Bluetongue

Well I’ve always said that if the RD links passport to exit stamp, then I would have to do something. Staying reasonably aware of such developments means that is unlikely that I would be caught out at airport. Has anyone ever been stopped because they don’t have tax ID? I know some have been stopped because they’re flagged for audit but they have been lodging returns. As far as getting a document from the TRD about my pension, I think you’re dreaming. What, I should just waltz in there and demand it?

In any case in the west the shop staff have no legal right to detain or touch the customer and the larger stores reinforce that policy, frightened of being sued. Of course that means if you’re brazen you get away with it. The cops end up with the video and maybe, it’s a long shot, they might decide something but the loss will never be recouped. I have a guess that’s how she rolls at home.

I’m glad that in the thousands of pages I’m still no clearer, I’m waiting for what I don’t know. What I do know is that I won’t be running into a RD office begging to pay tax on money that is either savings or as I believe a government service pension exempted by a DTA despite what some spiv working for some supposed expat accountant says

Whilst cash is still part of the ecosystem I will still use it here, it is more convenient at markets, small purchases and around the village. Where it suits me I will use online or scanning to pay. I’ve never had cash stolen but I have had cards stolen and used in tap and go situations. So with cyber crime netting billions as a previous poster quite cogently pointed out, I don’t accept any argument that cashless is somehow safer for everyone’s money. I don’t think elimination of cash will occur in my lifetime. But following generations may be served by the “don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone line” which seems proverbial in these times.

I’ve been here or coming here for 35 years. I’m an Aussie. For the first few years the USD was pegged at 25, the Aussie was usually stable at 20. Then mid 90s things started to change, the lowest I saw the Aud was 13 something not sure about the USD. Then when we moved permanently I was flabbergasted to get 32 something for AUD a large amount. The US was well over 40 from memory. That was about 2009. It’s really been a long slow slide since (except for Covid of course).

Lost count of the times I’ve been asked to do ATM transactions. Usually by adult relatives of my wife but occasionally by random people looking forlorn near an ATM or actually using one with no success. I am in rural area. I know I can do QR transactions when I want but I just prefer cash.

In Brisbane he could go to Centrelink and they would put him in a hostel place where he’d get his own room plus 3 ordinary meals a day in return for nearly all his pension. He could catch a bus to the shops for 10baht and steal as much Vitamin C as he liked, no one would do anything

I noticed a lot of mainly oldies outside the omsin gsbank KTB and the BAAC in my Amphur town today. I was told this is for the oldies without the phones and they’re getting the money on the 30th, this month. There was a big announcement on the loudspeakers yesterday, presumably that was it. No indication of any restrictions on what the money is spent on as was envisaged in the earlier entirely digital scheme.

Never had much problem with dual pricing. Hard to see how even in bad cases it could be a financial risk to staying here. But I guess once you’ve been around you know the prices in market type places. But I do try and get quotes on vehicle repairs/maintenance and then just scan it for the translation. Once you do that you can Google prices. Also be careful in those big shops where they have a million things and no prices. It sometimes seems they quote the first figure that comes into their head

I read on the Nikkei recently Thailand had the best two months on current account surpluses for years in June July. I had assumed that was the reason for the baht going up

Two further things. I get it that Thailand needs to increase its tax base and it seems they intend to invest in data matching and other capability to capture foreign sourced income. But do the math. Even if you took an extremely inflated view of what farangs might owe ie 500k people times an average of 50k each that is 25 billion baht, a drop in the bucket. Measure that against a low estimate of what wealthy Thais might owe ie 1mil people by 500k each that is 500 billion baht an absolute shirtload. I think I know what they will be focussed on. Secondly people keep saying, keep records just to be safe. I’ve always been very bad at this, never to mention detriment. I thought that was what this digital age was all about, they’ve already got it if they want, just saying.

So basically 20+ pages of more or less the same guff as the other enormous threads when the original changes were mooted. The only thing that had changed is their stated intention to try and upend all that and try taxing world wide income. The grey areas and minutiae are the elephant in the room. Most people’s circumstances differ in some way so you have to decide for yourself. Me I decided, to do nothing this year. I’ve potentially lost millions more baht out of currency fluctuations than tax. Certainly not going to be running into the RD trying to pay though. Eventually changes will come, I will deal with it then, or not.

Does anybody know, is the tax file ID number given to farang the same as their pink ID card number given that I've learned off this forum that Thai citizens get the same number as their ID card. If so could you you use this number in advance of actually registering it with the Revenue Department?

You've provided me a link which says nothing, well done

I've never heard of the 50k limit, I'm certain I've done transfers above that either at an ATM or online K

Hi Well the office at Pong Nam Ron is no longer functional for extensions, re-entry permit or 90 day report. I've never had much problem in 15 years, they wont issue any residency certificate for a drivers license. Never been any suggestion of corruption. I put this down to a constant stream of Thai employers getting piles of Cambodian passports processed. Plenty of opportunity there I would think. Also quite a few Africans, something to do with the gem trade, I cant imagine their paperwork is always in order either. On a good day 10/10 sometimes 7/10. Not that many farangs.

I encountered the exact same response years ago. Last year they came and visited me for the first time, 4 of them, one sat in the car with the engine running. They said my map was no good even though they got to within 200 metres of the house before they rang up and I had to rescue them. They were scared of the dogs and generally left with alacrity. This year I got asked to supply the GPS coordinates as well, so I found my house on satellite view and dropped a pin on it. I was happy because I hadn't noticed that feature before.

I'm still a bit confused about residency. The guide states that you are a tax resident of Thailand if you are here for 180 days in a calendar year, no if's but's or maybe's. Why then does the DTA between Australia/Thailand in Part 4 Residency (pasted below) appear to give some discretion about this? Have these rules been amended at some stage? As an almost doddering old fool I am struggling with interpreting these things. Article 4 Residence 1. For the purposes of this Agreement, a person is a resident of one of the Contracting States: (a) in the case of Australia, if the person is a resident of Australia for the purposes of Australian tax; and (b) in the case of Thailand, if the person is a resident of Thailand for the purposes of Thai tax. 2. A person is not a resident of a Contracting State for the purposes of this Agreement if the person is liable to tax in that State in respect only of income from a source in that State. 3. Where by reason of the preceding provisions, an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, the status of the person shall be determined in accordance with the following rules, applied in the order in which they are set out : (a) the person shall be deemed to be a resident solely of the Contracting State in which a permanent home is available to the person; (b) if a permanent home is available to the person in both Contracting States, or in neither of them, the person shall be deemed to be a resident solely of the Contracting State in which the person has an habitual abode; (c) if the person has an habitual abode in both Contracting States, or in neither of them, the person shall be deemed to be a resident solely of the Contracting State with which the person's personal and economic relations are the closer. 4. For the purposes of the last preceding paragraph, an individual's citizenship or nationality of a Contracting State shall be a factor in determining the degree of the person's personal and economic relations with that Contracting State. 5. Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1, a person other than an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, it shall be deemed to be a resident solely of the Contracting State in which it is incorporated, created or organized.

I'll be contacting them with a query regarding future tax residency of Thailand, at this stage I am not, in 22 0r 23 anyway although it is almost certain I have been in the past 15 years for some of them. However I have never changed my original declaration made in 2014 to Comsuper that I was an Australian resident (believing that I was better off as such). Whether it is worthwhile or wise for me to go back over old ground with the Australian Tax Office is a matter for deliberation.

I have no doubt that the accountant is an expert and probably most of what he says would be correct for most Australian taxpayers. However here is a cohort of over 60 government and military pension receivers whose pension is mostly taxable (due to some long ago Treasurer deeming unfunded superannuation benefits as having come from an untaxed source.) Some years ago it was 400000 people, it would be less now due to attrition. The point being that such people have to lodge with the payer, usually Comsuper, a declaration which asks if you are or are not a resident of Australia. If you are not you lose access to the tax free threshold and will be taxed 32% on the portion considered to be from an untaxed source (most of it). This money is deducted prior to payment. Thailand has no right to tax this money under the DTA . The only way to get a refund of some or all of this money would be to lodge a tax return in Australia, as was quoted in this example where an accountant lodged amended returns, which the poster referred to as representations. However I don't believe the example covers this income. I don't know whether I'm in the knee jerk or coin drop phase but at this stage I have no intention of going to the ATO with such a question

I'm wondering how these arbitrary 180 day of residence rulings will be affected by time spent in other third countries for instance on holidays. Possibly silly I know. If one was not a tax resident of Thailand or the home country what happens? I have done this, departed from Australia for an extended vacation through Europe and then returned to Thailand. Presumably the whole idea of it is that you have to be resident and file somewhere. In my case I prefer to use the the tax free threshold in Australia only available to residents (for tax purposes)

Gee these DTAs are a fun read. Australians who are on the age pension or another pension or annuity would be liable here. Unless its a pension from Government service. While those on just the age pension should be zero tax once the various deductions kick in, those on more generous amounts may have something to think about. Particularly as most superannuation benefits in Australia are tax free from the age of 60 on. (Except those unlucky enough to be in the anomaly group which is too much to go into here.) Personally I am not a Thai tax resident for 2023 but it seems I will be in 2024. However I won't be rushing in to get a file number. I have little luck with Thai officialdom out here in the sticks anyway, and quite frankly I couldn't be bothered. Of course some requirement at the Airport or Immigration makes it a different matter. Everybody's circumstances vary so don't take my advice. If I did need to transfer a large amount this year I'll just send it to the wife. She has no tax number, nor any dealings with them and I suspect many Thai's don't. I really don't see how any time soon they could have the wherewithal to force tax returns out of people like me who would be able to arrange things to not have a liability. What is the point, really, of getting a whole heap of mainly old blokes to file complex returns which will result in very little net gain?

Getting my pink and yellow was a saga which I won't go into. I have had the pink ID accepted at the bank for transactions but they want the passport for the annual letter. The local village clinic accepted it when I was getting a daily dressing change on a wound previously I have paid a small amount however it now appears to be free. I was going to use it at the district hospital where I went to get a rabies shot and the wound originally dressed, however the wife informed me that the card says I am an Austrian not an Australian and opined that there could be trouble/confusion down the track. So I didn't find out whether that treatment would have been discounted. I was going to go back to the Amphur and get them to fix it but apparently the problem was in the translation of passport that I provided so I would probably have to go through the whole thing again, dragging the Poo Yai Baan down there etc. So as I got the DL with it I'm happy to leave it as it is, I don't think anyone will ever notice.

Like most I assume that I wait for the fine print. As far as Aus goes they changed to this 180 day rule recently but its based on financial year ie July 1 to June 30. Before you could self assess, and I always got to the statement that said contact the tax office, I never did. Now I have been in the habit of doing about 6 months here and 6 months over there. Perhaps the pencil necks who now run the world would like me to pay as a resident in both countries, as I have done 180 days in both. The idea that people should run their lives on some arbitrary bureaucratic determination of what residency consists of is ridiculous and the fact that all countries seem to be doing it is proof that the politicians have been convinced to go along with it. So there must be more money in it. One of its stated aims would be to catch the super rich but of course they will be alright. As Kerry Packer, an Australian business once said to a senate tax inquiry, " of course I minimize my tax, anyone that doesn't needs their head read, you aren't spending it well enough to make me want to give you more than I have to". And their judicious spending of our money has only gotten much worse in the intervening 30 years.

Women in shops in Australia have eyes in the back of their head. When they see the hunter killer lone male shopper coming down the aisle, they'll stop, look at things, even pick them up and put them back, it happens to me a lot, but anyway. I think what the OP may be talking about is the Thai habit of entering a place where customers are being served and immediately engaging with the staff about what they want, usually then waiting their turn to be served, although queue behaviour here might not always be orderly