TallGuyJohninBKK

That's the million dollar question. Nothing I could find in the original TRD statements suggest otherwise. But somehow, ETT seems to be claiming, based on their various YT presentation videos, that TRD now has the other interpretation -- that the pre 2024 funds have to have been kept as cash in bank accounts and not brokerage accounts in order to be tax exempt under the new rules.

I believe it's a potential deduction of up to 25K baht for premium expenses to have a Thai company health insurance policy... And then separately, the larger amount for certain Thai company life insurance policies...including I believe, that their term has to be at least 10 years.

That's my plan! FWIW, I've been going thru all of the many Thai tax video presentations by the various law firms and expat tax advisors giving their interpretations of what's going on... which to say the least, is still in some flux. Expat Tax Thailand, based on the various statements of their spokesman, seems to have the view that once you move funds from one original type of account to another type of account, those funds lose the protections that might have existed in the original account.

Brydle, another serial COVID and vaccines misinformer out of your reliable stable of such sources who have long records of failed COVID fact checks and often can do no better than self publish their own nonsense on Substack, because no credible outlet is going to use them as a source: "Dr. Byram Bridle is an associate professor at the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph, in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Bridle is not a medical doctor, nor is he a veterinarian. Dr. Bridle holds a PhD in immunology; he is a bench scientist, who conducts research on animals. According to court filings, Dr. Bridle has never treated a (human) infectious disease, he has never performed a (human) childhood vaccination, nor has he ever treated a (human) adverse reaction to a vaccine. Bridle's claims were have been rebutted by peers, fellow scientists, and media watchdogs, and have been rejected in court. ... More than 80 of Dr. Bridle's colleagues at the University of Guelph signed a letter denouncing Bridle's ideas as misinformation." https://byrambridle.com/ Per Reuters: Fact Check: No evidence spike proteins from COVID-19 vaccines are toxic By Reuters Fact Check June 15, 2021 ... The claim was made by immunologist Byram Bridle (here) in an interview on May 28 (here) with Canadian broadcaster Alex Pierson (here and here). ... The studies Bridle cited as proof of toxicity do not support his claims. https://www.reuters.com/article/fact-check/no-evidence-spike-proteins-from-covid-19-vaccines-are-toxic-idUSL2N2NX1J6/ Per Agence France-Presse: Immunologist’s misinterpretation of data fuels misleading Covid-19 vaccine claims Updated on June 30, 2021 Social media users are sharing a radio interview in which a Canadian immunologist claims that widely used Covid-19 vaccines are dangerous. But a pharmaceutical company document and Harvard study presented by the professor as evidence have been misinterpreted, and experts said the jabs are working safely and effectively as intended. “The story I’m about to tell is a bit of a scary one. This is cutting-edge science,” says Byram Bridle, an associate professor at the University of Guelph, in a May 27, 2021 radio interview on Global News 980 CFPL. https://factcheck.afp.com/immunologists-misinterpretation-data-fuels-misleading-covid-19-vaccine-claims Per FactCheck.org COVID-19 Vaccine-Generated Spike Protein is Safe, Contrary to Viral Claims Posted on July 1, 2021 "Hundreds of millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered safely in the United States in the last six months. There is no evidence to indicate that the spike proteins generated by human cells following vaccination are a toxin or that they circulate in the body and damage tissues, contrary to what a Canadian virus immunologist recently claimed. ... But researchers and health officials told FactCheck.org there is no “mistake” and that there is no evidence to support Bridle’s claims. There is no evidence that the spike protein in vaccines “is toxic or that it lingers at any toxic level in the body after vaccination,” an FDA spokesperson told us in an email. https://www.factcheck.org/2021/07/scicheck-covid-19-vaccine-generated-spike-protein-is-safe-contrary-to-viral-claims/ ------------------------------------ Bridle is also listed as a scientific advisory committee member of a notorious Canadian anti-vax and misinformation group called Canadian COVID Care Alliance: https://www.canadiancovidcarealliance.org/about-us/ Re CCCA, from Agence France-Presse: Video repeats false claims about safety of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine Updated on January 19, 2022 A video produced by a group claiming to represent Canadian doctors and health care professionals alleges that the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is dangerous. But the video repeats several previously debunked assertions about the safety of the shot, experts say the benefits outweigh the risks of rare side effects, and the Canadian government recommends it to prevent hospitalization and death. https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.9VJ3DA And although the above fact checks are older, the link below shows that Bridle is still promoting COVID misinfo and associating with a raft of other well-known COVID misinfo purveyors at a 2024 event hosted by a local branch of Canada's United Conservative Party (UCP). UCP removes COVID-19 vaccine child-death references, takes over ticket sales to controversial event Published: May 16, 2024 at 2:10PM EDT "According to what CTV News has found, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario confirmed Speicher is not a medical doctor, Payne filed a lawsuit against AHS over mandatory vaccination, Makis' licence with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta was cancelled in 2019, Shoemaker was suspended by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario in 2023, Rose is an "independent researcher" https://www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/article/ucp-removes-covid-19-vaccine-child-death-references-takes-over-ticket-sales-to-controversial-event/ For Brydle, of course: "More than 80 of Dr. Bridle's colleagues at the University of Guelph signed a letter denouncing Bridle's ideas as misinformation." https://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/files/2021/07/20210709-VaccineSafety_UoGuelph.pdf

Jim, thanks for the interesting excerpt above about how the more recent US-UK DTA treats non-taxable accounts like US Roths from one country when the accountholder is living in the other country... Not taxable! Jim, about this comment you made, and for others reading here, the advice currently being given out by the Expat Tax Thailand firm regarding pre-2024 income being remitted into Thailand as being exempt from Thai taxation under the TRD's 2023 policy changes (not Thai laws, because there's been no new laws on all this) strikes me as being very peculiar. Their take -- and I haven't seen them explain their basis for this interpretation -- is that ONLY pre-2024 income held in home country BANK accounts is exempt from Thai taxation if remitted, even though the original TRD policy statements made no such limitation AFAICT. And thus by ETT's interpretation, they seem to have opined that if someone kept/had a couple hundred thousand dollars in a regular U.S. BROKERAGE account as of 12/31/2023, that NONE of that could be treated as tax exempt pre-2024 savings!!! I don't understand that notion at all... But I do expect to be talking to them about that interpretation in the coming week. FWIW, they seem to have the same interpretation about nominally Thai tax-exempt funds received by inheritance. They seem to be saying if an expat received an inheritance into their foreign bank account(s) and kept it there only, then it would be tax exempt for Thai purposes if ever remitted into Thailand. But if that same person took the inheritance sometime prior to 2024 and moved it into a brokerage account, then somehow, the Thai tax exemption for inheritance would no longer apply. Likewise, that seems to be nonsensical, at least to me.

And on the Canada front... here's what Health Canada actually has to say: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-products/covid19-industry/drugs-vaccines-treatments/vaccines/pfizer-biontech.html AND Pfizer Canada and BioNTech Receive Health Canada Approval of Omicron KP.2 Variant Adapted COVID-19 Vaccine 24/09/24 KIRKLAND, QC, September 24, 2024 - Pfizer Canada ULC and BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX, “BioNTech”) announced today that Health Canada has authorized the KP.2 variant adapted COMIRNATY® COVID-19 vaccine for ages 6 months and older. The updated COMIRNATY® vaccine targets the Omicron KP.2 variant, one of the most recently circulating SARS-CoV-2 lineages. {emphasis added] https://www.pfizer.ca/en/media-centre/pfizer-canada-and-biontech-receive-health-canada-approval-of-omicron-kp2-variant-adapted-covid-19-vaccine

Clearest sign all of the OP's posts above are just another episode of his unrelenting tidal wave of anti-vax nonsense. Look at the subject topic in the OP, and then try to find any credible major news media outlet reporting the Epoch Times latest claims. The answer you'll find is NONE! Meanwhile, a layman's version below of why all the OP's claims are recycled anti-vax scaremongering nonsense: https://youtu.be/nGOEc_9WFcw

5 Reasons We Know The COVID-19 Vaccines Don't Have Long-Term Health Effects Posted on February 1, 2022 by Henry Ford Health Staff "...a perpetual worry that’s fueling vaccine hesitancy is the question of long-term health effects. “The only long-term effect of the COVID-19 vaccines is survival,” says Dr. Cunningham. “There are no adverse long-term effects to worry about. Contracting COVID-19, however, can leave you with lingering health problems.” Here he shares five reasons we know the COVID-19 vaccines won’t cause long-term health effects. 1. History has showed us that with vaccines, adverse effects occur within eight weeks of vaccination—not years later. “These COVID-19 vaccines have been given to hundreds of millions of people for more than a year, so we know they are extremely safe,” says Dr. Cunningham. “You are much, much more likely to be hospitalized from COVID-19 than you are to have an adverse reaction from the vaccines.” ... 4. As opposed to other types of treatments and medications that are taken regularly, vaccines can’t cause a surprise reaction years down the road. Medications that are used to manage chronic conditions are monitored by the FDA for long-term effects for years. They are completely different from vaccines, which don’t significantly or permanently alter biologic functions—nor are they used routinely. https://www.henryford.com/blog/2022/02/5-reasons-we-know-the-covid-vaccines-dont-have-longterm-effects

Health Canada statement on DNA in COVID-19 vaccines misrepresented online Nov 24, 2023 "People on social media are using a screenshot from an article to claim Health Canada concluded that a cancer-causing virus "gene sequence" from simian virus 40 (SV40) exists in Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines. This is misleading. The public health agency says the vaccine does not contain SV40 virus, but instead an inactive fragment of that virus DNA, known as SV40 promoter enhancer, that is not harmful to humans." ... Health Canada spokeswoman Anna Maddison said SV40 was not found in the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. However, residual DNA fragments of the SV40 promoter enhancer sequence, which is used during the manufacturing process of the vaccine, was found. ... "The presence of the SV40 promoter enhancer sequence is not the same as the presence of the whole virus itself." https://www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/fact_checking/health-canada-statement-on-dna-in-covid-19-vaccines-misrepresented-online/article_c0bd8391-4ca6-54bf-905a-e0c105f666f3.html

No evidence that DNA sequence used in Pfizer shot leads to cancer and other health issues November 21, 2023 CLAIM: Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine contains a DNA sequence called Simian Virus 40 that can cause health problems, including cancer. AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. No evidence has been found to suggest DNA fragments used in the development of the coronavirus vaccine -- such as a portion of SV40’s DNA sequence -- are causing health problems in people who have received the COVID-19 vaccine. THE FACTS: A congressional hearing has revived baseless claims that coronavirus vaccines contain dangerous levels of monkey virus DNA. https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-covid-vaccine-pfizer-sv40-dna-853343189368

You're just recycling long-debunked anti-vax nonsense: As per the USA Today fact check report above: "There is no evidence DNA fragments in COVID-19 vaccines pose any risk, according to the Food and Drug Administration and multiple medical experts. Such fragments are often found in vaccines for viruses. Experts say the leftover material does not cause cancer, lacks a way to get into a cell’s nucleus to change it and is found in too small of a quantity to alter a cell's DNA." [emphasis added] ... Experts say fear of DNA integration defies science DNA fragments are found in many viral vaccines as an active ingredient or the byproducts of the manufacturing process, according to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia." https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2024/03/29/covid-19-vaccines-dna-fragments-harmless/73134331007/

No, DNA fragments in COVID-19 vaccines aren't linked to 'major safety concerns' | Fact check March 29, 2024 "There is no evidence DNA fragments in COVID-19 vaccines pose any risk, according to the Food and Drug Administration and multiple medical experts. Such fragments are often found in vaccines for viruses. Experts say the leftover material does not cause cancer, lacks a way to get into a cell’s nucleus to change it and is found in too small of a quantity to alter a cell's DNA." ... Experts say fear of DNA integration defies science DNA fragments are found in many viral vaccines as an active ingredient or the byproducts of the manufacturing process, according to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Viruses are usually grown in cells, and some fragments can make their way through filtration processes into the finished vaccine. ... "With over a billion doses of the mRNA vaccines administered, no safety concerns related to residual DNA have been identified," Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, wrote in the letter. "Studies have been conducted in animals using the modified mRNA and lipid nanoparticle together that constitute the vaccine, including the minute quantities of residual DNA fragments left over after DNAse treatment during manufacturing, and demonstrate no evidence for genotoxicity from the vaccine.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2024/03/29/covid-19-vaccines-dna-fragments-harmless/73134331007/

...

OP's source Epoch Times, formerly not even allowed as a credible source here on the forum: The Epoch Times – Bias and Credibility QUESTIONABLE SOURCE Overall, we rate The Epoch Times Right Biased and Questionable based on the publication of pseudoscience and the promotion of propaganda and conspiracy theories, as well as numerous failed fact checks. "the Epoch Times frequently publishes pseudoscience news, such as Supernormal Abilities Developed Through Meditation: Dr. Dean Radin Discusses. They also publish false claims from Pseudoscience and anti-vaccination activist Joeseph Mercola who has a long track record of publishing misinformation. Finally, the above referenced NBC News report states, “In addition to claims that alien abductions are real and the “deep state engineered the drug epidemic,” the channel pushes the QAnon conspiracy theory, which falsely posits that the same “Spygate” cabal is a front for a global pedophile ring being taken down by Trump.” https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/the-epoch-times/

I believe I found and just watched the YT video on Carden's hour-long Thai tax presentation to the PCEC in January 2025. In his talk, he did briefly mention regular U.S. IRAs. But he made absolutely no mention whatsover of where Roth IRAs would stand under the recent Thai tax moves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XScNGwqXQm8

Another recent ploy of the anti-vax movement has been to sponsor petitions signed by bunches of people with large sounding numbers, but when you delve into the details, the signees tend to be a bunch of anti-vaxers, misinformation peddlers, and to the extent actual scientists are on the list, they tend to be from obscure institutions and/or in large part people from disciplines totally unrelated to COVID and infectious diseases, like geologists, radiologists, gynecologists, podiatrists, etc etc... Great folks to be getting your COVID and COVID vaccine advice from... Here's a more reputable source, among many -- the Infectious Disease Society of America: "The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) is a community of over 13,000 physicians, scientists and public health experts who specialize in infectious diseases. Our mission is to improve the health of individuals, communities, and society by promoting excellence in patient care, education, research, public health, and prevention relating to infectious diseases." https://www.idsociety.org/about-idsa/about-idsa/ "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that all eligibles age groups get vaccinated. “In my opinion, everyone should get one of the new vaccines,” says Dr. George Diaz, chief of medicine at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett and a spokesperson for the Infectious Disease Society of America. [emphasis added] That said, it’s most important for those at high risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19, namely those over the age of 65 or who have other underlying health problems like a weakened immune system." NPR August 30, 2024 https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/08/22/nx-s1-5082372/updated-covid-vaccines-fda-approved

"Take-home message: - Dr. Peter McCullough, who has made a significant number of false statements about the COVID-19 pandemic, is the Chief Scientific Officer of the Wellness Company - The Wellness Company is part of the libertarian medical movement which seeks to divorce the practice of medicine from any government or industry influence - The solution proposed by the Wellness Company is to get rid of your medical prescriptions and replace them with unproven and disproven dietary supplements" Office for Science and Society (Separating Sense from Nonsense) McGill University https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19-medical-critical-thinking/dr-peter-mcculloughs-libertarian-medical-train-makes-pit-stop-east-palestine

McCullough and his minions are anti-vax quacks, and McCullough specifically has a long history of spouting COVID misinformation, all the while promoting unproven and/or discredited COVID and vaccine "cures" for profit. He's probably rivaled only by RFK Jr. in terms of the volume of Covid misinformation nonsense he's been responsible for during the course of the COVID pandemic.... even to the point that he had his medical specialty certifications revoked because of his pervasive misinformation peddling. [McCullough] Paper claiming ‘extensive’ harms of COVID-19 vaccines to be retracted February 19, 2024 "A journal is retracting a paper on the purported harms of vaccines against COVID-19 written in part by authors who have had similar work retracted before. ... The senior author on the work was Peter McCullough, a cardiologist at the Institute of Pure and Applied Knowledge who lost his board certification after the American Board of Internal Medicine found he had “provided false or inaccurate medical information to the public.” Indeed, McCullough had already lost one paper, in Current Problems in Cardiology, from Elsevier, when he and his colleagues submitted their latest opus to Cureus. And SSRN, which hosts preprints for The Lancet, another Elsevier journal, had removed work by him and colleagues claiming large numbers of deaths from COVID-19 vaccines. https://retractionwatch.com/2024/02/19/paper-claiming-extensive-harms-of-covid-19-vaccines-to-be-retracted/ https://www.abim.org/verify-physician?type=name&ln=McCullough&fn=Peter And below is a partial list of McCullough's many many debunked claims relating to COVID and COVID vaccines: https://science.feedback.org/reviewed-content-author/peter-mccullough/

In that Pattaya session you mentioned, did Carden say he now believes Roth IRA remittances ARE Thai taxable, or he didn't specifically mention Roths?

Here's a link to the YT video I mentioned above regarding U.S tax-exempt Roth IRAs, time keyed to that specific comment from Carden that begins at the 26 minutes, 45 seconds point and continues thru about the 27 minutes, 40 seconds point: https://youtu.be/K-2sAgFNgVE?t=1604 I'm not claiming Carden's comment from last fall is accurate or that it's the Thai RD's current position on the matter. I have no idea on either front. I'm mentioning and reposting the comment here, solely because it's the first time I've ever heard that kind of interpretation being discussed. As best as I understand it, Roth IRAs only came into being AFTER the adoption of the current Thai-U.S. tax treaty. My document shows the Thai-U.S. tax treaty was signed by the parties in November 1996, whereas Roth IRAs were only created by U.S. law in 1997 and first became available in 1998.

Jing, this whole mess keeps getting stranger and stranger... Yes, the US-Thai DTA seemingly does not give any Thai tax protection for U.S. IRA and Roth IRA accounts if funds from those are remitted into Thailand by someone who's become a Thai tax resident. However -- and this is the first I've heard of this -- I saw a YT video the other day from last fall during which the American tax consultant guy here in BKK (Thomas Carden) said they had been told by someone in the TRD at some point that their general policy was going to be that they would treat tax-exempt instruments from the U.S. as tax exempt in Thailand... which would apply to remittances from a U.S. Roth account -- if the TRD actually sticks to what Carden claimed they were saying at one point. That's a notion I don't think I've ever heard anyone say before in this whole mess... And who knows whether in fact that's still, or ever was, the TRD's interpretation.

Turbo cancer is not a thing Katelyn Jetelina and Kristen Panthagani, MD, PhD Mar 28, 2024 ... Bottom line "The pandemic caused a significant disruption in cancer screenings, and tragically, that meant many people’s cancer diagnoses were delayed, only to be found when they were late-stage. This started well before Covid-19 vaccines were rolled out, and there is no evidence to suggest Covid-19 vaccines are causing a surge in cancer. Even among younger people like Kate Middleton, who unfortunately, are increasingly being diagnosed with cancer." [emphasis added] Kristen Panthagani, MD, PhD, is a resident physician and Yale Emergency Scholar, completing a combined Emergency Medicine residency and research fellowship focusing on health literacy and communication. “Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE)” is written by Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, M.P.H. Ph.D.—an epidemiologist, wife, and mom of two little girls. During the day, she is a senior scientific consultant to several organizations, including CDC. https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/turbo-cancer-is-not-a-thing

American Cancer Society: Can COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer or make cancer grow? There is no information that suggests that COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer. There is also no information that suggests these vaccines can make cancer grow or recur (come back). [emphasis added] https://www.cancer.org/cancer/managing-cancer/coronavirus-covid-19-and-cancer/covid-19-vaccines-in-people-with-cancer.html#:~:text=Can COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer or make cancer grow%3F Last Revised: September 9, 2024

U.S. NIH - National Cancer Institute: COVID-19 Vaccines and People with Cancer ... Can COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer? Can the vaccines cause cancer to recur or make it more aggressive? There is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer, lead to recurrence, or lead to disease progression. Furthermore, COVID-19 vaccines do not change your DNA (i.e., your genetic code). [emphasis added] https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccines-people-with-cancer#:~:text=Can COVID-19,your genetic code). Updated: October 10, 2023

Maybe Immigration needs to add English-language proofreaders an acceptable category for DTV applicants! 🙂