jayboy

The 15 year rule is being dropped so this development should be of interest to many Thailand based Brits. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/jan/16/britons-living-abroad-regain-right-to-vote-in-uk-elections-as-15-year-rule-ends This is exactly the kind of information the British Embassy should be circulating to the British community.Dont hold your breath.

How can genuine reform be implemented if the military threatens a coup or actually undertakes one? In practice I fear it will require some cataclysmic defiance by the people with hundreds of thousands in the streets prepared to risk their lives.I don't think there is the stomach for this (yet). The Thai military is arrogant, oversized and corrupt but not brutal in the way of Myanmar -I don't think it is hated. So evolution is the way, very frustrating.Perhaps sense will come when the oligarchs and feudalists tire of supporting the oversized and expensive military behemoth.

Well there is that

Well there is that

It is for the elected civilian government to determine the armed forces' mission.The armed forces may obviously make a case for its desired budget but ultimately it is their duty to accept the governments' decisions.

Thank you, very useful.We can dismiss the older vaccine for all practical purposes. I'm not sure whether dengue is endemic in Bangkok and whether the public health authorities have a vaccination programme for children in school.Also -and it's probably a silly question - how is it possible to know that Qdenga is effective at preventing 80% infections? I think you may be right in your conclusion , but it's by no means an cut and dry matter.I'd be v.interested to know what Sheryl thinks.

It must have been intensely irritating.How much notice did they give you? I don't fully get why these big banks which market themselves to British expatriates become so unreliable when British expatriates actually want to use their services.There must be many British expats who have no UK address but need the services of a UK bank eg to finance costs on visits back to the UK, receive pension and other payments, make payments to UK based contacts, service standing orders for health insurance etc etc.

Sorry to hear that and hope she has fully recovered.From my reading of the literature, your decision to vaccinate was absolutely correct because she had already experienced the unpleasant dengue condition.

I am confused about the value of dengue vaccinations for children living in Bangkok who have never experienced dengue and are otherwise healthy.I have read up on the background but apart from learning about the two vaccines on offer in Thailand the advice seems contradictory. This ad from Bangkok Hospital seems typical https://www.bangkokhospital.com/en/package/new-type-of-preventive-vaccine-for-dengue-fever But it fails to mention any of the caveats mentioned by other respectable sources e.g https://www.thaitravelclinic.com/blog/vaccineinfo/dengue-vaccine-for-foreigners-travelers-in-thailand-should-i-get-it-update-2023.html Experience advice from parents would be very much appreciated.

Do you mean you heard from Barclays having closed your account by your own decision?

Not if the account is funded prior to 1.1.24. However even if the account was funded through current year income (ie assessable for Thai tax purposes), I don't think any entirely sane person would include it in their Thai tax return.

I don't think I knew that or perhaps I just filed it away with the thought it would be too stressful (eg some bureaucratic hold up might make me miss my flight)

I don't think it's that binary and I don't think there's any hammer waiting to fall on small time farang pensioners. Roughly speaking there are 3 categories of expat retirees' attitude to filing returns. 1.Those who are (or who like to think they are) in advance of the crowd and have been filing tax returns for sometime - albeit sometimes quite unnecessarily given the circumstances.They are often relatively new to Thailand and don't fully understand its nuances (eg tax clearance on departure which is still on the books, just not implemented, the many examples of eager beaver farang wanting TINs who have been turned away by RD etc etc) 2.Those who are carefully monitoring the position but expect to submit a return for the 2024 tax year and thereafter.Chief concerns are to comply with Thai requirements and legally minimize tax paid 3.Those who will bury their heads in the sand.

Yes, one of several matters that needs clarification in a scenario which is far from static.However given what we now know there is no downside as far as I can see in omitting non-taxable income.In the unlikely event of an audit, investigation by RD would simply confirm not taxable. Incidentally thanks for the summary - very useful.

Actually he has a perfectly reasonable point.If it is quite clear that if certain income stream/s (probably best ask competent Thai tax adviser to confirm in case of doubt) are not subject to Thai tax, then I see no point in including them in Thai tax return.This complies with Thai requirements and avoids the boring task of sitting down with RD to decide what is taxable and what is not.

Deplorable though the war on drugs was, particularly its brutal implementation, there is reason to believe that very many of the murdered 2500 were criminally involved in the drug trade.None of them deserved to die in this way but it's striking how some restrict their concern to the alleged drug dealers' families and friends (many of whom were criminals though many were not) but there never seems to be any mention or concern for the hundreds of thousands of Thais whose lives have been blighted or ended by this disgusting trade.It probably explains why most Thais of all classes supported the campaign.

And people still say Pattaya has no class.

Is this part of the Business Times article correct?, " What’s clear for now is that the tweaked tax ruling will go into effect on Jan 1, 2024, which means it applies to foreign income earned after Jan 1, 2023." Surely it should be foreign income earned after Jan 1, 2024? The Mazars tax partner sums up the position accurately, Actually though not mentioned tax clearance procedures on departure also remain on the books though thankfully not enforced. I don't understand your last sentence.Being a tax resident has nothing to do with taking advantage of Thai hospitality.Obviously foreigners living in Thailand should respect the law.

You must have had astonishingly high levels of savings to make the claiming of interest worth the while, since interest rates offered by Thai banks have been abysmal for years. And you didn't learn the meaning of tax evasion? You're too hard on yourself.You didn't do anything wrong (apart from the pointless virtue signalling.)

If I may say so you're just digging yourself in deeper.Also you don't seem to understand the meaning of tax evasion.If you want to give yourself a pat on the back for voluntarily filing tax returns in the past by all means do so.But it's more productive for forum members to understand real and practical requirements going forward - so let's concentrate on that rather than pointless and irrelevant virtue signalling. Incidentally if you got entangled in the Thai tax net in the past there presumably must have been a reason.Was it to claim tax back on deposits in Thai banks? If so do you understand the meaning of "de minimis"?

Don't be so defensive.Nobody is criticizing those who quite unnecessarily filed Thai tax returns when not expected to do so.The fact that you compare not filing a return in the past as akin to drunk driving suggest you may have lost a sense of perspective.

I don't think you are suggesting otherwise but to be clear that is the expected position as from 1.1.24 not the position previously existing.In practice the vast majority of expatriate residents not employed in Thailand did not file returns with the RD.The RD turned a blind eye to this or at least did not take action.Quite why the tiny number of expat residents with no Thai income felt the urge to file returns is anyone's guess.Even now it's not really clear whether all expatriates will be required to file (eg low income pensioners). Furthermore despite RD clarification there are countless questions how "assessable income" will be treated or indeed what comprises "assessable income". My hunch is that this will all become much clearer over the next 12 months.

The mystery is why any travelers patronize duty free shops at all in Thailand, whether on departure or on arrival.The price of wine, spirits and beer is not materially cheaper than downtown outlets.The service is generally surly and incompetent.The main corporate provider, King Power, is a pile of s**t and widely disliked in Thailand by foreigners and locals alike.

You make some very good points, in particular drawing attention to the credentials and added value - particularly RD experience - of the Thai professionals working there.I have now looked at their website.Everything looks kosher.I wonder what their charges are. My position is that information supplied by the RD so far doesn't really need a professional spin/explanation because the whole initiative remains work in progress and the announcements are easily understood (though I recognize some on this forum might disagree). All that might change as we move forward.In summary I agree your comments in full with the caveat that legislative developments are rarely if ever conducted transparently in Thailand.

No they really aren't.The benchmark is that of a well informed layman, not of some frazzled pensioner.Anybody with a working brain can understand the RD's pronouncements on this matter. I'm not just kicking up the sand here.We will have to await the practical aspects over the next year or so, what to be included in filings or even whether to file at all etc.At the moment we are in the realm of speculation. When all is clear specialist firms will certainly have a role.