New Luxury Tax On Internet Usage In Thailand

[bino]

Mannnnnn................ had me wound up but good!

I've just returned from upcountry - drove up early this morning and completely forgot what day it is. Home now at 11 PM, and almost flying out the door to 7-11 before midnight! Especially worried trying to figure out how to deal with my new laptop that doesn't have a serial RS232 port.

I was through about two pages of the knee jerk reactions from other members who bought the story also before the penny dropped!

Nice one George!

[flyer]

Seven Star Inrternet Cafe in pathong beach has already found a way to circumvent the foreigner internet tax They will apply a speiclly developped 'dong' to all pathong girls that use internet to chat with 'teeraks' on internet dating and chat sites. The tax levied on Girl "dongs" will largely offset the govenrment tax so that foreigners will be able to continue to visit all the dirty sites they are used to without extra charge. Director Thanachar Ramputhong of Seven Star Interenet said "foreigners here make the gross of our income. As every Thai knows, only foreigners are a

[thatguy]

It's rumored that samchi "sam" samsalung will be the new internet hub er czar. say it isn't so

[TEFLMike]

They assume that we have more money than the average Thai therefore we should pay more. After all we are rich "Farang" with money to burn. Paradise is never cheap. Next they will tax us for the amount of air we breathe and there will be a tax for using the ground to walk on.

Paradise is never cheap?

The UK must be paradise. Today, 1st April, Wales went smoke free, under a Ban on Smoking in Public Places. Whilst at the same time receiving free Prescriptions on the NHS. England, however, does not kick in with the Ban until 1st July. Also residents in England will still have to pay for prescriptions even after July 1st.

I am beginning to wonder who will kick off the tax on breathing air and tax for using the ground we walk on. Britain or Thailand?

[Jahil]

Well done man!

I believed it for a few hours till i heard the same kind of joke on radio. The joke was: from July 1st, it will not be allowed to smoke in the cars.

[JCCR6]

"All internet accounts to be taxed with 970 Baht/month.

Hardware dongle required for internet use"

Don't give them ideas

[holidaybob]

It's been entertaining today following this thead thanks to all poster. Those thatgot hte joke and kept it going and more so those that didn't.

I off to bed now to see if my dongal is still working.

Cheers Holidaybob

[Choscura]

this was wonderful. I got a bunch of friends/family to kneejerk also.

[MyPenRye]

Cracked me up, George!

Speaking of which, I heard that a feminist group from North-America has contacted the ministry to have the whole landing "strip" at the new airport covered. They think it is so obscene ... especially with all those cracks showing!

Again, George, well done!

Edited April 1, 2007 by MyPenRye

[Sturbuc]

AAhhh, April 1.

[Filer]

Great story, George. The best April 1st story I've seen for years. It touched a number of nerves in many of us and I guess that's why it was so plausible until the moment of truth dawned for each of us.

[MyFriend You]

It's been entertaining today following this thead thanks to all poster. Those thatgot hte joke and kept it going and more so those that didn't.

I off to bed now to see if my dongal is still working.

Cheers Holidaybob

I went to the 7 -11 to get my dongel, forked over 1000 baht, he came out with his wife and a chinese viagra, actually said Khup Kuhn Krahp and off we went..............

[Choscura]

I'm not terribly worried about this giving the thai authorities ideas. they're generally so wrapped up getting other people to wrap up around their dongles that they barely notice if their pants are on fire, much less if some whacky whiteys are making a joke. or at least this certainly seems to be the case when you look at the news.

[spicypete]

I am a Canadian, and i am tired of listening to fellow Farang complain about prices. It is very pathetic that any of you feel you have a right to complain about having to pay a little more than thai people must pay. the fact is, the tax will be an extreem burden to most thai people who have internet at home, or use it at an internet shop. The burden will be so great that almost all low income people in thailand will no long have access to internet. and lets not forget... more than half the population of thailand is low income. so when you complain that you must pay extra, lets remember the extra charge that is greater than the thais are being taxed calculates to an amount equal to what you earn in .5 to 2 hours of work back home, and it gives you a months worth of paid internet tax. For some thais, this amount is greater than what they earn in a week (6 days at 12 hours each). so stop being so selfish and spoilt, and remember, you can always go to hong kong, and the amount that you pay extra for just one day in your hotel in HK, you could pay that tax for many many months. so do you really feel you need to expect that thais pay the same as you pay? give yourself a slap, and open your eyes and apreciate that one of the reasons you go to thailand is because of the people, the wonderful things those people have built, and the warmth those people have offered to the vast number of farang tourists,... so shouldnt they get some kind of break to make their lives a little more liveable? or are you so ignorant that you cannot understand that you are vastly wealthier, and have far more oprtunities in life, and the thai people suffer in comparison. it reminds me of a famous lady... who said, "let them eat cake".

[Virgil]

My wife and I have seriously considered moving from the Untied States to Thailand to retire and spend the nestegg that we have saved over the years in the land of smiles. We even bought a nice piece of property there last year.

Lately We've been having second thoughts due to the appreciation of the baht, the terrorists unrest, and the new laws that seem to have an unfriendly "anti foreigner" tilt.

This new internet tax of 940 baht for Thais and 1490 baht for foreigners is another bad sign that the welcome mat for foreigners is being withdrawn. It's bad enough that the government is charging almost as much in tax as it is for the service but to charge foreigners more than Thais because, according to Sombat Merou-Ruang, director of the Alien Internet Control Division at CAT headquarters in Bangkok,

"foreigners that do not have work in Thailand only hang out on internet forums, visit pornographic sites and other website lamock, different from Thai citizens who mostly use the internet for banking, ecommerce, and furthering their education" creates an unfair two tiered system based on cultural stereotyping.

I hope this is just another rumor and not really going to happen.

If Thailand really wants foreigners to retire in Thailand and spend their foreign exchange it's going to have to provide more than a tax to lure them

If , on the other hand, Thailand is fed up with foreigners, retirees, tourists and businessmen, it's applying the right measures to scare them away

egeefay,

April Fools mate. Got to admit, George would have caught me out too - that is if the luxury internet tax had been anywhere in the realms of affordability for the average Thai.

Good one George - I had the building shut down here because the water supply was contaminated with H2O .... one lady wanted to call the health department about it.

Virgil, Out!

[laidback]

not falling for it, have fun.

With all that is going on in the great country called Thailand, lets hope this is a joke. But it would not surprise me at all if it was true. I think people should have second thoughts about retiring here. I know I am..

[desi]

the fact is, the tax will be an extreem burden to most thai people who have internet at home, or use it at an internet shop. it reminds me of a famous lady... who said, "let them eat cake".

Fact number one: This is an April Fools joke. No Internet tax will be levied on anyone, poor, whiny, or otherwise.

Fact number two: I'm assuming you meant Marie Antoinette? There is no real evidence to that rumour

Fact number three: I've had great fun reading all the responses. When I read down the first post I was spitting mad, but even for Thailand there are glaring oddities (the satellite being moved closer to earth should have had anyone's head shaking). But not glaring enough apparently. I copied the post and sent it to friends in Thailand who were all set to purchase their own dongles. Four hours later I received a text message that was a real hoot. All caps even.

I haven't laughed in a good long while. My friends haven't either (and they are sure to pay me back next year).

Thanks Thaivisa!

[cosmont]

I got a silver dongle, gold one was already out of stock

April 1th is

[ski]

lol....annnnnnnd I'm an idiot.

[Insight]

amazingly, as mentioned a few posts prior to this one, that after 16,000 views and 230 replies in about 14 hours, some people are still falling for it.l

Reading AND understanding what they read is a lost art I think ......

My fave is still the ban on showers .... though last year's train wreck at the Lao Khao plant was great too ....

I like it when the content tests people's knowledge a bit (the names in the no shower ... the train itself in the Phuket story eyc ...) catches SCADS of people out

I'm with you on the showers JD, that one was a classic.

[Kangaroota]

This is a very interesting story & all sounds very crazy (even for the Thai's). I've noticed the story was posted on April 1st !! Maybe just an April Fools Day Story ???

[pattyboy]

I didn't look at this until April 2nd, so the possibility of it being an April Fool's Day joke didn't register quickly. Besides, I've lived in Thailand long enough to know that the most unlikely, outrageous, and ridiculous things can (and are likely) to happen. And with all the talk about the present government making REAL policies that seem aimed at discouraging foreign investment and tourism, well...ya got me (for a few minutes, anyway).

[DaffyDuck]

I hope this is just another rumor and not really going to happen.

I hear it's pretty serious, and is bound to be implemented ON APRIL 1ST!... (get it?)

[joskydive]

Sombat Merou-Ruang, director of the Alien Internet Control Division at CAT headquarters in Bangkok says "foreigners that do not have work in Thailand only hang out on internet forums, visit pornographic sites and other website lamock, different from Thai citizens who mostly use the internet for banking, ecommerce, and furthering their education".

How predjudice is this guy? I feel like I'm a coloured person stood in a white men (only) toilet and he is the director of the Alien Internet Control Division.

I suppose what he means by this is that those Thai citizens who make copies of porno movies, music and other website lamock from the internet to peddle to potential customers either on the street or in their little internet shops are only doing it to further their education and improve their bank balances. Maybe, these people are not Thai citizens atall that I've seen being arrested for this, maybe, they are all falangs dressed up as Thai's.

[jayjayjayjay]

I stand corrected: in checking all my dongles, I find that two of them are past their use-by date, and one is entirely too large to input into the serial port. Maybe I need a new serial port?

I've been test running my new dongle for the last 36 hours now(7-11 superdongle, can be found alongside the 54mm Durex). I must say, sparks have flown on no less than four occasions, but it does work better than the old dongle..... Cheer, thnks and appreciation to the ministry of health and social wealthfare.

[thaibear1]

Is this a new test after the new visa law how far they can go make disappointed the Farang's that they come back any more and send the money by T/T?

Maybe first supply the transfer rates promised in contracts .... we pay 100% and get during day 30% .... not because as they say by error the Farang use Internet for surfing after suspect sites. Mostly the Internet speed fall down when Thai start his Online games, music downloads etc.! What is next? Different money exchange rate for Thai and Farang

[Fred T]

It is the 1st April, right ?

New Luxury tax on internet usage in Thailand

All internet accounts to be taxed with 970 Baht/month.

Hardware dongle required for internet use

BANGKOK: -- The government has announced heavy investment to upgrade Thailand's international bandwidth, but has introduced an internet tax to help fund investment, and control usage.

The internet tax will be based on bandwidth and would be applied on a graduated scale according to the speed of a users internet connection. The internet luxory tax will be 970 Baht/month for most users.

Foreigners without a work permit and retirees will be required to pay the monthly tax at a higher rate, 1,490 Baht/month.

Sombat Merou-Ruang, director of the Alien Internet Control Division at CAT headquarters in Bangkok says "foreigners that do not have work in Thailand only hang out on internet forums, visit pornographic sites and other website lamock, different from Thai citizens who mostly use the internet for banking, ecommerce, and furthering their education".

In addition to the bandwidth tax, an extra usage tax of 490 Baht will be levied on those using Bittorrents and surfing foreign language internet forums.

New hardware required

The new internet tax will require all internet users in Thailand to install a hardware dongle from CAT. The dongles can be picked up free of charge from any 7-Eleven outlets in Thailand starting today. Without the dongle, users will be disconnected after 6 minutes of use and unable to access the internet from 23.30pm tonight.

A dongle is a small hardware device that connects to a computer

serial port, to administrate the software who controls the user.

When the tax dongle is not present, the software runs in a restricted

mode or refuses to run. Windows XP and Windows Vista operating

systems are likely to hang without the tax dongle installed.

"This is a disaster" says Jarunsek Khlongtoy, owner of the Sanuk Internet Cafe at Khao San Road in Bangkok. "We need to raise our minute fees up by 300% from today, and set aside special computers for those wishing to use internet forums."

Malee Thorlee, manager of the Excite Internet shop on Sukhumvit says that she will now have to limit foreigners using the internet in the shop to one at a time, to keep costs down.

The head of CS-Loxinfo Department of Internet, Dr. Boonlert Chaamaak says this is a blow to internet users in Thailand, who already enjoy fast internet speeds and almost no down time.

DTAC has announced a new range of GPRS packages for foreigners, starting with 100hrs for 2,000 Baht, to combat the new internet tax. Other operators are likely to announce new GPRS charges soon.

Internet satellite to me moved

Shinsat PLC welcomes the tax, and has pledged to use the extra funds allocated to them to improve satellite internet communications. Dr. Rinrada Maimeepompem, head of IPstar Internet Speeds Division, has announced plans to move the IPstar satellite closer to earth from next month, which should improve speeds greatly due to less distance for the signal to travel. The new owners Temasek will also use this opportunity to move the satellite nearer to Singapore, as it is now theirs.

TOT sources have said that executives are overjoyed at the prospect of government investment, adding that now they would be able to buy a new fleet of vans for their technicians, which is important if they wish to improve internet speeds and quality.

"This is typical for the CAT monopoly", says Dr. Pat Pong, administrator at Thaivisa.com, the leading portal for expats in Thailand. "We strongly believe this is just the government wanting to keep track of the internet usage". He continues: "Thaivisa.com will launch its own nationwide ISP shortly, trying to bypass the new internet tax with a new speed concept. We will provide speeds of 300 and 1200/75 baud, which is not taxable", says Dr. Pong to Reuters.

Foreigners applying to the Internet tax need to provide a valid passport with Non-Immigrant Visa, health certificate and 6 colour photos 4x2 cm, plus a verified copy of their house registration (Tabien Baan) or lease agreement.

CAT will close all unregistered internet accounts before midnight today.

-- Thaivisa.com/Agencies 2007-04-01

[suthnuh]

'2007-04-01 07:13:59'

New Luxury tax on internet usage in Thailand

All internet accounts to be taxed with 970 Baht/month.

Hardware dongle required for internet use

BANGKOK: -- The government has announced heavy investment to upgrade Thailand's international bandwidth, but has introduced an internet tax to help fund investment, and control usage.

The internet tax will be based on bandwidth and would be applied on a graduated scale according to the speed of a users internet connection. The internet luxory tax will be 970 Baht/month for most users.

Foreigners without a work permit and retirees will be required to pay the monthly tax at a higher rate, 1,490 Baht/month.

Sombat Merou-Ruang, director of the Alien Internet Control Division at CAT headquarters in Bangkok says "foreigners that do not have work in Thailand only hang out on internet forums, visit pornographic sites and other website lamock, different from Thai citizens who mostly use the internet for banking, ecommerce, and furthering their education".

In addition to the bandwidth tax, an extra usage tax of 490 Baht will be levied on those using Bittorrents and surfing foreign language internet forums.

***************

Will the poster of this message, or someone else with the information, please post the Newspaper Name, Article Date, and possibly a link to the article quoted? I have searched the Nation News online using keywords "Internet tax" "Internet Luxury" "Luxure Tax" "Dongle" and "Internet Luxury Tax" and have found no references to substantiate this claim.

If the quote from Sombat Merou-Ruang is accurate, then CAT has just opened it's doors to law suits for defemation of character and racial discrimination. The claim that Thai nationals are only surfing for banking, commerce, and education is a complete fabrication, and if the quote is true is only serves to display CAT's lack of demographic research data, and lack of professional control and management of their own network traffic.

Every Thai I know (male and female) in the 10 years I have lived in the Kingdom has surfed for pornography, lurked in online forumns, participated in online chat (sexual and other types), and performed other internet based activities apparently only foreigners are credited with.

As a work permit bearing, Thai tax paying, legal resident of the Kingdom I find this statement and conduct by a state agency hypocritical, unethical, deffamatory, and outright infuriating. It's quite possible this also counters certain treaty agreements as well.

Anyone know a good lawyer?

[suthnuh]

Well, okay, if this was an April Fools thing then I got suckered.

With all the things that have happened in the last year over here in LOS it seems possible they would do something like this. Especially since I'm continually having to re-login to my internet account despite having always-on ADSL.

[retiredusn]

I really don't understand this "New Luxury tax on internet usage in Thailand"

Just received a PM from Administration telling me that all Thaivisa Members who haven't actually been in Thailand since January 1, 2007 will be disconnected as from tonight because of the high costs involved. Just members & posters living in Thailand or very frequent visitors are allowed to stay 'onboard' with Thaivisa.... That's utter nonsense!

I haven't been in LOS since some 5 months ago, but I feel discriminated now !

Why on earth would I be disconnected from Thaivisa?

Anybody else received this message ?

I'm real angry now !

LaoPo

I have done everything legal (visa,house papers ect ect) but this is THE LAST STRAW! The wife and I are surfing the net prior to 2330hrs to find another HOME Have a great Thai day not a great farang day............Pi---- off