jayboy

Thanks.There have however been reports with the opposite message.It seems to depend on who one speaks to at which office.Perhaps there will be a clear ruling which will settle the matter once and for all. Don't forget there are millions of Thais with no assessable income who never file tax returns (as well as many Thais who never file but do have assessable income!!) There are no special requirements for foreigners as far as I know.

Didn't seem to address it.But never mind - not important. You will be better informed than me so I will defer.

And your point is? I think JackGast was saying that getting a TIN is relatively simple and that one doesn't need to be a tax resident to do so.My understanding is that possession of a TIN does not compel one to submit tax return even as a tax resident if one has no assessable income.I freely admit I may be wrong about the latter part,

Most of them are.Once again - at the risk of repeating myself - I'm not making any moral judgements.Aristocrats often have very entertaining and energetic sex lives. My observation is essentially one of aesthetics.There can few more horrible groups to behold than British Pattaya sexpats with their beer, football, ugliness (bodies, faces and voices). and most comically of all their "gentlemens clubs"

Beg to differ.Look at them.Listen to them.

Missed the point.There is no question of moralizing as my post made very clear.The attributes simply identify the sexpat type as a stroll in Pattaya,Upper Sukhumvit and their other haunts will quickly confirm.Essentially it's a question of class.

You completely miss the point.There never was any problem with expatriates taking full advantage of the sexual delights that Thailand had to offer.We remember the 1960's and 1970's with pleasure. The term "sexpat" arose in the 1990's to describe a particular type of foreigner.Distinguishing features (not always present in same person) : ill-educated, obese, culturally deficient, tattooed , fat, ugly provincial accent, football loving, beer swilling, Pattaya obsessed. Sound familiar?

I wouldn't dream of using a mechanism as you have described to avoid paying Thai income tax. Not only would it be a criminal offense (I think), but it would also be clear tax evasion, and would open one up to blackmail in some circumstances.However my particular point here, as previously suggested, is that there is a spectrum of risk from the unacceptable to the mildest/non existent.Of course the main concern is what is correct procedure by Thai tax law but I don't think we should arbitrarily dismiss discussion of ways to mitigate tax. The foreign credit card example is significant because it is not even clear whether it's use breaches any tax regulation.The hypothetical situation is that a foreigner who is a Thai tax resident pays for overseas airfares on an international web site with a foreign credit card and then settles the subsequent bill with offshore funds.

You obviously haven't read/digested the WB report which makes it clear Thailand's tax problem is far more than under performance on PIT. As to credit cards, the debate is surely not whether transactions with a foreign card are assessable (it looks as though most may be unless paid for with non assessable funds) but whether there the slightest chance of TRD monitoring/taking action on these transactions.

This is a non sequitur and not particularly accurate about the facts.Thailand has a poor record on tax collection as this World Bank report makes clear. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099052523201010405/pdf/P17715700c42070140a5b009c8453acd7a6.pdf As to the specific case of TRD's capability to trace use of foreign credit cards paid off with offshore funds (whether assessable or non assessable), this is so remote a contingency as to be discounted completely.The legal requirement is a different matter and I shall certainly be declaring this kind of expenditure oin my tax return.

Thanks

Many thanks for this useful info.If I may ask a follow up question, how is your son finding his Chula international programme (ie academic rigour, quality of lecturers, workload etc) ?

As most will know, universities like Chulalongkorn, Mahidol and Thammasat have international courses conducted in English.I presume these degree courses are primarily geared to foreign students.However I'm also aware that there are quite a few Thai students - usually educated at one of Bangkok's international schools - who also join these degree courses because their English is more fluent than their Thai.Sometimes these students are luuk krung but there are also some who are fully Thai.All are fully fledged Thai citizens.Normally these courses are a higher cost than the Thai equivalent - but the websites simply refer to costs for Thai students and international students. So my question is if a Thai student is accepted for the English language conducted international course, does he or she pay the Thai price or the international price? If anyone can answer this I should be very grateful.

I'm afraid I don't agree.Just look at the amateurish CVs of the lawyers/foreign partners on the web site.I have no doubt they could assist in relatively low level immigration matters and are definitely farang friendly.Essentially they represent a segment of the legal market - among many - for a certain type of foreigner.Personally I would not dream of employing a firm like this especially on tax matters where they have no expertise.

It's not.

Thank you.Your speculation seems to be absolutely on the money though I believe the canisters were compressed natural gas (CNG).The News Report and the subsequent comments unfortunately give no insight into the causes of this tragedy. The BBC corespondent in Bangkok, Jonathan Head, made some important points in his Twitter feed which can be summarized as follows: The bus was essentially a bomb on wheels waiting to explode.All long distance buses in Thailand should be regarded as dangerously unsafe unless proven otherwise by credible inspections.In this case 11 gas canisters were distributed around the lower deck and not restricted to 3 canisters in the rear per the regulations.This explains the rapid and intensive fire. Jonathan Head expresses the view that in many countries the Transport Minister would feel compelled to offer his resignation after this appalling tragedy in which incompetence and probably corruption resulted in the death of so many young lives. So far Minister Suriya has not submitted his resignation

Well congratulations - you seem to have found a niche which suits you well. I don't know what kind of benevolent insurance company you have.I also have not made a significant claim for more than twenty year and have a £ 1800 deductible.But there is no "no claims bonus" element for not making claims (ie different from motor insurance) and the premium price increases every year more than the inflation rate.The state of my health - which is good - is irrelevant as far as the calculation annual premium is concerned.I believe there is an element of advancing years being factored in to the premium.

Credible.There are some amazing rental bargains out there Really after taking registration, insurance, maintenance and petrol into account? Are there conditions justifying that low price - deductibles. excluded treatments etc? For context most of my friends in their 60's here pay about Bt 20,000 pm. Obviously that can be done at a pinch but wouldn't suit most people I'm not knocking frugal living; in fact I rather admire it.But isn't the lifestyle a bit stressful/

On the face of it unbelievable.Perhaps you would break it down.

Two pieces Presumably you are referring to receipt of additional pension/s in addition to the modest state pension. The UK state pension is not meant to be in the vast majority of cases the sole source of finance for pensioners.In some cases - the very unfortunate, the feckless and the poor etc - it is the only source supplemented by whatever government credits are available.I attach no blame to these people, often affected by circumstances beyond their control. What nobody seems to be noting on this forum is the sheer irresponsibility and stupidity of seeking retirement in Thailand when one's only income source is the state pension, and furthermore in full knowledge it will be frozen once payments begin.Additionally what you say about health is unmitigated nonsense.In the first place health insurance can be obtained unless it's left too late.Secondly it is ludicrous to suggest an unwell impoverished pensioner is in better hands in the Thai public health system than the NHS. In short Thailand is no longer a destination for financially strapped expatriates.

She was treated abominably by the Labour Party and Starmer was too feeble and cowardly to support her.I don't think the cynicism you mention was a factor.After all, she received a huge majority in the General Election when it was known she was at odds with the party. As it happens ,I know the constituency very well and if she decided to run as an independent she would in my view win quite convincingly.One unknown factor is which way the large university student would jump, at least those on the register.She has a large personal following which crosses party lines.I'm well aware that independent MPs rebelling against major parties don't normally do well in elections - but in this case the large Tory/Reform sections of the electorate would see this as an opportunity to bash Starmer, now even more unpopular in the country than Liz Truss.

In what capacity?

Thanks.I understand it covers Thai Baht and can be used to withdraw from Thai ATMs.But I’m not sure if it can be used as a debit card.Of course one would have to allocate Thai currency but I believe if you don’t it would automatically make the local currency conversion from Sterling.

Does anyone have experience of this card? If so would they recommend it?

Four legs good two legs bad