jayboy

22 hours ago, stratocaster said:

I have always been under the impression that to apply for PR you must have been working for a minimum of 3 years at the time of your application. Have the rules changed? I have just watched a you tubers video in which he claims that his lawyer told him he is 'entitled' to PR. He has lived in Thailand on retirement extensions as he freely admits. He is in the process of brushing up his Thai for the exam which he seems to think is the main requirement for PR. He does do an amount of charity work in the community, is this method a back door way to PR. Normally I would not comment but already people are messaging him for the name of the lawyer to inquire about PR, so getting their hopes up. Or is as rumours abound, a backdoor way to PR with a 'good' lawyer.

It's almost certainly b******t but let's see the video please so we can be sure.

15 minutes ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

No - social media complaints and media stories can and do.

I don't think so in this case.It's been a theme for successive Thai governments to upgrade the quality of foreign tourists and residents, specifically discouraging the indigent and encouraging the wealthy.I can assure you that the concerns of some foreign residents fretting about paying a limited amount of income tax will not weigh heavy with Thai decision makers - however many whiny social media posts are made.

2 hours ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

all the Thai partners complaining that their Farang is going to leave Thailand is a good thing.

Yes, that should change the policymakers' minds.

9 minutes ago, Metapod said:

It is a remittance and would be assessable income. Transferring money or withdrawing from ATM is essentially the same here.

How would it be assessable income if someone in Thailand used an ATM to withdraw cash with a card issued in say London or New York? Who would know? Likewise any expenditure incurred in Thailand with such a card would not be known to the Thai authorities.Of course an upstanding paragon of virtue such as myself would declare such expenditure in my tax return but some would not.

1 hour ago, Mike Lister said:

And you need to stop following me around and delivering your one or two word answers, if you are able to formulate a sentence and have something to say, say it. In the meantime, if you have observations on this point, I suggest you read the post the adjacent post.

What a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive.

12 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

My state pension is frozen but every few years I return and it gets uprated, I did that last, 5 years ago by moving into my UK flat and saying I'd returned.

Oh

3 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

I don't understand what your problem is, it doesn't cost me anything and I don't pay any extra tax plus it means my tax return here is legal. Contrast that with the hundreds of tax returns that expats have filed to recover tax paid on bank interest and have not bothered to complete the rest of the return regarding income details. How about if the RD does decide it wants to audit a few people, anyone who gets their pension deposited directly into a Thai bank (as I do) but didn't declare it when they reclaimed the tax paid on bank interest could get well and truly stuffed for filing a fraudulent return.

No comment.

11 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

I'm actually not that civic minded but I could see many years ago that we would reach this point and I didn't want to get caught out, in case somebody in the RD wanted to go digging into my history. I now have three years returns under my belt, even the lady at the RD asked me why I was filing when I didn't get a refund so I had to explain what the law and RD rules are.

Oh dear

Don't want to buy it online but where would be the best place in Bangkok to buy a Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II?

Not looking for cheapest but it has to be that specific model so really asking for recommendation for place with full Canon range.

16 hours ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

 

Now I am not trying to be a 'drama queen' but all you have to do is check the internet websites of any tax accountant/lawyer in Thailand - they are all publishing details of what this change means

Actually the sites I have looked at (all top tier accountants with tax practices) are mostly absolutely clear that, having summarized the initial announcement on 2024 changes, the implementation details are not known and that there are many unanswered questions.

I have also seen at the scummier end of the scale many of the usual bottom feeders offering advice/webinars etc.Ignore them:they know no more than you.Wait until the details are known - I don't see there's a rush.

On 11/11/2023 at 3:37 PM, Mike Lister said:

I do, I'm a good boy. :))

The existing regulation isn't enforced nor do the Thai authorities expect foreign residents or Thais to pay tax on overseas non current income streams.That of course may change wef 2024.Let's see.If I am required by law to pay more tax, that's fine.

For those who pay tax unnecessarily I can think of several adjectives - public spirited, hopelessly naive etc but 'good' doesn't really come to mind.

Those foreigners who have a desperate need to pay tax regardless of whether it is required or not can always write a cheque and send it to the Thai Ministry of Finance.I'm sure it would be welcomed.

4 hours ago, ezzra said:

Murdered and kidnapped Thai's lives don't matter to the Thai government or the Thai public, not one word of condemnation from the the Thai government or even a single protests by the Thai people to show sympathy with the lost ones, why? do Thai people not care about those innocent agriculture workers who were murders by a the terrorist Hamas not even belonging to conflict? and what about those who were taken as hostages? Shame Thailand, Shame...

I agree completely.It is a matter of shame for the Thai government.It would of course argue that discretion is best when negotiating for the release of hostages through back channels (not that I believe this for a moment).Personally I feel the lack of interest in the media and among the Bangkok middle class more keenly.We've seen it before of course - the disdain for unimportant agricultural workers.

Have I got this wrong? Is there even one prominent public figure who is speaking out?

26 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Possibly through immigration.

Or they could simply require all tax resident foreigners to file.

If you want to lie on that, best of luck. 

It's already a requirement for tax resident foreigners to file.I very much doubt whether 1% non working retirees actually do.

As noted elsewhere implementation of requirement for tax certificate on exiting the Kingdom would do the job.

23 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

No tax clearance certificate, no visa/re-entry permit or visa, the US used to do similar with green card holders.

Tax clearance certificate seems most likely as the statutory requirement is still on the books.The practical implementation was phased out in the 1980's.

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

My take is at the very least eventually most Thailand tax resident expats are going to at least be required to FILE a Thai tax return even if they will owe nothing.

 

Perhaps but I don't see how it would be enforced.

6 minutes ago, sirineou said:

A bit difficult  for immigrants to be of the same ethnicity as the host country.

Er, actually it's quite easy if we are referring to immigrants from the same stock/cultural background as the majority population - think Ukraine compared with Libya.

It's a sensitive and complicated area of course.In the UK Nigerians, South Africans,Australians and Indians for example tend to fit in well because they share cultural characteristics including language.

Educated immigrants from anywhere tend to fit in and adapt.Uneducated and religious zealots tend not to.

4 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Will those be the same people who voted to replace immigrants from Europe with immigrants from India and the Philippines I wonder?

 

Yes there's an irony there if one believes those who voted for Brexit were essentially racist in motivation.They didn't get the immigration system they wanted - though to be fair I don't think there is much prejudice at all to immigrants from the countries you mention.

In all these matters there's a need not to jump to simplistic and intellectually lazy responses (Not accusing you of that!).

On 11/4/2023 at 6:41 AM, sirineou said:

Why is it that surveys that support one's bias are always done properly and the ones that opposed, have to have something wrong with them?  

I have no reason to believe this poll was not done properly though the sampling is rather small.However the extract omits a key point which is given in the Guardian article, namely that 2/3 respondents still believe it is a bad idea for immigrants to be of a different ethnicity/culture to the majority population.

2 hours ago, Hardcastle P said:

They must be retired civil servants with a golden pension pot certainly not you Mr average whose pension will  be frozen the day they come to Thailand. 

Not necessarily.Since you seem to be unaware of it most middle class UK pensioners - even those you describe as Mr Average - have additional pension support in addition to the state pension.This could be a company or government pension, and/or a personal pension built up through savings/investment over a career.The state pension is in these cases a very small part of overall pension income.

Schemes of this kind are I agree beyond the scope of those completely dependent on the UK state pension.I would go further by arguing people in these restricted financial circumstances should not be considering retirement in a country like Thailand.

In view of the possibility resident expatriates remittances from overseas will be taxed with effect from 2024 (details still vague I know) how will transfers of this sort be treated I wonder? In other words transfer of substantial amounts derived from savings to purchase high value items such as a condo.Surely this kind of transfer will not be taxed but I don't see how the Thai Revenue Department system will be able to differentiate from it from investment income etc