Chiang Mai

Sunrise above a sea of mist, Phu Chi Fah, Chiang Rai

Hello Forum!

My first post so go easy on me. I am a digital nomad for over 10 years now and have worked many times from Thailand in cafes etc. I pay my taxes in the UK as my income is derived from the UK.

I don't really understand why anyone would have a problem with the concept of working remotely when it has no negative impact whatsoever on the host country.

As many have said the only consequence is an extra foreign body spending their foreign earnings in Thailand on accommodation, coffee, food, travel etc.

How can this be an issue?

You use the streets in Thailand. You drink the water in Thailand. You are protected by the police and military in Thailand. You use Thailand's roads and mass transit. You are protected from having a building fall on you by Thai building inspectors. Thai health department money protects you from Ebola and scads of other threats, whether you know it or not. Thai money kills the mosquitoes so you don't get dengue. The list goes on and on.

All that costs money, and yours is going to the UK where it doesn't do the Thai people much benefit.

You pay 7% VAT on the stuff you buy here. That doesn't come close to covering your share of the wear and tear on the infrastructure.

You pump some money into the economy. Thai's that earn the same money to pump into the economy also pump a lot more into the tax coffers.

You're getting a free ride in Thailand, and that's the issue. I love visitors to my home. So do the Thai's. But if my guests plan to stay for 10 years, they probably ought to chip in some rent and put some food into the fridge occasionally.

If you disagree with that, I dare you to go to the Revenue Department back home and claim you pump so much money into the economy that you shouldn't be required to pay taxes on top of your VAT, GST or sales tax.

Complete and utter rubbish. I have worked freelance here, been paid by Thai companies, who take tax out of my payment, the same tax that they take out of their other Thai employees payment...only difference is that a Thai, at least some of them in some situations, can walk into a hospital or an insurance building, and claim for whatever payment they are covered under or think they have right to.. some of their companies give them insurance, many of them pay bonuses. As a foreigner, I don't get any of those. If I need health care, I pay cash, if I need police protection (what a laugh), I pay cash, I do not get any benefits whatsoever, I pay cash. So I get nothing for the taxes I pay. But I don't gripe about it because that's just the way it is...the same way that I pay taxes in the US, deriving some of my income from there and as a US citizen, and yet I don't receive a single benefit from the government there (as I do not live there). There are plenty of people living here who pour loads of money into the economy here, probably doing far more good than anybody's tax money is doing. Somehow, I don't think the Thai government uses tax money here to create good affordable public transport (BTS and MRT running on tax money??), health care for everyone, police that people actually turn to in a crisis,......hmmm, so I guess anyone who lives here on a retirement visa, on a marriage visa, on an education visa, and even those who are here for more than 6 months a year on double entry tourist visas with extensions, all of whom don't pay tax, well they must be just putting such a strain on the infrastructure...damn, no wonder the roads flood, the country has some of the worst traffic accident stats on the planet, buildings fall down not adhering to code, and the police remain corrupt. As usual, all us farangs fault...except of course those who are paying their tax......

This honestly doesn't seem too much different than what has been going on for years, only this time the in and outers will definitely not be welcome. I remember back when I was here on tourist visas the discussion was always about which embassy or consulate was the friendliest or most difficult, and yes, places within the region really tightened up...but it still was and is possible to use agents in Phnom Penh or elsewhere to obtain multiple or single entry tourist visas. I always wondered why anyone wanting to stay here long term wouldn't make the effort to go to a proper consulate or embassy and get a real visa that allowed them to stay longer rather than going back and forth across the border every two weeks, just makes no sense at all. I don't read the new law as having any affect on tourist visas or on those with them, as they are bonafide visit documents. I would highly doubt that anyone going out for 3 days on a double entry tourist visa will not be stamped back in for their second entry coming back. Those who do not have a visa will be the ones affected. It doesn't take that much of an effort to play by the rules and pay some cash and get the appropriate paperwork...it always has been and always will be quite easy.

If your kid's last name starts with an S and ends in an A, then there is a chance.

"Thailands embattled government has offered to call off an election set for February 2 if protesters end their rallies and promise not to obstruct or boycott a new one within months."

Do they really think this is what the protestors want? How will this meet their demands for reform? Clueless.

They dont want reform they want a dictatorship and that is not democracy where I come from.

Where do you come from?

Thailand.

just to let you know, in most parts of the world that have democracy, people don't get paid to go to protest nor to vote for that matter, they do so because they believe in it. I think Thailand kind of falls pretty short in that department.

And by the way, in most democracies, when elected leaders break the law or abuse their power and get caught, they are usually impeached, jailed, or forever banned from politics. Thailand again seems to fall a bit short in this department.

its like a plot to a Planet of the Apes movie . they find a dusty tome in a cupboard from the past and adhere to it without using some common sense and think out a sensible outcome and sit round grunting to each other about the minute details

even better than Planet of the Apes

The Royal Thai Army has the biggest opportunity ever to advance the cause of Thailand by bringing these protests to an end without a coup. Thai people have to learn that democracy means accepting the results of an election no matter how much you may dislike the person(s) elected. Have elections and vote! Let the will of the majority be shown for all to see.

Richard Nixon won a presumably relatively democratic election and then proceeded to abuse his terms and power of office, and thus was removed. He certainly wasn't allowed to run for President again. Sorry to say but the criminal in Dubai has no right anymore to run the country, and any election which allows he and his proxies to do so is nothing but another sham. Before they have another election they need to clean house, put the criminals in jail, make some laws about who can run, and maybe then there can be even the remotest possibility to end all this.

All those going on about no democracy need to take a look at the leader of this supposed democracy...about as far removed from the term as anyone could be.

I know the protesters went to shut down the revenue offices a week ago or so, but since then I have gone to the Times Square branch (Sukhumvit near Asok) and it is always closed. Does anyone know if all the revenue offices are closed indefinitely now? Would like to go drop off my tax documents whenever possible.

Anti democracy protesters go home. You were misled, misguided by people whose objectives include seizing power to install their dictatorship regime. Exercise your voting right before it is too late. You have seen the government have been tolerance, exercising restraint, patience in the midst of baseless and unsubstantiated accusations and daily threats from PDRC leaders. The safety and the livelihoods of the people are their main concerned not their power that was gained through democratic means. I am sure the government will be compassionate and appeal for leniency . Send from my Mobile

Pro Government protesters go home. You were misled, misguided by people whose objectives include seizing power to install their dictatorship regime. Sell your rice before it is too late. You have seen government corruption without restraint, arrogance, and unconstitutional activities and daily threats from the PT leaders. Their bank accounts are their main concern and maintaining their power through a corrupted democratic means. I am sure that the government will vigorously prosecute any dissenters.

Goes both ways.

It doesn't actually - nobody installed a "dictatorship regime". YS is globally regarded as the properly elected PM of the country whether you like her or not. Simply stating stuff irrationally does not make it fact.

If you are so convinced that you are right and the people support you, go to the electorate and ask them to vote. Last time it happened the global community seemed fairly pleased with the cleanness of the election. I know it's important to the protest that it was not so, but it seems to have been the least purchased vote in Thai history.

Ferdinand Marcos also won "democratic" elections supported globally, and was beloved as a champion of the poor with his Populist policies until far too late, after he and his family had plundered the country beyond comprehension and committed untold human rights abuses and atrocities.

Seems to me that a heck of a lot of people know that the current PM is just a proxy for a criminal who ought to be standing trial in the Hague...I mean come on, what sort of novel idea was it to appoint as PM someone with absolutely zilch political experience, zilch knowledge of anything to do with running a country, someone who would certainly not be fit to stand as PM anywhere on the planet other than for the fact that she appears to be a stand in for someone else...and isn't it amazing, in this true democracy, that everyone PT picks to run the show is a family member or relative of one person? Suthep and his lot are horrid, but don't for a minute claim anything about a free democracy when on February 2, there will not be any type of government reform or new start, merely another term of one man and his clan cleaning up for themselves.

It is fine to start with a campaign and accept support from all those that have an interest in your stance. However when you allow others to take over or mismanage your plans then it is not your campaign and you have created an achilles heel. The students have proven they are a law onto themselves and the game plan is not going as smoothly as Suthep thought it would. The effect to take over AEROTHAI to some posters does not matter so much if each of the airports can rely on running their operations without it. However one TV poster mentioned that RTAF do need the services of AEROTHAI, then the Military must act. Terrorism is all that this campaign has been about but the students are spearheading it into a collision course with those that do not wish to be involved.

Maybe this is all a cunning ruse by Suthep. Use the brainwashed students to do something which unquestionably would lead to the arm of the military having to step in. Goal achieved by Suthep and all the while he can claim he 'never wanted that' and it had 'nothing to do with him' as despite quitting politics for good he under duress accepts to step is as secretary general to the appointed council, with his step son the leader.

This is what suthep has been trying to do for the past 10 weeks, provoke the government to attack that way he and abhisit may not look as bad in contrast at their murder trail! I must say that PM Shinawatra has played her hand very cool and very well, world governmental leaders as well as the U.N. are finally speaking out against suthep and his antics One false move by suthep now (especially dealing with the Thai ATC system or the Thai stock exchange) and the Thai government will have world support in squashing suthep and his thugs in any manor they choose

The only hand Yingluck plays is the one on the Skype button.

I like Thailand, I'm happy to pay their taxes.

Don't understand why everyone is so desperate to claim such small amounts back.

If you do not want yours ,can i have it? my mum always said"look after the pennies and the pounds look after themselves"

If someone gave you $100, would you throw it in the trash or spend it?

I would rather I got to spend my 5-6,000 baht (or even 1000) rather than letting Yingluck, Obama, or whomever it might be do so.

The Thai wife and I then went to the personal income/revenue tax office here in my khet (district) in Bangkok, asked how do we get the tax refund, a nice customer support lady pulled out a simple one page Form Kor 10, Request of refund of Tax Payment and helped us complete it. The form is all in Thai...and don't even ask me where a copy might be downloaded...maybe someone else knows....just go to the tax office to get a copy.

Here it is, but you need to fill it & then print you cannot save it filled in

http://www.thaifranchisecenter.com/download_file/files/11-k10161050_130351.pdf

Thanks. Actually you can print that form to a PDF printer, then open and fill it in using a PDF editor, although the text alignment within fields is then trickier. After that, you're golden, as you can just change a few numbers year after year on the form.

As FYI to explain the easy/fast/painless entries on the Kor 10 form if your tax revenue office uses the Kor 10:

Block 1 is just your full name as shown on your passport. There was no entry in the first set of boxes and the tax office entered some number in the second set of boxes...this number was not my passport number nor my tax ID number...really don't know what the number was...maybe it was the ID of the particular tax revenue office I used.

Block 2 is your address and phone number, with the boxed entry area being for your address postal code.

Block 3 and 4: no entries

Block 5: what the refund request is for, tax year, and total refund amount requested.

Block 6: no entries

Block 7: a short sentence in written in basically saying you don't work in Thailand, have no income other than this bank interest income, etc.

Block 8: you write down a list of the attachment to the Kor 10 like a copy of your passport 1st page, bank tax doc(s), etc

Then right below Block 8 you sign on the line just above the line within the parenthesis marks,

After I got my tax ID number it was entered on the very top right corner of the form...not on any line, just at the very top right hand corner.

Really easy to fill out...if you can fill out a 90 address reporting form, then you have the talent to fill out a Kor 10 if your tax office uses the Kor 10. And giving the puppy dog eyes look when going into the tax office may help also....I think it does.

Excellent and easy to follow instructions, thanks!

Where is the tax office in Bangkok, or does one need to go to a particular place depending on one's residence? I live in Phra Khanong. I am guessing the main spot is in the Chang Wattana complex and is going to be shut down for the coming festivities.....

Can you tell me if the downloaded Kor 10 doc here will work anywhere or does one need the Por Kor Dor 90 as mentioned as replaced? And if so, is it downloadable anywhere?

If the government is too weak and ineffectual to deal with the protestors then for sure a coup is the only way to fix that problem. Pro-Shinawatras can blame Suthep all they want but it was Poo's useless and corrupt government that allowed the situation to become so bad in the first place.

Now they can't disperse the crowds because the Shinawatra police are just as useless as their masters and they refuse to resign because they want to cling onto power. The army won't help them either. Right now, the only way this problem is going to be solved is with a coup with a military junta in charge for a couple of years while they try to force the Dems and the PTP to work together without Shinwatra interference.

So this is what happens to people's political views when they live in Thailand for too long.....first time I have ever actually witnessed someone in support of a military junta.

Very little to do with living here for too long. Everything to do with the alternative being a continued dictatorship by a criminal thug and his greedy family a la Ferdinand Marcos. Just about anything is preferable to this.