TallGuyJohninBKK

For a more detailed report on the latest weekly COVID update from the MoPH:

Just curious, as someone who regularly eats granola for breakfast, what makes you say that particular brand is "very good quality"? One of the problems I often encounter with Thai products is their nutrition information and ingredient labels often are vague and dubious at best, making it difficult to make any real judgments... And some local products don't have any nutrition labels at all.

Here's your "right"...

Yes, for a fee:

Worth noting: the above news report also cites that Taiwan has a very low uptake of the latest XBB variant COVID vaccines, even lower than in the U.S., including for its senior citizens. Specifically: "The [Taiwan] CDC said 2.805 million doses of the XBB vaccine have been administered, with 21,000 doses administered from June 17-23. The XBB vaccination rate is 11.47%, with the first and second-dose vaccination rates for those aged 65 and above 20.74% and 1.79%, respectively." [emphasis added] By comparison, the latest XBB vaccine update estimates from the U.S. say about 22% of adults have gotten the XBB vaccine, including more than 40% of senior citizens age 65 and above. https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/data-research/dashboard/vaccination-trends-adults.html https://apnews.com/article/covid-vaccines-shots-over-65-84bd91f6c51db7bbb334bd18a07e4f3b Thailand, by comparison, has no government program to administer XBB COVID vaccines, and privately sourced XBB COVID vaccinations here are likely so few that they're not tracked or publicly reported. So unfortunately regarding Taiwan, it's not any great surprise that they're now reporting increasing numbers of COVID hospitalizations and deaths, largely among the senior citizen population there. Particularly since new research is indicating that the older COVID vaccines, now 1-2 or more years and multiple COVID variant changes later, basically aren't nowadays providing any better protection vs. being unvaccinated.

A couple of additional things to note about the above study: 1. It was funded, as clearly disclosed in the study, by Pfizer and done in conjunction with the Kaiser Permanente Southern California health system. The authors included researchers both from Kaiser and Pfizer. 2. But more pertinent to readers here, various forum members are often commenting that they had their original COVID vaccines several years ago in Thailand, and don't feel that they need any more. One of the findings that was particularly interesting on that point is this study found that the original version or 2nd generation bivalent COVID vaccines people received in past years, at this point in the pandemic, provided no statistically significant protection against COVID hospitalization vs. those who had never received any COVID vaccine. Specifically, the authors wrote: "Finally, compared with unvaccinated individuals, those who had not received an XBB vaccine of any kind but had received older versions of COVID-19 vaccines (ie, ≥1 BA.4/5 bivalent dose or ≥3 or ≥2 original wild-type doses and no variant-adapted vaccines of any kind) did not show a statistically significant reduced risk of COVID-19 outcomes, including hospital admission, during the study period. ... Thus, analogous to influenza, although older versions of COVID-19 vaccines once provided high levels of protection, the combination of waning vaccine-induced immunity and continuous SARS-CoV-2 strain evolution eventually renders prior versions of vaccines ineffective. This, in turn, warrants routine updates to COVID-19 vaccines—also like influenza—so long as SARS-CoV-2 continues to circulate and cause disease."

JAMA Internal Medicine published a study calculating the protection offered by the latest Pfizer COVID-19 XBB vaccine compared to older vaccines against COVID-associated hospitalization and emergency department (ED) or urgent care (UC) visits. ... The authors compared outcomes among those who had received an updated XBB vaccine and those who had not received an XBB vaccine of any kind, regardless of prior COVID-19 vaccination or infection history. ... 62% protection against hospitalization Compared to those who had not received an updated XBB vaccine, recipients had 62% protection against COVID-19 hospitalization (95% confidence interval [CI], 32% to 79%). Protection was 58% against ED/UC visits (95% CI, 48% to 67%). A history of vaccination with pre-XBB vaccines did not significantly reduce the risk of COVID-19 outcomes, including hospital admission, and outcomes were similar to those of unvaccinated patients. (more) https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/latest-xbb-covid-19-vaccine-offers-protection-against-hospitalization-deaths Findings In this case-control study among 2854 cases and 15 345 controls, the BNT162b2 XBB vaccine provided statistically significant additional protection against a range of COVID-19 outcomes during the early part of the 2023 to 2024 viral respiratory season. Older versions of COVID-19 vaccines offered little, if any, additional protection compared with being unvaccinated, including against COVID-19 hospital admissions, regardless of the number or type of prior doses received. ... Results Among 2854 cases and 15 345 controls (median [IQR] age, 56 [37-72] years; 10 658 [58.6%] female), adjusted estimation of effectiveness of the BNT162b2 XBB vaccine received a median of 34 days prior vs not having received an XBB vaccine of any kind was 62% (95% CI, 32%-79%) against COVID-19 hospitalization and 58% (95% CI, 48%-67%) for ED/UC visits. Compared with being unvaccinated, those who had received only older versions of COVID-19 vaccines did not show statistically significant reduced risk of COVID-19 outcomes, including hospital admission. (more) https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2820268

Jul. 3, 2024 TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Tuesday (July 2) reported 932 new severe COVID cases from June 25 - July 1, a 14% increase from the previous week. There were also 64 deaths from COVID. Individuals aged 65 and above account for 79% of the severe cases and 90% of the deaths. The CDC said the current prevalent variants, JN.1, KP.2, KP.3, and LB.1, possess immune evasion characteristics and higher transmissibility. However, current research shows they have not increased disease severity. ... The CDC said the domestic COVID outbreak is worsening and is in the epidemic phase and could plateau in mid-July. The JN. 1 variant is the most prevalent, both domestically and from overseas, accounting for 47% and 38%, respectively. (more) Taiwan News https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/5898112 And one week prior from the same news outlet: COVID hospitalizations in Taiwan increase 31% Over 800 hospitalizations for COVID reported last week Jun. 27, 2024 TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Severe COVID cases that required hospitalization increased by 30.9% last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Tuesday (June 25). The CDC said 817 COVID cases required hospitalization from June 18-24, a 30.9% increase from 624 cases between June 11-17. Among last week's cases, 79% were individuals aged 65 and above. There were 40 COVID-related deaths last week, of these, 90% were aged 65 and above. (more) Taiwan News https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/5896139

The price for the vast amounts of COVID misinformation allowed to circulate on the internet and social media during the COVID pandemic is that vast numbers of people have become needlessly ill and many have needlessly died. 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. https://www.politifact.com/article/2020/dec/16/lie-year-coronavirus-downplay-and-denial/ New Analysis Shows Vaccines Could Have Prevented 318,000 Deaths May 13, 2022 A new analysis by researchers at Brown School of Public Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Microsoft AI for Health shows that vaccines could have prevented at least 318,000 [U.S.] Covid-19 deaths between January 2021 and April 2022. This means that at least every second person who died from Covid-19 since vaccines became available might have been saved by getting the shot. https://globalepidemics.org/2022/05/13/new-analysis-shows-vaccines-could-have-prevented-318000-deaths/

The Bangkok Post today finally decided to dawdle along with their own mixed-message report on the latest MoPH weekly COVID update from last Monday. Their version -- official COVID deaths are down vs. past years, but new COVID hospitalizations in Thailand are at year-highs. Covid-19 mainly affecting at-risk groups ... "He said the Covid-19 case rate was again increasing and currently at its highest this year. The death rate from Covid-19 in Thailand was currently 0.04%, much lower than during the spread of the Delta variant of the virus when it averaged 2.16%. The in-hospital fatality rate was 0.7%, one-third of that during 2023. This reflected the improved overall coronavirus situation in Thailand, Dr Apichart said." https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2822416/covid-19-mainly-affecting-at-risk-groups Of course, the reported rate of new COVID hospitalizations in Thailand right now isn't just at its highest level of this year, but instead, is at its highest level since December 2022 -- which kind of raises doubts about credulity of the general claim of "the improved overall coronavirus situation in Thailand." As shown in the MoPH graphics below, current new weekly COVID hospitalizations in Thailand are at their highest number since December 2022, and almost five times their number compared to the start of 2024. Currently hospitalized COVID patients listed in serious condition (the dark purple sections in the MoPH graphics below) also are almost five times higher now than at the start of 2024, are still higher than December 2022, and remain just below the peaks last reached in the past month and before that in fall 2022. Yes, it's good that reported COVID deaths in Thailand right now are down compared to prior years, though still four times higher than the weekly COVID deaths count at the start of 2024. But that's only telling one part of the broader COVID story that's going on here. Weekly new COVID hospitalizations in red. Weekly COVID deaths in gray. COVID patients hospitalized in serious condition in darker purple. Thru June 29, 2024 Thru Jan. 6, 2024 Thru December 17, 2022 https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main

Note the reference in the above headline to "duty-free on arrival." Even though the ensuing article doesn't make it clear or reinforce the point, other news reports on this topic are clear that the government is only talking about closing the duty-free shops in the Thai airport arrivals areas -- and not in the departure areas. For example: Duty-free on arrival to be scrapped at Thai airports: Cabinet The Cabinet on Tuesday confirmed that all duty-free shops in the arrivals areas of Thai airports will be closed to boost spending in domestic shops, aiming to generate up to 350 billion baht annually. https://www.nationthailand.com/news/policy/40039344 "Based on the current situation assessment, travelers entering the Kingdom through international airports can purchase duty-free goods up to 20,000 baht in total value. This has led to decreased domestic consumption and shopping." https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/business/2024/07/02/thailand-to-suspend-arrival-duty-free-shops-to-boost-domestic-spending." Neither of the above cited articles make any mention of the outbound departures-side duty free shops. But presumably, that's why the duty free operators in the OP cited report aren't complaining, because they'll still have that probably larger part of their business undisturbed. Speaking personally, when I arrive to Thailand on an international flight, the last thing I want to do is dawdle around attempting overpriced "duty-free" shopping, and the first thing I want to do is get past the looming Immigration gauntlet and hustle my way OUT of the airport as quickly as possible.

It remains a topic of some considerable debate among people who actually value credible and evidence-based information how to best counter the massive flooding of the internet and social media with pandemic-related misinfo and garbage. COVID-19 Misinformation Persists, 4 Years After Shelter-in-Place April 1, 2024 While people’s lives are largely free of the extreme public health measures that restricted them early in the pandemic, misinformation about vaccines and conspiracy theories are still around. ... Some people falsely asserted COVID’s symptoms were associated with 5G wireless technology. Faux cures and untested treatments populated social media and political discourse. Amid uncertainty about the virus’ origins, some people proclaimed COVID didn’t exist at all. PolitiFact named “downplay and denial” about the virus its 2020 “Lie of the Year.” https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2024-04-01/four-years-after-shelter-in-place-covid-19-misinformation-persists AND NewsGuard Reports More Than 300 Vaccine-Related False Narratives Now Spreading Online 02/07/2024 Nearly four years since the outbreak of COVID-19 — and amidst a constant stream of false claims about vaccine efficacy — NewsGuard reports that there are now more than 300 vaccine-related false narratives infecting social media and online search results These are among the now more than 300 vaccine-related false narratives that NewsGuard’s healthcare information team has identified circulating on the internet, shared by 4,387 websites and other news sources and social media accounts — and counting. Two thirds of all the news and information websites that NewsGuard has rated as untrustworthy since 2018 publish healthcare misinformation. ... In fact, 67% of news sites rated as generally untrustworthy (below 60/100) by NewsGuard have been flagged for publishing health misinformation, making it one of the largest categories of misinformation we track.” https://www.newsguardtech.com/press/newsguard-reports-more-than-300-vaccine-related-false-narratives-now-spreading-online/

And then for the impact of government efforts to control the COVID pandemic in the U.S., we had this report just recently (March 2024) from academics at UCLA and the University of Colorado at Boulder via the The Brookings Institution: Study says social distancing and COVID vaccines saved 800,000 U.S. lives Before the first COVID-19 vaccine became available, Americans radically changed their behavior to avoid getting the virus by social distancing and wearing masks. New research from CU Boulder says that change, along with vaccines, saved more than 800,000 lives.

And then, it's also worth noting that the main author here -- Eran Bendavid from Stanford University -- is part of a group of conservative academics there who consistently and wrongly downplayed the COVID pandemic and opposed or doubted government efforts to control it. How wrong has Bendavid been? Well, we can look back to his March 2020 opinion article in the Wall Street Journal where he suggested the COVID pandemic in the U.S. was more likely going to kill 20,000 or 40,000 people versus killing 2 million. For the record, the current U.S. COVID death toll now stands at nearly 1.2 million and counting. So it's not like he hasn't been wrong before. Is the Coronavirus as Deadly as They Say? Current estimates about the Covid-19 fatality rate may be too high by orders of magnitude. By Eran Bendavid andJay Bhattacharya March 24, 2020 If it’s true that the novel coronavirus would kill millions without shelter-in-place orders and quarantines, then the extraordinary measures being carried out in cities and states around the country are surely justified. But there’s little evidence to confirm that premise—and projections of the death toll could plausibly be orders of magnitude too high. ... This does not make Covid-19 a nonissue. The daily reports from Italy and across the U.S. show real struggles and overwhelmed health systems. But a 20,000- or 40,000-death epidemic is a far less severe problem than one that kills two million. [emphasis added] Given the enormous consequences of decisions around Covid-19 response, getting clear data to guide decisions now is critical. Wall Street Journal https://archive.ph/kJjK2 As it turned out, of course, the "orders of magnitude too high" COVID death toll for the U.S. that Bendavid forecast turned out to be a whole lot closer to the truth than his own minimalist projections. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_totaldeaths_select_00

Let's start out by noting what the above study says are its own limitations, which gets a long elaboration in the article, including the admission that other past studies on the topic have come to opposite conclusions: One such excerpt from the OP cited study: "Inferences from this analysis deserve careful consideration, including a clear understanding of what this study cannot illuminate. First, none of the models tested can tell the extent to which any government response could have improved COVID-19 outcomes. Perhaps with another virus, other implementation strategies, or different populations, school closures could have extinguished transmission. Nor can we learn from this study what COVID-19 outcomes would have been like in the absence of these responses. Second, our analysis is global in scope and examines government responses and COVID-19 outcomes at the level of countries. This is suitable for inferring global patterns and trends but cannot exclude patterns at state, district, community, or even neighborhood levels." And indeed, the authors here are correct that MANY other studies on the topic have reached opposite conclusions to theirs, as illustrated below: What We’ve Learned About So-Called ‘Lockdowns’ and the COVID-19 Pandemic March 8, 2022 Plenty of peer-reviewed studies have found government restrictions early in the pandemic, such as business closures and physical distancing measures, reduced COVID-19 cases and/or mortality, compared with what would have happened without those measures. https://www.factcheck.org/2022/03/scicheck-what-weve-learned-about-so-called-lockdowns-and-the-covid-19-pandemic/ AND from the Royal Society in the UK pertaining to the UK's response: Lockdowns and face masks ‘unequivocally’ cut spread of Covid, report finds Royal Society review looks at non-pharmaceutical interventions when applied in packages of several measures 24 Aug 2023 Measures taken during the Covid pandemic such as social distancing and wearing face masks “unequivocally” reduced the spread of infections, a report has found. Experts looked at the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) – not drugs or vaccines – when applied in packages that combine a number of measures that complement one another. The Royal Society report, called Covid-19: examining the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions, reviewed the evidence gathered during the pandemic for six groups of NPIs and their effectiveness in reducing transmission. (more) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/24/lockdowns-face-masks-unequivocally-cut-spread-covid-study-finds AND Estimating the effects of non-pharmaceutical interventions on COVID-19 in Europe 08 June 2020 ... Here we study the effect of major interventions across 11 European countries for the period from the start of the COVID-19 epidemics in February 2020 until 4 May 2020, when lockdowns started to be lifted. Our model calculates backwards from observed deaths to estimate transmission that occurred several weeks previously, allowing for the time lag between infection and death. ... Our results show that major non-pharmaceutical interventions—and lockdowns in particular—have had a large effect on reducing transmission. Continued intervention should be considered to keep transmission of SARS-CoV-2 under control. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2405-7

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.