Government Passes Bill To End 'double Pricing'.

[Daewoo]

Government Passes bill to end 'Double Pricing'.

All Prices to be standardised by November High Season

By SEILRAHCPAEHC AYATTAP

NOT IN THE NATION ON SUNDAY

Not Published on September 13, 2009

All To Pay The Same

The Government is concerned that many foreigners living in the Kingdom are quite upset at being charged more than Thai Nationals for entering some theme parks, National Parks, Places of religious and national significance to Thai's, and some public transport, said a Ministy for Interior offical.

The Government will instruct Provinical Authorities to ensure that all people pay the same regardless of whether that person is a rich foreigner wishing to visit a palace for enjoyment, or a local villiager who wishes to continue to use an important shrine to honour his god.

He said the problem had been known to Government Officials, but, until recently most thought it was fair that the fees should be set in line with what Thai people and foreigners could generally afford.

"Not all foreigners in Thailand are rich people on holidays, many are living off their savings, trying to spend less on their basic living expenses, in order to fund other activites" the official said.

Provincial Officials will call meetings for those involved with places that charge admission to instruct them on the need for better pricing practices, including removing signs which sometimes had the Thai price in Thai script to prevent ugly scenes with Foreigners. Officials have been instructed to ensure these measures are in place before the peak tourist season, when many foreigners who have paid up to 100,000THB for airfares to The Kingdom will arrive.

"I'm not against these attractions making sufficient funds to support their activites, but in todays society, many people are overly sensitive to things such as this, and cries of racism hurt Thailands image abroad."

In a move that is likely to upset many of the foreigners who have raised this issue to the government, the price for paid sex with a 20 something year old girl will be set at the going price in the United Kindgom, regardless of the nationality of the customer. In a further measure, all Thai girls will be replaced by the same sort of tired old slappers on the game in Belgium, Tax will be pegged at the converted price an average worker would pay in the United States, a meal will cost 1200 Baht, regardless of whether it is ahaan Thai or ahaan Farang, a visit to the doctor will cost 2000THB, and Taxi fares will rise to 58 Baht per kilometer.

-- The Nation Not on 2009/09/13

[KevinBloodyWilson]

Wouldn't it be nice if it weren't only 'Not the Nation' reporting this..?

Recovery from (what I believe is) the failed state status begins with listening to people who have something more than just ego-stroking to offer.

Edited September 20, 2009 by KevinBloodyWilson

[Daewoo]

Details of Government 'Dual Pricing' Bill emerge.

Everything Equal for Foreigners and Thais

By SEILRAHCPAEHC AYATTAP

NOT IN THE NATION

Not Published on September 14, 2009

Not just pricing to be focus of 'crackdown'

Further details of the government new bill to crackdown on 'dual pricing' have been revealed. "We will stop all areas of life where Thais and Foreigners are treated differently" said a Ministry for Interior official.

"The Government will instruct Provincial Authorities to ensure that all people are treated equally in their lives, this goes well beyond the current 'Dual Pricing Scam' which seems to have upset so many foreigners" the official said.

He said the problem had been known to Government Officials that Thais and foreigners were treated differently in many areas, and that they now recognise this must stop in order to end calls of racism.

Some of the measures announced were;

End to Dual Income

"Not all people in Thailand are living off money that they earn here. Many are living off saving and investments overseas, and do not pay taxes to the Thai Government on the income. From November, all money transferred into The Kingdom by individuals (and fake companies) will be converted to Thai Baht using a new 'Anti Dual' factor. The process will be to transfer all amounts to $US at the market rate, and then directly to Thai Baht, so $US10,000 Dollars will become 10,000THB.

As a second measure, all wages within the Kingdom would be equalised. Many people working within The Kingdom are able to achieve roles and commensurate salaries, due to a real or perceived level of experience or education greater than the rest of the community. "While The Government understands the need to take advantage of the available skills, we do not see the need for Dual Salaries" The Official said. The wage will be set at 20,000THB/month for all roles in all organisations (including self employment). Any earnings in excess of the standard wage will be taxed at 100 Satang per Baht over the limit. "We understand that this means some residents will need to work five days a week just to pay for their maid service, and will actually need to borrow money where they have more than one domestic help, but we need to be mindful that most domestic staff have families that would like to go to Siam Ocean World as much as the other children".

End to Dual Education.

Many families in Thailand do not have sufficient income to afford private schooling for their families. Under the new No Dual Children all families would pay a school fee determined by what they paid, or wish to paid in the previous year. A raffle would then be held for all children of school age, to determine which school they child will attend. "All children are born with a right to a high level of education" The Official said. "Unfortunately, Thayne is an emerging economy, and as such the Government does not have the resources to fund the same level of teacher training and program development that occurs in other nations. The No Dual Children Policy will allow all children the opportunity to access the better education facilities that comes from parents having the resources to pay higher fees. Currently the teachers at Private or International Schools are paid up to 10 times that of a Teacher in the public system, allowing these schools to recruit more qualified teachers, and remunerate them at a level that encourages their dedication. Now all Children being educated in Thailand have a small chance of receiving their attention".

End to Dual Marriages.

Traditionally, Thai couples have an age difference of less than 5 years. As such, to end the trend towards racist marriages where there are often a large disparity of ages, all couples must have less than a 5 year age difference. If a couple is already married, and their is a larger than 5 year gap, they must divorce and re-marry someone closer to their own age. The younger woman may remain as the Mia Noi, but the male must dedicate most of his time and money to his main family. This will apply equally to Defacto Couples. If the man is unable to choose a wife close to his age, one will be provided for him by the state.

End to Dual Waistlines.

Most Thai people have a Body Fat Ration (BFR) of below 15%. "The is currently an issue within the Kingdom where some groups have increased their BFR to close to 100%, some of them appear to be even higher than that" The Official said. Under the new rules anyone with a BFR greater than 20% will be required to eat only small portions of rice and basic food until their BFR reaches the desired level. Alcohol will not be allowed. If changes to diet are not sufficient to reach the mark, the person will be required to attend a live in camp, until they attain Single Waistline Status. "Some people have called these live in camps 'Work Camps'" The Official said. "I prefer to think of them as Health Spas with some forced labour".

Details of the other crackdowns on Dual Standards were not complete, however are understood to include measures against Dual Languages, Dual Motor Vehicles, Dual Living Arrangements, Dual Accommodation, Dual Domestic Responsibilities, Dual Wider Family Responsibilities, Dual Menu Choices, Dual Transport Options, Dual Retirement Ages, Dual Dental Health, Dual Heath Care, and Dual Daily Attire Acceptance.

"I'm not against these disparities personally, but in order to quell notions of racism, The Government recognises that all people in The Kingdom must have exactly equal access to all services" he Said. "I know that some people are not going to be happy that they now have to do their own washing and ironing, maintain relations with a woman the same age, eek out a living on 20,000 baht a month, send their children to standard Thai school system, stop drinking beer and eating fatty western food, but at least now they can get into Samut Prakan Crocodile Farm with a 250 Baht saving"

-- The Nation Not on 2009/09/13

Edited September 20, 2009 by Daewoo