jayboy

13 hours ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

Sure it is a 'get around' if you want to call it that - but I prefer to call it a 'loophole' - same as the previous one they changed that allowed income earned overseas to be remitted 12+ months later and not incur income taxes.

I think this is correct.While I understand the arguments that have been made on this point, I would go out on a limb with this prediction.In a couple of years time it will seem absurd that anyone seriously maintained that expenses incurred on a foreign credit card and settled in the same foreign country should be regarded as assessable Thai income and entered on an expatriate's Thai tax return.This slightly absurd aspect should remind us that sometimes common sense needs to be applied though I don't suppose it will be.Once matters settle down - and I am speaking of the whole subject now - and we have the hard evidence available on RD's position (both de jure and de facto) in 2025, my hunch is much of what is being assumed now may have to be revised.This is not to deprecate the valuable work being done now and its prudent to prepare for all scenarios.

52 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

My opinion on this is if you were paying the school fees for a child that doesn't live with you, it could be treated as a gift but if you were paying it for a child that does live with you it would fall under your normal living expenses.

 

 

Any evidence to back that opinion other than a thumb in the air?

21 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

If the flight originates in Thailand then it's considered remitting money into Thailand so doesn't matter if you book Thai Airways, Emirates, KLM, Qantas etc... if the flights starts from a Thai Airport, you've brought money into Thailand to pay for it. 

 

Really? If I hypothetically purchased an Emirates return ticket to London originating in Bangkok with my credit card issued by a Channel Islands bank, no money would be brought into Thailand and it would not be considered as a remittance.

If I paid with my credit card issued by my Thai bank that might be different.

16 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

There are no rules except one, the Gift must not be for the benefit of the gifter.

Do you think school fees would fall into this category and would it be prudent to remit directly to the school?

It's true that the Thais have become fatter over the last forty years, primarily for the reasons already touched on in this thread.Digging a bit deeper, the Thais, more perhaps than some other countries, attach great importance to a beautiful appearance including slim bodies.Inevitably there is a class element involved with the urban and better off sectors generally slimmer and keen to stay that way.In the past rural Thais were thin because of hard labour and restricted diet - not any more, there are lots of village fatties now.But even in the villages now there is pressure for fat children to slim down.

The social aspect is interesting.In London for example from which I have just returned there is a very noticeable difference in obesity between the better off boroughs and the poorer ones.It's a delicate matter but in one specific ethnic group I didn't see one woman who wasn't overweight.I should perhaps add fashionable boroughs because some like Shoreditch are now popular with the trendy young. There is also the matter of physical attraction - nobody really wants to sleep with an overweight person unless there are some powerful compensations (you know what I'm talking about Pattaya sugar daddies.) And even in Pattaya, mother lode for fat expats, there's pressure to trim down.

My hunch is that in Thailand and elsewhere obesity will decline over the next ten years - a combination of better awareness, souped up Ozempic type drugs and better diet.

8 hours ago, CanadaSam said:

 

If you had mentioned where to get it, your post would have been far more useful to many of us.

Lazada

2 hours ago, KannikaP said:

Watched Clarkson's Farm Ep 3, where he grows these mushrooms, which after a bit of Bingling, I learnt that they can be beneficial to your health, especially in a dried and powdered form. See it on Lazada, but thought I would ask here before jumping in.

Can buy a spore bag for only Bht 50.

Half a teaspoon every day with coffee.Try the Lions Mane organic variety about Baht 150 a packet.Does it taste good? Yes with milk added to the coffee.Does it provide mental clarity? No idea, but if Clarkson's long legged Irish girlfriend says it might, I'm willing to give it a whirl.

20 hours ago, motdaeng said:

- transfer only savings (from before 2024) to thailand ... 

Yes that is a sensible approach and possibly in this scenario not necessary to file Thai tax returns since no assessable income.However with a few fortunate exceptions that pre-2024 pot of gold will run down after a number of years - since it cannot be added to. Then one will be very firmly in the sights of the RD, since, subject to any DTA relief, one would be subject to tax on remittances funded out of current income.

1 minute ago, Mike Lister said:

Yes it would, there is nothing special about waiting three years before remitting the funds.

Thanks.That's what I expected.

I'm a little abashed to ask this question because I feel I should know the answer.Anyway here goes.

I understand that foreign earnings if they are assessable after 31.12.2023 are taxable in the year remitted.What would be the case if I earned money in 2024 but kept it offshore for say three years, and then remitted it.Would it still be taxable in Thailand?

16 hours ago, nauseus said:

his main reason for going back was to resume well-paid flying work

Good luck with passing the very stringent medical that's required.

There's not much diplomats can do.However the German Ambassador expressed outrage in a way that recognized the tragedy of the Netiporn case. The British Ambassador's response was anemic, disappointing as I rate him quite highly.

On 5/15/2024 at 4:49 PM, TroubleandGrumpy said:

The rules are not always the issue in Thailand - it is what they decide to enforce and how they interpret them.

This is true and any experienced businessman - or indeed anyone familiar with Thai culture and government - in Thailand knows it to be true across a variety of sectors.However because there is nothing written down (indeed there may even be a law contradicting actual practice). It's down to custom and usage but there will always be those who refuse to accept.It's usually a waste of time debating or arguing with them.

In reality I suspect a large number of expatriates - maybe even a majority - in Thailand have obtained TIN numbers because of pressure from their banks overseas (which themselves are coming under pressure). The reasons are well known and relate to international tax compliance.But I would add another, namely the fear on the part of expatriates that they might be debanked - not very likely I agree but even at low odds that would be an intolerable position for most people.

On 5/7/2024 at 9:00 AM, CharlieH said:

WR Life: No crazy price increases: maximum of 3% renewal increase. No claim = no increase

 

Individual circumstances are very different there is no one size fits all.

Getting a broker to do the leg work makes sense.

 

Sometimes, something is better than nothing.

WR Life for 3m cover @ 4000thb a month age 65 (example)

FWIW my experience has been for over 20 years that premium increases have been well over the rate of inflation.I'm pretty sure that this is the norm in the West given medical inflation. To be honest I would be concerned if the increase was only 3% on the basis it doesn't stack up commercially - thus raising questions about credibility on claims.

There never has been a NC bonus on my policy which is annoying since I have never needed to make a claim..Furthermore the company says that the premium is not affected by the claims record, subject of course to the maximum annual total under the policy (in my case US$ 1,000,000)

The company is circumspect about detail but do concede that premiums are affected by age.There is no provision to kick policyholders off when they have reached a certain age.

In my case the policy disregards medical history incurred before start of policy.I realize this is not usual and it only became possible because I had the option to carry on with the same insurance company (at my expense) after I left corporate employment

The company is well known in Thailand (prefer not to give details) but my worldwide - except the US - policy is administered from the UK. I have a £ 2000 excess to keep premium costs down and to focus on significant medical events.

My annual premium this year in Baht terms is Bt 230,000

When snooty people say, as they do sometimes, that Asean Now is primarily composed of middle aged lower class sexpats, I shall direct them to this thread to dispel that slanderous suggestion since the quality and class of the participants are clearly on display.

17 minutes ago, Globalres said:

What this drug does is that it slows down the movements of your intestines so all your, by now, fermenting food is backlogged up all the way and I believe releasing toxins into your blood stream.

Another job for your liver to sort out.

i guess better food choices and amount of food is the answer.

Not really accurate at all but easy to research for those who are genuinely interested.

2 hours ago, retarius said:

I have taken it. Outstandingly effective, I lost a lot of weight and my fasting blood sugars improved along with my longer term blood sugar, HbA1C levels. What I found is that it makes me feel profoundly nauseous and not really wanting to eat anything. I went from 94 to 80 KG in 3 months. I used the two lower dosages because I was unable to tolerate the higher dosage levels.

Now the downside: When I stopped taking it, I immediately put all the weight back on and then some. I went from 80kg to 96kg in 2 months....hungry all the time and nothing would help the cravings. 

Thank you for sharing your experience.You might be interested to know a recent study reported in the British press indicated the weight could be kept off when not taking the drug by very slowly tapering off usage.Obviously this drug treatment is at a very early stage.It's hard to believe that in ten years time many of the teething problems won't have been ironed out.Cost down too probably.