jayboy

52 minutes ago, topt said:

In fact most of the "big banks" as you call them, as well as some smaller ones, have a separate off shore presence specifically for expats and others who need those services

That is in fact what I was referring to, the separate offshore presences - usually based in the Channel Islands.I assumed the original poster was referring to Barclay's equivalent.

Having said that my feeling is that even these off shore entities flirt with debanking customers who don't measure up for one reason or another.

5 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

I think you are right, I don't believe those things will be taxed either but of course at this stage we don't have the definitive word from the RD on this, nor the new forms. Savings acquired before 1 Jan 24 are free of tax, we have the official statement on that, a cutoff account statement as of that date, ought be enough to prove the case.

That's my understanding also.As it happens, my pre -31.1.24 savings are mostly in Channel Islands cash deposits with a major UK bank.A cut off accounts statement as at 31.12.23 is therefore available, and it seems v.probable that remittances to Thailand from this source will be exempt from tax.so far so good and therefore my main concern is whether future remittances from this source  are assessable for Thai tax, and whether they need to be entered in a Thai tax return.Don't mind either way but obviously would prefer the route with less paperwork.

11 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

"Has the Pheu Thai-led government put military reform on the back burner?"

The answer was apparent almost immediately after "election" of Thavisin in September 2023.

Yes.

"Opinion: Thailand's new government falling short on military reform," https://www.thaienquirer.com

• "However, the turn of events post-election suggests that the winds of change may just be empty rhetoric - a devastating betrayal for a nation that has long sought substantial reform in its military apparatus."  
• "As it stands, Srettha and his government need to decide whether they will be agents of meaningful change or just another disappointing chapter in Thailand's complex relationship with democracy and military power,"

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.

17 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

That has a military senate 

Well there is that

52 minutes ago, Ben Zioner said:

Unelected

Well there is that

37 minutes ago, Polar Bear said:

The second vaccine is the newer one, Qdenga. It is more effective at preventing infections (about 80% initially)

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.

1 hour ago, pattaya1234was said:

No, by their decision. They are closing accounts of all overseas customers who do not have a UK address

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.

46 minutes ago, Swiss1960 said:

My 16y old daughter caught dengue and her blood count was do bad, even a bruising could have let to significant internal bleeding. She was in the hospital for 6 days... after that, we did vaccinate her as soon as possible 

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.

On 1/11/2024 at 9:12 AM, pattaya1234was said:

Yesterday I received a notification from the bank in the UK, Barclays,  that is closing my account,  that I need to inform them about my Tax Residency status both in the UK and Thailand.

They state that the information they have about me suggests that I may be a tax resident of Thailand.They require Tax Identification numbers for both UK and Thailand. So Big brother is here!

As I am now no longer a customer of Barclays I do not feel obliged to give them any information. Any thoughts? 

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

10 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

ATM with drawls from overseas accounts in Thailand are income under Thai tax rules

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.

1 hour ago, Mike Lister said:

Others mileage may vary but I don't want to live my retirement years in a foreign country, looking over my shoulder and/or waiting for the hammer to fall.

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.

3 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

Jim, I really don't care what you do or how you do it, for the 'nth time, this thread is not about just you! 

 

If you want to be argumentative, go find somebody else to fight with or put me on your ignore list, I really don't care but I have had enough of your abusive tone. If you can't be civil and debate reasonably, don't even try. 

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.

3 hours ago, Mangkhut said:

???? 
 

I doubt he will get any support from the thousands of left behind family and friends of the 2500 extrajudicially executed after the «war on drugs» campaign. And Im pretty sure the ditto left behinds of the 84 killed in the Tak Bai incident also will be a bit questionous about this claim…

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.

21 hours ago, advancebooking said:

I just visited Pats and rented a condo short term near beach road. Observations:

- Walking street was really busy and a lot of fun. Great vibes there. Worth spending a night out on W.S for sure

- Hot Tuna bar has a fantastic rock band. 

- I noticed about 15 officers with DOPA jackets on surrounding a shop that had the BB guns. I asked the officer what was going on. He said 'checking documents'. I thought that was quite odd for all of them to be there at 1030pm at night. 

- I tried to get my washing done at a small laundry in the condo building at 9am. She said pick it up tomorrow. Noticed she had a balcony with empty rack (no clothes drying or anything from other customers). It was a hot morning with breeze. I thought it was ridiculous to suggest that it couldn't be done same day. Ended up buying small washing powder and putting it in machine myself elsewhere. Hung it up and was dry in 2 to 3 hours on balcony at condo. 

- There was so much plastic and rubbish on the sand at the beach. Last year I saw a tractor with the scrapper blade driving up and down the beach. Why do they not use this every morning during peak season. Hopeless local government. 

- I saw a lot of overweight old men lying in the sun for long time. Red lobster bodies and faces. 

- Walked down soi 6 and noticed a lot of farang men sitting alone at tables. Bar girls standing at the front of the bar staring at people walking down the road- with their backs to these guys. Got to wonder what sort of business model this is. Why are they not socialising with the fine specimens in the bar?

- Walking along beach road at night I saw a lot of working girls from many nationalities. A few looked Indian ladies. A lot of large African ladies, lot of trans gender thais and normal thai girls. 

- During morning exercise along the beach noticed some old farang at the bar having beer for breakfast. 

 

Thats about all I observed. 

And people still say Pattaya has no class.

19 minutes ago, Eudaimonia said:

 

Even before September 2023 and the current debacle, the best Thai tax experts advised that even the ubiquitous interpretation of a previous year's offshore income being tax-free has no actual and clear base in law. That may not have been something widely discussed, but HNWIs were advised that they need to be careful with their remittances and filings.

 

Check out this quote: "In my view the new interpretation is consistent with what the law has always said," said Jonathan Stuart-Smith, a tax partner at Mazars of Thailand, a tax consultancy. "It’s just that Thailand’s always had a lucky break, and there’s been this narrow interpretation on the table for a long time."

 

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/asean/thailands-tweak-tax-regulation-foreign-income-sparks-confusion-worries

 

Being a tax resident of Thailand has been, and can still be, quite advantageous thanks to many characteristics of Thai tax laws. People with considerable offshore income might end up with a <1% global tax rate even in 2024 if most earnings are kept offshore and not remitted. However, taking advantage of Thai hospitality by being a tax resident necessitates that all taxes are being filed correctly and everything is above board.

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.

6 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

I reclaimed tax paid on savings interest and reclaimed it at the RD offices

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.

9 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

Perhaps I did those things because I used to work for a Big 4 accountancy firm

And you didn't learn the meaning of tax evasion?

20 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

that makes me an idiot for following the rules when I didn't have to,

You're too hard on yourself.You didn't do anything wrong (apart from the pointless virtue signalling.)

6 hours ago, steve187 said:

inbound duty free shops, i don't understand why they have them anyway, maybe to keep king power and its owners happy

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.