TallGuyJohninBKK

And then combine the above with this recent YT video interview with the managing partner of a major expat tax advisory firm in BKK opining that Thai ATM withdrawals made using foreign bank cards would NOT count as taxable funds being remitted into Thailand under the current Revenue Department rules. There are different and conflicting views on the topic of foreign card ATM withdrawals. But I thought it was interesting to hear this pretty prominent guy offer his interpretation flatly and without equivocation. Unfortunately, he didn't say -- and wasn't asked -- what his basis was/is for having his particular view/interpretation regarding Thai ATM withdrawal transactions using foreign bank cards. He made those comments at about the 11:45 time point in the video below.

Fyi, there was a recent article in the BKK Post (which now lately is allowed as a linked and quotable source on this forum) about this thread's topic in which they spelled out the limits on Thailand's ability to obtain financial info from other countries, as follows: "However, the laws on the exchange of financial information for tax purposes, which are made available in 113 countries, have certain limitations. The information received from financial institutions and securities companies pertains specifically to investment-related matters, such as interest and dividends, and does not encompass all the financial information of the individual. Therefore, some financial information, such as salaries or wages, will not be provided under these reciprocal information exchange agreements." https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/2818689/navigating-new-foreign-income-rules I would interpret the above excerpt as confirming my and others beliefs that Thailand's Revenue Department would not necessarily have or gain access on individual owners/holders of foreign debit and credit cards that might be used for ATM transactions in Thailand.

Many In Thailand Oblivious That KP.3 And LB.1 Variants Are Wreaking Havoc. 3,256 New COVID-19 Hospitalizations, 16 Deaths Last Week! July 1, 2024 Thailand Medical: Health authorities from the Department of Disease Control of Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health ‘silently’ issued an update that there were 3,256 new COVID-19 hospitalizations for the week 23rd to 29th of June 2024. This roughly works out to about 465 hospitalizations per day. Many private hospitals are reporting that there are already beginning to feel the stress as ICU wards and COVID-19 beds are filling up fast and to add to the worrisome issues, many hospitalized for COVID-19 are taking a longer time to recover this time round, hence there are fewer beds being freed for others. (more) Thailand Medical News https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/many-in-thailand-oblivious-that-kp-3-and-lb-1-variants-are-wreaking-havoc-3,256-new-covid-19-hospitalizations-16-deaths-last-week

New hospitalizations for COVID in Thailand rocketed upward last week to 3,256 new cases, hitting a new weekly high for all of 2023 and 2024. The Ministry of Public Health on Monday also reported 16 new COVID deaths for the past week, tying the weekly high thus far for this year. Thailand's new weekly COVID hospitalizations now are more than six times the weekly total of 501 from when the current spring COVID surge began in mid-March. Now averaging 465 per day, Thailand's new weekly COVID hospitalizations have risen for 14 of the past 16 weeks. The latest weekly COVID hospitalizations tally for June 23-29 marked a week-over-week increase of almost 79% from the prior week's total of 1,823. The weekly gain of 1,433 new COVID hospitalizations is by far Thailand's largest week-over-week increase of the year. Thailand's prior high of new weekly COVID hospitalizations for the years 2024 and 2023 was 3,085 cases from early June in 2023. Monday's latest tally of 3,256 is now Thailand's highest since a week in mid-December 2022 when 3,419 new COVID hospitalizations were reported. The latest tally of 16 weekly COVID deaths ties the weekly high for Thailand for 2024, equaling the same weekly total for the week ending May 18. Among the new deaths, the MoPH said 7 were male and 9 female. By age, 10 were ages 70 and above, and 2 each were in the age ranges 60-69, 50-59, and 20-49. By comparison, Thailand's key weekly COVID indicators to start 2024 were 664 new COVID hospitalizations and 4 COVID deaths for the first week of the year. With the latest MoPH update, cumulative figures since the start of this year are 31,205 COVID hospitalizations and 172 COVID deaths. In other updates, the latest weekly tallies of 709 current serious condition COVID hospitalized patients and 336 currently hospitalized patients requiring ventilation to breathe both declined slightly in the latest week, but remained just below the more than year-high peaks set two weeks ago. The weekly new COVID hospitalization totals since this year's spring surge began in mid-March have been: March 16 -- 501 March 23 -- 630 March 30 -- 728 April 6 -- 774 April 13 -- 849 April 20 -- 1,004 April 27 -- 1,672 May 4 -- 1,792 May 11 -- 1,880 May 18 - 1,882 May 25 -- 1,801 June 1 -- 1,863 June 8 -- 2,762 June 15 -- 2,881 June 22 -- 1,823 June 29 -- 3,256 The MoPH's weekly COVID reports for Thailand are available at the following MoPH website: https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main They also have been posted each week in the following AseanNow forum thread: https://aseannow.com/topic/1311049-weekly-thai-ministry-of-public-health-covid-reports/

Thailand MoPH Weekly COVID report for June 23-29, 2024: --3,256 new COVID hospitalizations, averaging 465 per day, up 1,433 / 78.6% from 1,823 the prior week --16 new COVID deaths, up 4 / 33.3% from 12 the prior week --709 current COVID patients hospitalized in serious condition (pneumonia symptoms), down 23 / -3.1% from 732 the prior week (dark purple) --336 current COVID patients hospitalized requiring intubation/ventilation to breathe, down 11 / -3.2% from 347 the prior week (light purple) The latest 3,256 weekly tally of new COVID hospitalizations is Thailand's highest weekly total since mid-December 2022 (3,419), exceeded last year's high of 3,085 from early June 2023, and marked by far the largest week-over-week increase this year. The latest reported level of new weekly COVID hospitalizations also now is more than six times the number (501) at the start of the recent surge in mid-March. The latest tally of 16 weekly COVID deaths ties the weekly high for Thailand for 2024, equaling the same weekly total for the week ending May 18. The latest weekly tallies of 709 serious condition COVID hospitalized patients and 336 hospitalized patients requiring ventilation to breathe both declined slightly in the latest week to remain slightly below the more than year-high peaks set two weeks ago. Cumulative figures since the start of the year are COVID hospitalizations (31,205) & COVID deaths (172). Of the 16 new official COVID deaths for the past week, the MoPH is reporting that 7 were male and 9 female. By age, 10 were ages 70 and above, and 2 each were in the age ranges 60-69, 50-59, and 20-49. https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main New weekly COVID hospitalizations in Thailand now have risen for 14 of the past 16 weeks. The weekly totals since this year's spring surge began in mid-March have been: March 16 -- 501 March 23 -- 630 March 30 -- 728 April 6 -- 774 April 13 -- 849 April 20 -- 1,004 April 27 -- 1,672 May 4 -- 1,792 May 11 -- 1,880 May 18 - 1,882 May 25 -- 1,801 June 1 -- 1,863 June 8 -- 2,762 June 15 -- 2,881 June 22 -- 1,823 June 29 -- 3,256 By comparison, Thailand's key weekly COVID indicators to start 2024 were 664 new COVID hospitalizations and 4 COVID deaths for the first week of the year. Last year, Thailand had a similar spring COVID surge that saw new weekly COVID hospitalizations peak at 3,085 in early June before declining into the fall.

I too was more than a bit alarmed / dismayed when I heard Carden's account of that.... The issue of home country-based tax credits, and their application against Thai taxation due, would seem to have the potential to be a large and significant issue for future expat Thai taxation under the current foreign remittances policy.

As I understand it, under the U.S-Thai tax treaty, U.S. government pensions and things like Social Security, and I'd assume that would include disability payments as part of Social Security, are simply NOT taxable by Thailand, period. Doesn't matter their amount, and whatever else may be going on with a person's finances, large or small. On the other hand, private pension remittances absolutely ARE/can be taxable by Thailand under the terms of the taxation treaty.

My understanding is that the exemption on government pensions referenced in the U.S.-Thai tax treaty would apply equally to federal and state U.S. government pensions.... But, I also don't work for the Thai Revenue Dept.... 🙂 If anyone has gotten clearer advice on the status of U.S. state government pensions, please do chime in...

The U.S. government pension of an American living in Thailand would specifically be exempt from Thai taxation under the terms of the longstanding double taxation treaty between the two countries. It would NOT be Thai tax assessible income. When it comes to U.S. government pensions, there's no balancing act under the treaty of which country has the higher or lower tax rate. It's simply a blanket declaration that only the U.S. (not Thailand) has the right to tax U.S. government pensions.

But one overlap between the two different measures, presumably, would be the recently updated changes to the Revenue Code that savings (income) accrued prior to Jan. 1 2024 would NOT be subject to Thai taxation, no matter when in the future those funds might be remitted into Thailand. And as a corollary to that, there's no indication that the recent PROPOSAL to tax worldwide income would be retroactive to prior years. So if and when such a law is actually enacted, assuming it actually is, that income taxation presumably would also only apply to income from future years, and not touch income accrued from prior years. And, of course, that the applicable provisions of various countries' double taxation treaties with Thailand would continue to provide various exemptions/exclusions on what Thailand can and cannot tax in the way of foreign-sourced income... Such as the exclusion in the U.S.-Thai tax treaty saying that Social Security and govt pensions are only taxable by the U.S.

Jim, I think I had an earlier misunderstanding about how the latest proposal calling for a new LAW for the Thais to tax worldwide income of those with Thai tax residency status operated vis-a-vis their prior enacted Revenue Code changes about taxing incoming foreign remittances. Originally, I thought the latest LAW proposal was simply REPLACING the earlier Revenue Code measures that were being abandoned. But now lately, it's sounding like the earlier Revenue Code measures regarding taxation of incoming foreign income remittances are remaining in effect, and then beyond that, we'll have to see if they do or don't end up actually enacting a new LAW on taxing worldwide income. Is that the way you're reading things, or you've got a different interpretation?

Just keep in mind, most folks using their home country debit cards in that way would be paying an added 220 baht Thai bank fee for each and every foreign card ATM withdrawal here -- except for those with relatively rare accounts that reimburse foreign ATM fees.... But frankly, if someone was doing 30 foreign card ATM withdrawals per month and seeking reimbursement, I suspect their home country bank would be having a chat with them about their residency status and potentially other issues as well.

Several Thai banking companies, Krungsri chief among them, have 30K baht maximum per withdrawal limits on ATM transactions. BKK Bank has a 25K per withdrawal transaction limit. The per day limits are usually set by the account holder, and can be much much larger. The per transaction limits are based on bank company policy as to the maximum their ATMs will allow per transaction.

An existing Google Voice account/service works just fine in Thailand for U.S. calling and SMSs.... BUT, one's GV account has to be initially set up in the U.S. at the outset, or at least appear to be set up in the U.S. first based on one's IP address... And at least initially, has to be set up using a U.S. mobile number, AFAIR. The accountholder's underlying Google account also has to be based in the U.S., not in Thailand, since GV is a U.S. only Google service.

MPG and their managing partner, Luca Bernardinetti, are significant players in the expat tax advisory world here from everything I can gather. I have no basis for knowing whether his opinion is correct or not. But it was interesting to hear an individual like him espouse that view flatly and without any equivocation. I just wish his interviewer had followed up and asked him HOW he came to hold that opinion and/or what his basis was/is for having that interpretation. https://connect.amchamthailand.com/list/member/mahanakorn-partners-group-co-ltd-4348

Your comment above makes no sense. With this particular tax advisory exec claiming that ATM and credit card transactions would NOT be considered foreign remittances for Thai taxation purposes, his view is EXCLUDING/REDUCING the share of expats who would likely need his firm's services -- not increasing that potential client group.

On a related topic, there was another YT video interview lately with another BKK-based expat tax advisory (Thomas Carden) who spoke about, under the current rules, it taking his firm NINE MONTHS to get the Thai Revenue Dept to acknowledge/recognize a $900 tax credit from the U.S. His broader point was basically saying that under the PROPOSED new Thai law that would impose taxation on worldwide income, that it would be basically impossible for expats here to successfully file their own Thai taxes in the future (under the proposed law) because of all the issues about claiming credits for taxes paid in people's home countries. His comments on the nine months deal came at the 6:50 time point in the video below:

On that above point, the managing partner of what I gather is one of the larger expat oriented legal and tax advisory firms in Thailand, MPG, did a YouTube video interview the other day where he opined that ATM withdrawals and credit card spending would NOT count as foreign remittances under the Thai Revenue Department's scheme. I realize there are different and conflicting views on that topic. But I thought it was interesting to hear this guy flatly saying that only foreign transfers into Thai bank accounts would be counted as foreign remittances for taxation purposes. He made those comments at about the 11:45 time point in the video below. Unfortunately, he didn't say -- and wasn't asked -- what his basis was/is for having that particular view/interpretation regarding ATM withdrawals and credit card transactions.

So if you're there for a retirement extension and have an appointment, do you still need to stop at the very front entryway counter to get a queue ticket? Or, just go straight to the document check cubicle with your appointment paper, and then onward to the appointments cubicle???

As Covid-19 Continues to Spread, So Does Misinformation About It New York Times, Dec. 28, 2022 ... "What began in 2020 as rumors that cast doubt on the existence or seriousness of Covid quickly evolved into often outlandish claims about dangerous technology lurking in masks and the supposed miracle cures from unproven drugs, like ivermectin. Last year’s vaccine rollout fueled another wave of unfounded alarm. Now, in addition to all the claims still being bandied about, there are conspiracy theories about the long-term effects of the treatments, researchers say. The ideas still thrive on social media platforms, and the constant barrage, now a yearslong accumulation, has made it increasingly difficult for accurate advice to break through, misinformation researchers say. That leaves people already suffering from pandemic fatigue to become further inured to Covid’s continuing dangers and susceptible to other harmful medical content. “It’s easy to forget that health misinformation, including about Covid, can still contribute to people not getting vaccinated or creating stigmas,” said Megan Marrelli, the editorial director of Meedan, a nonprofit focused on digital literacy and information access. “We know for a fact that health misinformation contributes to the spread of real-world disease.” https://archive.ph/y9PdE Lie of the Year: Coronavirus downplay and denial December 16, 2020 "A Florida taxi driver and his wife had seen enough conspiracy theories online to believe the virus was overblown, maybe even a hoax. So no masks for them. Then they got sick. She died. A college lecturer had trouble refilling her lupus drug after the president promoted it as a treatment for the new disease. A hospital nurse broke down when an ICU patient insisted his illness was nothing worse than the flu, oblivious to the silence in beds next door. Lies infected America in 2020. The very worst were not just damaging, but deadly. ... PolitiFact’s 2020 Lie of the Year: claims that deny, downplay or disinform about COVID-19. https://www.politifact.com/article/2020/dec/16/lie-year-coronavirus-downplay-and-denial/

And in a related ruling: Supreme Court rejects challenge to Connecticut law that eliminated religious vaccination exemption WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a challenge to a 2021 Connecticut law that eliminated the state’s longstanding religious exemption from childhood immunization requirements for schools, colleges and day care facilities. The justices did not comment in leaving in place a federal appeals court ruling that upheld the contentious law. A lower court judge had earlier dismissed the lawsuit challenging the law, which drew protests at the state Capitol. Connecticut law requires students to receive certain immunizations before enrolling in school, allowing some medical exemptions. Prior to 2021, students also could seek religious exemptions. Lawmakers ended the religious exemption over concerns that an uptick in exemption requests was coupled with a decline in vaccination rates in some schools. (more) https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-vaccine-exemptions-connecticut-29927533dfb5bc82ee47668c630bc875

re the U.S. government's assessment, as noted above: "A U.S. intelligence analysis says there is insufficient evidence to prove either theory." https://apnews.com/article/china-covid-virus-origins-pandemic-lab-leak-bed5ab50dca8e318ab00f60b5911da0c "Four agencies still believe the virus was transferred from animals to humans, and two agencies — the Energy Department and the FBI — believe the virus leaked from a lab. The CIA and another agency have not made an assessment. https://apnews.com/article/covid19-united-states-intelligence-china-23dcbde0be5638556739b564ece97027 Regarding some of the mentioned politicians here, some of them believe all kinds of things, variously as yet unproven or disproven... But that doesn't stop them from continuing to spout their spiel.

The justices declined to hear cases brought by Children's Health Defense, the anti-vaccine group founded by independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday turned away two Covid-related appeals brought by Children's Health Defense, the anti-vaccine group founded by independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ... One case challenged the Food and Drug Administration's emergency authorization of Covid-19 vaccines in December 2020, while the other was brought against Rutgers University in New Jersey over its Covid-19 vaccine mandate. In the FDA case, the group claimed in court papers that Covid vaccines were "ineffective and lacked proper vetting." The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that Kennedy's group did not have legal standing to sue. In the Rutgers dispute, the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the plaintiffs "have not stated any plausible claim for relief." (more) https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-rejects-appeals-brought-rfk-jr-founded-anti-vaccine-grou-rcna157775

A new poll from researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the de Beaumont Foundation shows that, despite news coverage that painted Americans as deeply divided on COVID-19 mitigation strategies, including mask wearing, there was significant common ground on these strategies in hindsight. During the pandemic, "The media made it seem there were huge swaths of population that were unreachable,” said Gillian SteelFisher, PhD, an author of the report and director of global polling in the Harvard Opinion Research Program and principal research scientist at Harvard Chan School in an interview. Masking in businesses gets 70% support SteelFisher said the polling results actually show a much more nuanced and cohesive understanding of public health efforts. Of note, most Americans said four main pandemic strategies were "generally a good idea," including mask requirements in stores and businesses (70%), healthcare worker vaccination requirements (65%), indoor dining closures (63%), and K-12 public school closures (56%). Only 20% of those polled said all four main strategies were "generally a bad idea," while 42% said all four were a good idea and 37% said only some were a good idea. (more) https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/us-poll-shows-fair-amount-common-ground-preventive-covid-19-steps Poll: Majority of Americans say key COVID-19 policies were a good idea—but views of individual policies vary Those with negative feelings express concerns about policies staying in place for too long, economic impacts, political influence, and lack of personal choice June 17, 2024 ... Views on these pandemic policies vary by subgroup characteristics, including political party affiliation, race, ethnicity, and metropolitan status. The percentage who say all four policies were generally a good idea: Democrats (71%); Independents (44%); Republicans (18%) Black adults (62%); Hispanic/Latino adults (55%); white adults (32%) People living in urban areas (55%); suburban areas (39%); rural areas (29%) Additional findings from the poll show that Americans have differing beliefs about how severe the threat of COVID-19 was early on in the pandemic. There are very few total COVID-deniers, with only 3% saying COVID-19 was not a health threat to anyone early in the pandemic. But many say COVID-19 was not a serious health threat to everyone early on. This includes 14% who say it was a serious health threat only to people who are very old or frail and 45% who say COVID-19 was a serious health threat to more people, including people who are very old or frail as well as those with underlying medical conditions. About one third (37%) say it was a serious health threat to everyone early on. (more) https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/poll-majority-of-americans-say-key-covid-19-policies-were-a-good-idea-but-views-of-individual-policies-vary/ U.S. VIEWS ON PANDEMIC POLICIES: LESSONS FOR EMERGING OUTBREAKS (full polling report) https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/horp/wp-content/uploads/sites/94/2024/06/HSPH-dBF-ViewsonPandemicPolicies-Poll-June2024.pdf

Having symptoms after getting a COVID vaccine may indicate robust immune response June 11, 2024 "Headache, fatigue, malaise, and chills after COVID-19 vaccination are signs the immune system is marshalling a strong response against future infection, suggests a study posted today in the Annals of Internal Medicine. University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) investigators analyzed serum neutralizing antibody (nAB) levels against the wild-type SARS-CoV-2 strain and daily symptom surveys in 363 unvaccinated, never-infected adults given two doses of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in 2021. ... Higher antibody levels after second dose One and 6 months after receipt of the second vaccine dose, fatigue, malaise, chills, and headache were each tied to 1.4- to 1.6-fold higher nAB concentrations. nAB levels in participants who experienced at least seven symptoms were nearly double the levels of those who reported no symptoms. (more) https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/having-symptoms-after-getting-covid-vaccine-may-indicate-robust-immune-response