LivinLOS

And Isreal has gone back into lockdowns... Increased restrictions.. Vaccine passport required for access to businesses.. The very example you want to use, is telling you the opposite of what your suggesting.

just open up.. what could go wrong ????

Try being an employer in the west !! I had 80 cross border workers in 2019 my labour cost is +-50% higher 2 years later..

There is a huge volume of evidence that drunk people take greater risks, dont use masks or distance, and that drinking bars and nightlife are all major sources of infection yes.. If you choose to be ignorant of those well demonstrated facts, thats your issue. As Thailand is incapable of policing the difference between selling alcohol and people getting drunk, this is the obvious conclusion.

The point being all those who keep saying.. 'focus on serious cases, ICU and ventilators and just open up'.. Have you looked at the stats for serious cases and ventilators.. Have you looked at the hospital occupancy (not isolation the actual hospital) they have risen in direct lockstep with the rises in cases. ALL of the data points for Phuket are rising.. And yet the proponents of 'open up let it rip' most of whom have a vested economic interest in that process seem to ignore the fact that Thailands superficially nice medical system is not systemically strong, and without an effort at reduction in all classes of cases liable to collapse under strain. Should Thailands path had gone like India the farang howls of how have they messed it up so bad, would be heard globally. Thais understand how fundamentally weak the structural systems, medical care, supply chains of medical supplies, etc etc are here.. Westerners seem to think these things have a resilience like developed countries do. That is a mistake.

4 people died last week.. how much focus does that need ??

But its generally the business owners clinging on trying not to get wiped out who are the proponents of 'hey lets just open up and accept the risk' how very noble of them.. Its very obvious on FB reading post threads who has a tourist facing business.. I agree, a full flush out, debt write off, and restart is required.. And given I dont see mass tourism next year either I feel like we will get it it..

So your advocating closing the sandbox ?? and no dine in or bars ?? Like the rest of Thailand with lower cases per population..

News items like bloomberg listing Thailand as one of the worst places in the world to be at this stage of the pandemic.. UK red list.. USA, China, OZ etc all not coming.. Phuket sandbox merely allowed a system of bypassing ASQ for most part.. Which is why theres barely a handful who have gone to Samui Plus as it all come down to the easiest / cheapest route back in. 2 years time ?? The tourist industry and the banks that are financing all these hotels, taxis, etc etc are not going to last 2 years.. Sure in 2 years some semblance of numbers will come back but the current players will be bankrupted without this years high season. Cest la vie.. They played the debt growth game expecting better years every year. Its a long time since 97 and it took well over a decade to clear out that malinvestment, this ones far worse.

In other news.. TAT predicts 42 grazillion baht in 2021 with each of exactly 2684 arriving tourists spending 132,000 per day and 400,000 room nights by the end of the year..

Everyone says the police are useless.. But I think that comes with a very big 'it depends'... If they want to, they are swift and because they have few constraints and procedural limitations kind of crudely effective.. Thats entirely to 'if they want to'.. If this is in a tourist mecca, Phuket Patts Islands etc.. Almost certainly they have other income motivations, the police that pay to get a promotion to Phuket, are the ones who are now trying to work out what income they can secure to make that payment worthwhile, you dont come into that unless as a target. However I have found the police in urban Thai centric areas to be much more interested in doing thier jobs. It comes down to, do they want to help you.. Do you have any connected or socially senior Thai who could come with you to the police station ?? Do you have a connection with a police 'fixer' who operates as a sort of freelance consultant to help people get in front of the ones who create solutions ?? When I lived in tourist Thailand I had the same mindset as the majority of the posters above... Now I live outside of that and have a bit more nuance on how they are motivated, what they will respect, I would feel that the outcome isnt as clearly impossible, but many of the factors that get a successful resolution or at least some kind of payback, depend on how you integrate and navigate thier ways.

While I agree with your assessment that whatever the numbers really are, they may have peaked.. How will they remain stable or trending down when the country reopens.. Or do you imagine they are going to remain in current lockdown mode till the end of the year / forever ?? Cases have peaked because of lockdowns and the crippling of the economy.. To regain the economy, they have to allow the process that causes cases to rise again.. The only way out of this mess is effective vaccines, which they dont yet have.. Hell even Israel with 80% pfizer etc is going back into lock downs and another set of rising cases. They cannot stay locked down.. If they reopen.. cases restart.. its a simple set of calculations without effective vaccinations.

Thats simply not true.. If a transfer is sent via SWIFT / SEPA / Etc the destination bank gets the transfer.. there is no blanket rejection of any bank connected to those networks without process. Sure some banks may ask for paperwork, clarity on what it is (needs to ensure it not guns drugs prostitution or terror) but the point is you control all the entities in the transaction.. If they want a paper trail, you open a word processor and make the invoice they want to see.. 'consultancy services'.. bingo, they have something to put in the file. Banks dont make the rules, or decide the laws, courts and judges do that. This mindset of how its all regulated and impossible is exactly why regular guys dont do it, and its simply not the truth. I can tell you with certainty as I personally do it, easily, and in todays banking world. I have accounts in PR, Swiss, Hong Kong, Estonia, as well as Ireland, England, Belgium, Channel Islands.. I have shell corps in HK, holland, registered dormant companies in UK, Holland with full banking tax numbers and everything ready to use at a moments notice if any need arises and active trading companies in multiple EU states that are generating profits. A discretionary trust you can control (but not own) which itself owns a HK (zero offshore tax company) with trustee ownership and an EU or hong kong bank account, can invoice western corporations without any red flags or audit issues for services rendered and even if they came up could be answered.. That wealth filters into the trust which you dont own which is tax free and when you need to access it you can access the trust assets, only incurring liability when and what you draw from it (which again wouldnt automatically generate a tax liability in Thailand but thats very dependant on residence). Even better is to borrow from the trust, so as that is then a debt you are not earning anything, in fact you create a debt which can be used to offset other earnings and tax liabilities where you may have them.. The trust is rich, you are heavily in debt (to the trust) an ideal arrangement to protect assets against attack. Trusts are superb tax management and succession planning tools, if your a decent earner in the west who is self employed or an entrepreneur who has the freedom to invoice for your services its crazy to go through life as a taxable individual when you can work at any tax efficient level of salary you choose for a company which is owned in trust. This is especially true for expats who have the freedom to operate a 'multiple flag theory' lifestyle.

But the very fact that its news worthy that they have to repurpose a confiscated item.. When a superior item is easily purchased.. Shows how weak the preparedness is... I dont see many other countries running news item about needing to repurpose confiscated drug trade equipment to make herbal pills with unproven effectiveness..

I am unsure if I am supposed to apologies for the lack of knowledge of other commentators ??

Once it is into one of those, paying it out to a personal account is not any kind of issue. Outbound transfers from those banks into SEPA / SWIFT etc is something the receiving bank must accept. Also yes any Euro (presume developed world but I dont deal with non uk Euro governments much) could potentially red flag and or audit a company paying obviously offshore accounts, thats why I include an estonian one with an EU IBAN in the mix which is rarely any kind of issue. All of that is largely irrelevant for someone who is Thai based and looking to distance themselves from controlled funds, it could also be done through discretionary trusts, using a trust to own a corporate vehicle and avoid beneficial ownership, etc etc.. These things come with costs but for a decent earner, from even a few 100k usd a year, they come with a lot less cost and in the case of trusts are entirely legal and above board, than the associated income tax demands that nations would impose on the same source of funds. People passively accept rules applied to the masses, and dont seem to realize that the rules the 1% use are equally applicable to them. Why do you think top CEOs like Elon or Larry Ellison take 1 dollar per annum salaries ?? Because the other 10s of millions in compensation are paid out through tax efficient funnels. Then its mostly about PR managing the appearances.

Seriously, this is the extent of the Thai covid preparedness ?? That they are blocked from medical production by something as basic as a pill press ?? And no other source could be found... Like er.. opening ali express !! https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001602808138.html?

But what would be more 'Thai' than that very act ??

which words are you struggling comprehending ?? Iglu no longer targets the self emlployed freelancer market. They now concentrate on the (corporate) outsourcing and (corporate staff) relocation model. Primarily for Euro / scandinavian companies to reduce western tax liabilities and payroll costs. Fairly simple no ??

Nonsense.. Theres a wide selection of financial services and banks who will deal with a hong kong nominee directors company. Most of them are 'island' banks like Vanuatu or puerto rico etc. I used to have a swiss bank who would do it, but in the last year they no longer offer new accounts (existing ones remain active) and if you want a european IBAN then theres an estonian payment processor who offers this. Secondly 'who' is the 'you' in the suggested setup ? the HK director ?? The client ? remember you are the beneficial owner of the HK company not the director / shareholder.. There is nothing illegal about being paid by a company you are the beneficial owner of, and if your hurdle of difficulty is denied by something like 'a letter from a Thai accountant' then your likely not dealing with numbers that make these structures interesting. Your guessing at things you apparently have no experience of..

Depends who holds the power in the room.. I routinely do business in casual clothes, hoodies etc.. But they will be doing my bidding and if they dont want my business theres a queue of others who do. If I need something or am selling to older managers, then different behaviour applies.

Yes they have shifted the outsource and relocation models rather than the self employed solopreneur market.

The hong kong suggestion would be a cut out. So you have a nominee director and shareholder.. Theres no paper trail that Thai authorities could determine to see the connection.. In that case it would just appear as any other company that is not your own that you do work for. The legality of such a thing is highly questionable.. The reality is that Thailand would not have the ability to determine that facts that show it is questionable. This would have no practical bearing on your work permit.. You are the employee of the BOI registered Thai company, who then invoices on your behalf whoever you work for.

I know multiple freelancers who use these systems.. They are all happy with the solution.. 2 are on iglu (who dont take new people I believe) and 1 with another, likely shelter but not sure. These are the kind of young single expats and they trade cost against zero visa or dodgy legal issues. All are real working online entrepreneurs, all are happy with the process, and one is hoping to go for citizenship (working on her Thai) via the process. I meet 100s of 'nomads' around chiang mai and 95% of them are just gap year travellers who talk nonsense about trying to make SEO marketing dropshipping crypto etc because it sounds cooler than simply being a backpacker for a while. It gives a sense of community and hustle / success they aspire to I guess. Each of the 3 I know who are doing this are nothing like that category, they have in demand skills, they work a decent level of hours from home (not a cafe or 'space') and have a client base. My gut assessment, as someone who engages 100s of contractors per year, I would call these folks valuable employees / contractors in any market. They seem like reliable sensible hard working types. For flakes, it doesn't make sense.. For someone with a middling income stream, it can make sense, then for a good earner (multi 100k usd per annum) it again doesn't make sense, due to the % way it charges, but would be trivial to route it through a Hong Kong shell company which then pays the Thai umbrella co 2 - 3k usd a month so I can see a very easy solution.

and yet everyones waiting for it !!