ballpoint

I think it would be tough for them to try to tax money brought into the country by non residents. That would open a whole can of worms regarding how much tourists bring into the country and spend here. Rather like Burma in the 90s. However, nothing would surprise me. I think things will be back to the current status in a year or two anyway, if they even get that far, so this will tide me over till then. If not, there will be another loophole to exploit. The glass is always half full...

That would work if you do one remittance early January. If you remit the money in a number of chunks over the year, or even just one chunk later that year (maybe because you think the exchange rate will improve later, or just to try and catch a high in the rate), that will not work. You would need to account for any money deposited into the other account over the previous year. I use the other overseas account for multiple purposes, and money is often transferred in and out of it that would be a hassle to account for. (Even though it's entirely legal). They are interested in every deposit made to your local account(s) over the full year, and every deposit made into your overseas account, between Jan 1st and the last remit date. I print a statement from each and highlight every deposit in Thailand, and link it with every withdrawal from my offshore holding account. I also do keep additional funds in that account from year to year, which is emergency money, as I can remit it to my KBank account here in minutes using the offshore bank's phone app.

I live off of totally legal overseas tax free investments, and transfer a fair amount here every year. I get around the current laws by transferring my money to an offshore holding account prior to the end of the year, then remitting it to Thailand at the start of the next year. I am thus able to show that the money was in the holding account on January 1st, and no further money was deposited into that account prior to my Thailand remittance. They don't care what happens to the holding account after the last transfer to Thailand that year, but every single cent deposited into that account between January 1st and the date of the remittance (or last remittance if multiple ones are done) that year must be accounted for. I previously posted this on another topic, but I was selected for audit a few years ago. (I only found out about this when a 90 day report was rejected because the Revenue Department had flagged my passport, and I had to go to the local immigration office where they informed me of this, and then had to call the local Revenue Department office to arrange the audit). The method I have described satisfied the auditors, but my understanding of the new directive is that it will no longer do so - as long as you are a tax resident here, every deposit made after January 1st 2024 to the overseas account you remit your money from will need to be accounted for, no matter what year it is made. When I worked here (I'm now retired), the company I worked for used a multinational tax accountancy firm to handle its expat taxes. I contacted them regarding this, as I would be liable for the maximum 35% rate if I carry on the same way as now, and their advice is: Top up the overseas holding account and transfer next year's money before the end of this year. IF this scheme goes ahead, (which they doubt it will), my tax filing for 2024 (in early 2025), will show no income at all that year - no tax. Only spend 179, or fewer, days in Thailand in 2025. Transfer enough money for the half of that year I'll be here, and for all of 2026, from any source. No need to file a tax return for 2025 (in early 2026), as I won't be a tax resident that year. My tax return for 2026, filed early 2027 will again show no income at all that year - no tax. Rinse and repeat. Learnings from this are: The Revenue Department can, and do, link your tax situation to your immigration status here - until I had the audit done I would not have been able to leave the country. They don't care if you have a TIN or not. I obviously do, as I worked here for some years, but those who spend over 180 days a year here (not necessarily consecutive) and say the new directive (again, I stress, IF it goes ahead), doesn't affect them because they don't have a TIN, might just as well argue that they don't have to follow the road laws because they don't have a driver's licence. The accountant pointed out that it is compulsory in most, if not all, Western countries to file a tax return if you are a tax resident - I even have to file one in Australia because I have a bank account and some non taxable Australian property there, even though I'm not a tax resident, and should this scheme go ahead they'd expect Thailand to issue the same demand, so be prepared to start doing one.

I haven't seen this reported in any other stories, but retiring Joint Chiefs Chairman, General Mark Milley would appear to agree with Biden, making a special reference to Trump in his retirement speech: "We don't take an oath to a wannabe dictator. We don't take an oath to an individual. We take an oath to the Constitution. And we take an oath to the idea that is America, and we're willing to die to protect it". This comes following Trump's (not so) veiled death threat, which Milley commented on in a 60 Minutes interview, also shown in the linked CNN piece: "As much as this comment is directed at me, it's also directed at the institution of the military. And there's 2.1 million of us in uniform. And the American people can take it to the bank that all of us, every single one of us, from private to general, will be loyal to that constitution, that we'll never turn our back on it, no matter what, no matter what the threats, no matter what the humiliation, no matter what". Trump is a traitor. A "wannabe dictator" who disrespects the US military and its constitution. Who steals secret documents. Who tries to overthrow democratic elections. He would be well advised to heed his own words; "(these are acts) so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!" (His capitalization). How any true American can support him is beyond me, but I guess they all have their own agendas, and won't let a little thing like treason get in the way of them.

I refer you to the thread title...

Maybe highest in the world's atmosphere, but not in the Solar System (in its planetary system, rather than solar powered house, meaning). That record goes to the Juno Jupiter probe, which travelled 869 million km from the Earth, arriving at Jupiter in 2016, five years after it was launched. All probes travelling further than that (Voyagers I and II, New Horizons (Pluto probe), etc) have been nuclear powered due to the lack of sunlight at that distance. Juno is equipped with three panels, each 9x29 feet, capable of generating 14 kW on Earth, but managing just 500 W as it orbits around Jupiter, still sending data and photos back using those solar panels for power. Including this one of Jupiter and Io, taken July 30th this year: NASA's Juno mission captures stunning view of Jupiter with its volcanic moon, Io (photo) | Space

There are five language groups, and 62 ethnic groups recognised in Thailand: Tai - 24 ethnic groups, basically down the north-central-south "backbone" of the country, with some outliers (Thai Khorat, Thai Loei etc), where the official Thai language comes from Austroasiatic - 22 ethnic groups, including Khmer, Kuay, Nyah Kur, Vietnamese, etc predominantly around lower and eastern Isan Sino-Tibetan - 11 ethnic groups, including Burmese, Lisu, Karen, Yunnanese, Akha, etc Austronesian - 3 groups, Malay, Moken, Urak Lawai Hmong-Mien - 2 groups, Hmong (Mao), Mien (Yao) Each has its own origins / migration paths. If the OP is further interested then I recommend this book. Published in 2014, it is the most recent and comprehensive one on the topic that I am aware of: Early Mainland Southeast Asia: From First Humans to Angkor: Higham, Charles: 9786167339443: Amazon.com: Book Edit: From the blurb, with some relevant information for this topic: This is the first time that the entire course of mainland Southeast Asian prehistory has been covered in one volume. This is a vast canvas, that covers the mainland as it waxed and waned with the changing level of the sea. It begins with the early homins of Flores and Java, who came from Africa over a million years ago. The second major arrival came at least 50,000 years ago, when ancestral anatomically modern humans left Africa and their first great exodus, reached the warm and inviting lowlands of Southeast Asia. Dramatic new discoveries now place the origins of rice and millet domestication in China at least five thousand years ago, and this lead to a series of movements into Southeast Asia, where the farmers met with and mixed with local groups of hunter gatherers. A vital new series of radiocarbon determinations from two key Thai sites, Ban Non Wat and Ban Chiang, has revealed that copper metallurgy, again of northern origin, spread across the mainland from the late second millennium BC, an innovation that sparked fundamental social changes. By 400 BC, the mainland was incorporated in a maritime trade network that brought exotic goods from India and China. The establishment of the Iron Age at this juncture stimulated further social changes that the author traces into the period of early states. The civilizations of Southeast Asia centred at Angkor, in Central Thailand and the coast of Vietnam are ancestral to the modern nations of Southeast Asia.

A man walks into a library and says, "Hey *******, I want a @@@@@@@ book about learning ####### Spanish." The librarian says, "There's no need for that language!" He says, "You're probably right, the ^^^^^ all speak English anyway."