jesimps

I'm sure people realise this, they don't need the teacher's pet to tell them. However, someone here for a short holiday loses one night out on the town, unless they're tea-total, so they're entitled to have a little drip about it in my opinion. I always make sure I'm well stocked up with booze, but I'm a long-stayer and am well prepared now for these events.

How about in the unlikely event of Pres Trump being kicked out? Whoops!

If I was a US Republican I would say "Good! One less Democrat to produce little Democrats"

It means that other countries who normally are happy for the US to pick up the bill will now have to step up. Why not? There are a lot of needy US citizens ie homeless veterans.

Now if they would tackle the real noise problem here, the playing of excessively loud bass-heavy music for hours on end, I'll be a happy man.

Disarming by not supplying weapons to nations, or even banning personal ownership of guns puts us at the mercy of bullies. The idiots of this world have no concept of fair play, they just see disarming as weakness. Look what happened to Ukraine after giving all their nukes to Russia. Also, there's a certain cult that cause problems wherever they gather, to whom violence is second nature and they carry it out in the name of their religion. Therefore to them it's the right thing to do. I'm afraid that living without bombs etc is just a pipe dream. A very naive concept.

From what I read, Phuket is way ahead of Pattaya in the violence stakes. 18 years living in the Pattaya area, I've yet to encounter any violence, whereas in the UK and Mainland Europe these days, it seems that you have to think twice before walking through town centres of an evening and sometimes during the day.

Aggression is in their genes.

I have a feeling you started this thread just to have an argument. Reminds me of the Monty Python sketch. Someone agrees with you and you call them a racist for agreeing. Reckon you just wanted to make this about politics.

I'm in a similar situation, Civil Service Pension covered by DTA and state pension frozen at 5260 pounds pa, way below the 560,000 THB allowance. Unless I find out for certain that under Thai law I need to file, I will not be doing so.

Probably because the tax for government employees is taken out by the government at source. It is never given to you so the Thais know for certain that the tax has been paid. The same can't be said for the state pension.

In 18 years of living in the Pattaya area, I've never seen anything that gross happen here.

Then he should prepare for this and wear an adult Pamper. You just don't take out your john thomas and hiss in the middle of an airport. From the back, I'd hazard a guess that he's from a country where this sort of thing is normal. I could be wrong.

I got the same reply as you when I went to Jomtien Tax Office. I only went to make doubly sure that I was exempt from filing under the Thai/UK DTA. The lady I saw wasn't interested in what income I brought in, or the DTA. She asked me one question "Do you work in Thailand". When I replied in the negative, she said "Then you pay tax to your home country. Why you want to pay here too?" I left without a TIN.

Ditto!

Regarding the UK/Thai DTA, are you an UK ex government worker? I've been advised by a lawyer here that those in this category do not need to file in Thailand. I've read the DTA and it does state that those on a government (not state) pension ie civil servants are exempt from paying tax on it here. I welcome comments from anyone who's been advised differently.

Yes but some people can't resist stating the obvious and appearing holier than thou while they're doing it.

There was a Swiss guy in the village where I lived who wanted to fight the world every time he got a sniff of the barmaid's apron. Everyone tried to give him a wide birth. Also, in the condo where I once stayed, There was a Swiss man, wife and young daughter. All three of them were bolshy verging on crazy. The first guy I mentioned ended up killing two elderly locals in a traffic accident. I'm never surprised therefore, when I read on here about a demented Swissy.

Happened to me on Sukhumwit Ban Amphur a few years back when a Thai female squeezed into the small gap in front of me and kept slamming on her brakes, nearly causing me to go into the back of her several times. Still don't know what I did to annoy her, but there was definitely something about my driving that she didn't like. She eventually stopped completely, blocking the outside lane and daring me to get out and confront her, which I didn't do. I just waited until she drove off and then I moved to an inside lane staying well away from her.

I suggest you read the OP carefully. The guy's saying that although his pension is frozen, he's still being taxed by HMRC as though he's receiving the annual increase.

Anyone can go on the UK GOV website and fill in a self-assessment form. Takes me about an hour a year to complete. Certainly shorter than the time you waste phoning and writing HMRC.

I had the same problem, so for several years now I've been filling in a self-assessment form so that they know exactly what pension they pay me. Each year I get a rebate.

These days, even though I'm a Brit, I agree with you. You can't get sillier than allowing your country to be given away, at the same time voting in a Labour government.

Bumped into a few here in my single bar-mongering days, even had one in the village where I used to live. Even when you tell them you're ex army yourself, they continue with their fallacy. They must genuinely have convinced themselves that it's true.

Maybe, but stress is more harmful in my opinion and alcohol is a great stress reliever in my case. I'm 80yoa and still walk/jog every other day without too much of a problem. It's more difficult than 20 years ago, but I think I can safely put that down to old age. If I snuff it tomorrow I can't really grumble, there's no way I'm quitting now.