wensiensheng

Other way round I think. “Riff raff” won’t be bothered about paying tax, they tend not to be rich, so will stay. Well to do people will vote with their feet.

I don’t believe you are correct in saying that a Thai passport holder can visit the “EU” without a visa. You may be referring to the Schengen area, but it still isn’t true. Please provide evidence to back up your statement or stop spreading false information.

If this were to come to pass, spending less than 183 days here is what I will do. fortunately my daughter is now 18 years old and not reliant on me any longer, therefore extending my overseas trips from 3 months a year to 6 and a bit months a year, is very doable. I may even save money because I might not need a long term visa, tourist visas might be sufficient. For those who say that it is only reasonable that I pay tax here, consider how much VAT I have paid over the years, 3 full time employees that I have employed over the years, the people I have employed to do work on my two houses. Thailand and those of its residents that I have employed, have done very well out of me during my 17 years of residency. This will be the straw that breaks the camels back so far as I personally am concerned.

I feel sorry for the Thai people who lose money at the casinos. I guess it can be said that they would gamble and lose money anyway, but giving another avenue for that to happen seems irresponsible of the government. More noxious is the way that the government uses the fig leaf of “integrated resorts” to deflect from the gambling aspect. That may work in a well regulated environment like Singapore but in Thailand? Let’s just say that there will be a few bars rammed with hookers and the rest will resemble Macao prior to hand back to the Chinese.

Doesn’t seem that big a deal. Nobody lost a leg unlike the unfortunate passenger who was trapped in a walkway travelator.

As I and others have said, Thailand is not ruled by the law, it’s ruled by social media. if you want action from the police, you have to get netizens outraged. Only then will they take action. just sad for this lady.

You sure this is the only “dumb mistake” he’s made? Personally, I doubt it. He may well know people who can unlock phones and has provided a steady supply of them in the past. Just as likely a scenario as it being a one off. weird thing is, if he had just given the phone back immediately , there would have been no disturbance and he would have faced no charges whatsoever! No such thing as attempted theft in Thailand presumably.

I can’t see that the police did anything other than handcuff a guy who was already virtually passed out on his bed. Then again I wasn’t there so maybe it did take a dozen cops to do that.

Other than the cigarette thing, none of what you lost is in the FO “warning”. got to actually read the article before getting on your soapbox

The headline is totally fictional. It states that British tourists have been warned about their behavior, implying/suggesting that the warning is about drunkenness, disorderly behavior, maybe not having sex on a beach, kicking people in the back, that sort of thing. in actual fact, the article goes on in some detail to talk about visa rules and the need to comply with them. sensational headlines don’t make a story, they make the writer look incompetent

Says it all about Thailand generally

Residents of the estate are both shocked and concerned. "Matthew's temper has always been an issue," one neighbour said on the condition of anonymity. "But no one expected it to come to this." oh oh. You just made a tit of yourself

might have made a local paper. Certainly not national and international, assuming AN and Thaiger count as that. Very much doubt the nationality of the assailant would be a big deal. of course the assailant would be arrested, bailed and would appear in court on assault charges. it seems this guy hasn’t been arrested yet?

Thai media appears to be inciting racial tensions. Anything bad about a farang gets front page billing. Thai on Thai…yawn. Or maybe these farang stories only get top billing in English Thai media in order to incite opinions among farang. Equally bad in my book. The media should show some responsibility and report matters of consequence, not race.

Hopefully the outraged Thai netizens are slightly less outraged about farang now. What they should realize is that the Thai environment attracts a certain kind of farang. Provide go go bars and bars with wall to wall cheap prostitutes and little to no effective policing and you get a particular type of farang that is not totally representative of all farang. Anyway, good on this guy do the right thing in a smart way.

There is nothing that says this lady paid NI all her life. She might have, or she might have been a wife and mother who stayed at home while her husband worked and paid NI. the rules might be regarded as wrong by some, right by others, but they are the rules and people take personal decisions based on them. Perhaps she didn’t think she would live so long?

“Thai police have dismantled a vast network that illicitly…..” I wouldn’t call one Russian woman with 100 marks a vast network exactly. There are probably others out there doing the same thing. the crime here is listing Russians as employees of company’s so that they could get work permits, when in reality the companies did no business.

I think that the companies did no actual business other than holding a condo in which the Russian resided. And yet the Russian obtained a work permit via the company so as to be able to stay in Thailand.

I believe that if they happen to open the package, they then look up the value of the contents online. that’s what happened to my nephew when he had a drone sent over from the UK. He had to go to customs to collect it because they intercepted it and was arguing it had a low value. The customs officer just opened his computer browser and looked up the retail value.

“The arrest marks a significant step in the crackdown on illegal tour operations in Thailand, highlighting the stringent regulations governing the industry.” I’m not sure that catching one random guy in the act is such a significant step. There are plenty more.

True. Focus on back kickers. That’s far more dangerous than a head kicking.

I do t think a farm workers abroad are the target. Super rich Thais who have overseas business subsidiaries/business who delayed send money into Thailand in order to use the loophole, yes. or how about super rich Thai family with a few hundred million USD, who keep the money in overseas bank accounts and remit the interest only after one year has passed. Those are the guys the change is targeted at. The farming crowd would be below the tax threshold anyway.

Of course I do. And since January 2024 all of that income has been paid into a newly opened separate “income” account. All remittances to Thailand come from the “capital” account that predates January 2024. obviously I can provide bank statements to show all income being credited to the “income” account with no remittances to Thailand, and most importantly bank statements of the “capital” account showing remittances to Thailand and no income being credited. My only real query is whether I have to fill in a tax form to declare no taxable income (I have no Thai income at all), or whether I do not need to fill in a form at all.

I have started segregating income from capital. In January I opened a separate “income” account and all income generated on my capital goes directly into that account. All remittances into Thailand come from my “capital” account. Statements to prove it of course. waiting to see if it is valid

So if I live off my capital and don’t bring any income in to Thailand, or earn any income here, do I still need to fill in a tax return? no taxable income to declare will be a nil return if so