Urgent Wake-Up Call For Koh Samui

[wayned]

Bach to the original subject :

Urgent Wake-Up Call For Koh Samui

The urgent call came many years ago, but nobdy has listened. I lived in samui before they installed the new electric cable in 2006. Everyday, there were rolling blackouts, 4 - 6 hours, and they were more frequent in the high tourist months. Everybody lived with it, some resorts had their own generators. There were trash and water problems then with some of the resorts drilling their own wells. But nobody listened, the new cable was installed, rampant development continued, the new electric cable was installed and now the problem is back with no plan for improvement! The only difference that I see is there is now a TV where everybody can rant and vent their anger at a "flawed" system.

[notmyself]

Good day lads?

[samuijimmy]

Good day lads?

We are having a lovely day !!!

[samuibeachcomber]

most tourist destinations get spoiled in the end with overdevelopment because there never was a plan

and i cant see anything changing here to make things better.

These last few years has seen a sudden increase in people wanting to live here,witness the increase in traffic on the ring road,the unavailability of long term accomodation and it all spells overcrowding in the future as more and more buildings will be going up.

the roads have been improved,but still electricity and garbage collection remain a problem

for those of us who live here and like living here we just have like it or lump it or move somewhere else.

with this accomodation problem we could see rental costs going up,and if they ever made it easy for foreigners to own land outright in their own name anywhere in thailand we could eventually see prices sky rocket to western levels.I hope i never see this happen.

[PoorSucker]

Trollish argument deleted.

Behave boys....

[livinthailandos]

everyone on here who has lived here before, or continues to live here always knows beyond a doubt that with the way things are done, set out and lack of planning beyond today especially in thailand, that eventually the infrastructure here will collapse or fail at some point just a matter of when. nothing will ever be done, changed or fixed until it hits the government in the pocket book and they finally realize they stand to lose tons of money

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Thaivisa Connect App

[itsala]

The biggest issue, and its not a Samui issue, is that budget from central government is allocated by the number of registered voters. In my hotel of 200 staff only 5 are on house books here. A similar problem in Phuket and Pattaya.

So despite the big revenue generated through corporation tax and even personal tax, most of the money is farmed out to non revenue producing provinces.

The solution would be to allocate central government revenue on the basis of the number of employees paying tax ( collected as PAYE) which would redistribute the wealth overnight.

[PoorSucker]

The biggest issue, and its not a Samui issue, is that budget from central government is allocated by the number of registered voters. In my hotel of 200 staff only 5 are on house books here. A similar problem in Phuket and Pattaya.

So despite the big revenue generated through corporation tax and even personal tax, most of the money is farmed out to non revenue producing provinces.

The solution would be to allocate central government revenue on the basis of the number of employees paying tax ( collected as PAYE) which would redistribute the wealth overnight.

You need to earn more than 150.000 baht /year to pay personal income tax.

95% of Thais do not pay personal income tax.

http://www.rd.go.th/publish/6045.0.html

[BigC]

There are so many better places in Thailand and beyond to spend your holidays than the corrupt, over-built Koh Samui -

Obviously you have not seen much of Samui, to make a silly statement like that...

Look at images on this link and you'll see why....

http://www.thaivisa....o/page__st__225

I have seen a lot of Samui, and it's not a silly statement.

Overbuilt is an understatement. If I want to see concrete, I can stay home.

Anyone can take a pretty picture of anywhere, but it doesn't mean it's actually nice there.

you answered your own problem why not stay at home

[BigC]

The biggest issue, and its not a Samui issue, is that budget from central government is allocated by the number of registered voters. In my hotel of 200 staff only 5 are on house books here. A similar problem in Phuket and Pattaya.

So despite the big revenue generated through corporation tax and even personal tax, most of the money is farmed out to non revenue producing provinces.

The solution would be to allocate central government revenue on the basis of the number of employees paying tax ( collected as PAYE) which would redistribute the wealth overnight.

You need to earn more than 150.000 baht /year to pay personal income tax.

95% of Thais do not pay personal income tax.

http://www.rd.go.th/...ish/6045.0.html

allot of forangs pay their staff taxes for them

[Tropicalevo]

most tourist destinations get spoiled in the end with overdevelopment because there never was a plan

and i cant see anything changing here to make things better.

These last few years has seen a sudden increase in people wanting to live here,witness the increase in traffic on the ring road,the unavailability of long term accomodation and it all spells overcrowding in the future as more and more buildings will be going up.

the roads have been improved,but still electricity and garbage collection remain a problem

for those of us who live here and like living here we just have like it or lump it or move somewhere else.

with this accomodation problem we could see rental costs going up,and if they ever made it easy for foreigners to own land outright in their own name anywhere in thailand we could eventually see prices sky rocket to western levels.I hope i never see this happen.

I feel that you are behind the times.

Garbage collecting has not been a problem - until this election came along.

I have lived here for 12 years and the garbage has been collected regularly and frequently from the designated collection points for the vast majority of that time. Just an occasional hiccup. This is in spite of the majority of people NOT paying the appropriate fees. Do you pay for garbage collecting?

Yes electricity is a problem. We live on an island <deleted>. Most small islands in developing countries have a similar problem. We will always be the last to reap the benefits of the tax dollar. Sorry to burst your bubble, but foreigners trying to make a living - or retiring on Samui are not that important in the great scheme of things in thailand. So - make the best of what we have. I would much rather be on Samui in a power cut than in most places in the UK with all of the (unaffordable) electricty in the world.

As you correctly say - roads have been improved. So has drainage. So has shopping. The ability of being able to buy what you want is far better now than it was even 5/6 years ago. Back then I had to go to Bangkok to buy decent cheese that was not past it's sell by date!

[BigC]

things grow u r living in the past as one said there are still places un touched we have just got ride of the dirty cheap back packers which i like as being a pack packer is only something one goes through in a short astage in their lives before they return to the real world. now the real world isn;t so bad as it has modified.

Everywhere on earth shall continue to grow as long as the population increases. what happens is how. i prefer nice proper thai style buildings rarther than mass sky scrappers on the island and beach huts

[Tropicalevo]

There are so many better places in Thailand and beyond to spend your holidays than the corrupt, over-built Koh Samui -

Obviously you have not seen much of Samui, to make a silly statement like that...

Look at images on this link and you'll see why....

http://www.thaivisa....o/page__st__225

I have seen a lot of Samui, and it's not a silly statement.

Overbuilt is an understatement. If I want to see concrete, I can stay home.

Anyone can take a pretty picture of anywhere, but it doesn't mean it's actually nice there.

Equally - it does not mean that it is not nice!

I do not need a pretty picture to tell me how great the view from my place is. And it is a really great place to live. (Nice would be an understatement.)

[Tropicalevo]

The biggest issue, and its not a Samui issue, is that budget from central government is allocated by the number of registered voters. In my hotel of 200 staff only 5 are on house books here. A similar problem in Phuket and Pattaya.

So despite the big revenue generated through corporation tax and even personal tax, most of the money is farmed out to non revenue producing provinces.

The solution would be to allocate central government revenue on the basis of the number of employees paying tax ( collected as PAYE) which would redistribute the wealth overnight.

You need to earn more than 150.000 baht /year to pay personal income tax.

95% of Thais do not pay personal income tax.

http://www.rd.go.th/...ish/6045.0.html

allot of forangs pay their staff taxes for them

I pay both social security and tax for my staff. I thought that the figure was closer to 120,000 per year, but I could definitely be wrong. Especially as it is all changing again in January.

[notmyself]

Time for me to stump up. Walk up the beach road to around the McD's area and you have the beach on one side and hills on the other. I live at the foot of the hills perpendicular to the road at that point. There is not much here at all. Unless the one mom and pop store which is an agriculture store which sells a few other bits has what I need I have to go to the old market or to the ring road. To walk to the old market or ring road takes me around 9 minutes and is half way to central Lamai. All that is around where I live is endless coconuts, 2 buffalo, birds, insects, a few other farangs who like the quiet life, chickens, mango trees.... you get the picture. There is no road, just a dirt track which can be tricky after heavy rain as I'm disabled. 18 minutes for a disabled person living in a very rural setting to central Lamai.... To say it's a concrete jungle is nothing short of laughable.

[yorkie100]

most tourist destinations get spoiled in the end with overdevelopment because there never was a plan

and i cant see anything changing here to make things better.

These last few years has seen a sudden increase in people wanting to live here,witness the increase in traffic on the ring road,the unavailability of long term accomodation and it all spells overcrowding in the future as more and more buildings will be going up.

the roads have been improved,but still electricity and garbage collection remain a problem

for those of us who live here and like living here we just have like it or lump it or move somewhere else.

with this accomodation problem we could see rental costs going up,and if they ever made it easy for foreigners to own land outright in their own name anywhere in thailand we could eventually see prices sky rocket to western levels.I hope i never see this happen.

I feel that you are behind the times.

Garbage collecting has not been a problem - until this election came along.

I have lived here for 12 years and the garbage has been collected regularly and frequently from the designated collection points for the vast majority of that time. Just an occasional hiccup. This is in spite of the majority of people NOT paying the appropriate fees. Do you pay for garbage collecting?

Yes electricity is a problem. We live on an island <deleted>. Most small islands in developing countries have a similar problem. We will always be the last to reap the benefits of the tax dollar. Sorry to burst your bubble, but foreigners trying to make a living - or retiring on Samui are not that important in the great scheme of things in thailand. So - make the best of what we have. I would much rather be on Samui in a power cut than in most places in the UK with all of the (unaffordable) electricty in the world.

As you correctly say - roads have been improved. So has drainage. So has shopping. The ability of being able to buy what you want is far better now than it was even 5/6 years ago. Back then I had to go to Bangkok to buy decent cheese that was not past it's sell by date!

Agree with your comments TE. I pay for garbage collection when they come and ask for it (30 baht a month) but it's hit and miss whether or not they actually come and collect the money.

I can't believe this actually covers the cost of collecting the rubbish.

Just for the record I enjoy life on Samui, OK an occasional frustration, but compared with living back home? No comparison.

[itsala]

The biggest issue, and its not a Samui issue, is that budget from central government is allocated by the number of registered voters. In my hotel of 200 staff only 5 are on house books here. A similar problem in Phuket and Pattaya.

So despite the big revenue generated through corporation tax and even personal tax, most of the money is farmed out to non revenue producing provinces.

The solution would be to allocate central government revenue on the basis of the number of employees paying tax ( collected as PAYE) which would redistribute the wealth overnight.

You need to earn more than 150.000 baht /year to pay personal income tax.

95% of Thais do not pay personal income tax.

http://www.rd.go.th/publish/6045.0.html

Correct. But that is 14000 a month. You wouldn't recruit any hotel worker for any position if you offered that kind of money in Samui. With service charge and other taxable payments most are on a minimum of 20,000. Since most employment in Samui is hotels I would hazard a guess that your 95 per cent is way off on this Isalnd. Hence my arguement that government budget should be allocated by number of tax payers.

[Tropicalevo]

Agree with your comments TE. I pay for garbage collection when they come and ask for it (30 baht a month) but it's hit and miss whether or not they actually come and collect the money.

I can't believe this actually covers the cost of collecting the rubbish.

Just for the record I enjoy life on Samui, OK an occasional frustration, but compared with living back home? No comparison.

Damnn - I knew that I was being ripped off. I pay 60 baht per house (10 houses). No wonder they turn up every month to collect the money

[samuibeachcomber]

30bht for rubbish collection?even 60 baht,no wonder the island administration has n't got enough money.

[Tropicalevo]

30bht for rubbish collection?even 60 baht,no wonder the island administration has n't got enough money.

I have to agree. Even at 60 baht per month it is a very small price to pay.

I still do not understand why so many 'rich' farangs do not pay it. According to the guy who collects the money - I am the only one paying out of the 40 properties there. All foreign owned.

Edited December 23, 2012 by Tropicalevo

[samuibruno]

everyone on here who has lived here before, or continues to live here always knows beyond a doubt that with the way things are done, set out and lack of planning beyond today especially in thailand, that eventually the infrastructure here will collapse or fail at some point just a matter of when. nothing will ever be done, changed or fixed until it hits the government in the pocket book and they finally realize they stand to lose tons of money

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Thaivisa Connect App

well thats a load of <deleted>

roads have improved /changed

drainage has improved /changed

electricity has improved /changed

when we first came here power outages were a weekly occurance

and the only way to change and bring on change is to take the initiative and start with yourself

there are some forward thinkers around [not many] but they are here

when i built my property we thought ahead

we have waste disposal system in our house so our garbage is minimal

all food items [including bones] can be crushed and sent to your septic system

where it is then bio degraded

the waste water is routed back to our gardens

in thailand they will recycle most things ,metal ,paper ,plastic ,aluminium,glass

as well as just about any electrical item

so the actual need to create waste on this island could be just about nil

just lazy,ignorant people throw away rubbish

[carmine]

30bht for rubbish collection?even 60 baht,no wonder the island administration has n't got enough money.

I have to agree. Even at 60 baht per month it is a very small price to pay.

I still do not understand why so many 'rich' farangs do not pay it. According to the guy who collects the money - I am the only one paying out of the 40 properties there. All foreign owned.

They quite possibly don't know how or where to pay. No one would shy away from paying such a nominal sum, its just a case of knowing how and where to go i'd have thought.

My rubbish collection is organised but if it wasn't then apart from running outside at three in the morning to meet the refuse truck i wouldn't know either.

[PoorSucker]

Correct. But that is 14000 a month. You wouldn't recruit any hotel worker for any position if you offered that kind of money in Samui. With service charge and other taxable payments most are on a minimum of 20,000. Since most employment in Samui is hotels I would hazard a guess that your 95 per cent is way off on this Isalnd. Hence my arguement that government budget should be allocated by number of tax payers.

How many Thais do you know that pay taxes?

I don't know anyone.

Always remember that the hospitality industry in every country is very often receipt free.

Wife's little brother worked at a large hotel and made 8000 baht/month.

[khunPer]

Correct. But that is 14000 a month. You wouldn't recruit any hotel worker for any position if you offered that kind of money in Samui. With service charge and other taxable payments most are on a minimum of 20,000. Since most employment in Samui is hotels I would hazard a guess that your 95 per cent is way off on this Isalnd. Hence my arguement that government budget should be allocated by number of tax payers.

How many Thais do you know that pay taxes?

I don't know anyone.

Always remember that the hospitality industry in every country is very often receipt free.

Wife's little brother worked at a large hotel and made 8000 baht/month.

I know several Thais working in hotels and yes, the the monthly salary is normally 8,000 baht, often plus normally a place to sleep and a meal a day. A few years ago it was 6,000 b/m. Often a share from tips comes on the top, so some may get a total between 10k and 14k a month. If the employer is a big hotel or the like, they will pay 10% Social Security (free hospital, unemployment fee etc.) based on the salary.

[yorkie100]

30bht for rubbish collection?even 60 baht,no wonder the island administration has n't got enough money.

I have to agree. Even at 60 baht per month it is a very small price to pay.

I still do not understand why so many 'rich' farangs do not pay it. According to the guy who collects the money - I am the only one paying out of the 40 properties there. All foreign owned.

They quite possibly don't know how or where to pay. No one would shy away from paying such a nominal sum, its just a case of knowing how and where to go i'd have thought.

My rubbish collection is organised but if it wasn't then apart from running outside at three in the morning to meet the refuse truck i wouldn't know either.

Not a case of going somewhere to pay, someone (when they can be bothered) actually calls at the house to collect, sporadically. I am given an acceptable receipt as well.

[Tropicalevo]

I just went to the Tessaban - registered the houses - drew a map and the guy turns up every month to collect the money. He leaves a receipt every time.

[itsala]

Correct. But that is 14000 a month. You wouldn't recruit any hotel worker for any position if you offered that kind of money in Samui. With service charge and other taxable payments most are on a minimum of 20,000. Since most employment in Samui is hotels I would hazard a guess that your 95 per cent is way off on this Isalnd. Hence my arguement that government budget should be allocated by number of tax payers.

How many Thais do you know that pay taxes?

I don't know anyone.

Always remember that the hospitality industry in every country is very often receipt free.

Wife's little brother worked at a large hotel and made 8000 baht/month.

How many do I know?

Everyone that works in Renaissance, Conrad, Four Seasons, Anantara, or any other legitimate hotel. Every one who works for a PLC who earns over the threshold.

Please do not believe that tax on employees here is any different for any where else. Exemptions apply only to self employed or uneducated who don't get Social security or a legitimate contract of employment.

[itsala]

Correct. But that is 14000 a month. You wouldn't recruit any hotel worker for any position if you offered that kind of money in Samui. With service charge and other taxable payments most are on a minimum of 20,000. Since most employment in Samui is hotels I would hazard a guess that your 95 per cent is way off on this Isalnd. Hence my arguement that government budget should be allocated by number of tax payers.

How many Thais do you know that pay taxes?

I don't know anyone.

Always remember that the hospitality industry in every country is very often receipt free.

Wife's little brother worked at a large hotel and made 8000 baht/month.

I know several Thais working in hotels and yes, the the monthly salary is normally 8,000 baht, often plus normally a place to sleep and a meal a day. A few years ago it was 6,000 b/m. Often a share from tips comes on the top, so some may get a total between 10k and 14k a month. If the employer is a big hotel or the like, they will pay 10% Social Security (free hospital, unemployment fee etc.) based on the salary.

Any major hotel offers a basic salary and a share of service charge ( not share of tips) this is a mandatory charge on all bills in the hotel split pro rata between staff according to position. It is taxable and in Renaissance this month for a server with 2 years service amounted to 21,000 baht.

The days of cash in hand casual labour are long gone in the 5'star hotels, and if you think any other operation can pay less and recruit quality I would challenge that from professional experience.

[Gulfsailor]

Correct. But that is 14000 a month. You wouldn't recruit any hotel worker for any position if you offered that kind of money in Samui. With service charge and other taxable payments most are on a minimum of 20,000. Since most employment in Samui is hotels I would hazard a guess that your 95 per cent is way off on this Isalnd. Hence my arguement that government budget should be allocated by number of tax payers.

How many Thais do you know that pay taxes?

I don't know anyone.

Always remember that the hospitality industry in every country is very often receipt free.

Wife's little brother worked at a large hotel and made 8000 baht/month.

How many do I know?

Everyone that works in Renaissance, Conrad, Four Seasons, Anantara, or any other legitimate hotel. Every one who works for a PLC who earns over the threshold.

Please do not believe that tax on employees here is any different for any where else. Exemptions apply only to self employed or uneducated who don't get Social security or a legitimate contract of employment.

Social security is not tax. It goes into the social security pot. As said by another poster, the threshold for paying tax is 150,000 per annum. This is after certain deductions, and as of next year, married couples may add up their incomes, and the threshold goes up to 300,000 per year. The majority of hotel workers do not pay tax. Taking into certain account deductions, one has to earn at least 15,000 per month. Only supervisor/asst.manager positions and up pay that. Service charges and tips are rarely put on the salary slip, so are not counted towards taxable income.

[itsala]

Correct. But that is 14000 a month. You wouldn't recruit any hotel worker for any position if you offered that kind of money in Samui. With service charge and other taxable payments most are on a minimum of 20,000. Since most employment in Samui is hotels I would hazard a guess that your 95 per cent is way off on this Isalnd. Hence my arguement that government budget should be allocated by number of tax payers.

How many Thais do you know that pay taxes?

I don't know anyone.

Always remember that the hospitality industry in every country is very often receipt free.

Wife's little brother worked at a large hotel and made 8000 baht/month.

How many do I know?

Everyone that works in Renaissance, Conrad, Four Seasons, Anantara, or any other legitimate hotel. Every one who works for a PLC who earns over the threshold.

Please do not believe that tax on employees here is any different for any where else. Exemptions apply only to self employed or uneducated who don't get Social security or a legitimate contract of employment.

Social security is not tax. It goes into the social security pot. As said by another poster, the threshold for paying tax is 150,000 per annum. This is after certain deductions, and as of next year, married couples may add up their incomes, and the threshold goes up to 300,000 per year. The majority of hotel workers do not pay tax. Taking into certain account deductions, one has to earn at least 15,000 per month. Only supervisor/asst.manager positions and up pay that. Service charges and tips are rarely put on the salary slip, so are not counted towards taxable income.

Well thanks Gulf Sailor and all other posters. I wonder if you had time to come to the Hotel that I work for and explain how this is possible and advise the Thai staff that do pay tax how you can save them some cash. Obviously our HR and Accounting departments are missing some informed advice. Pleas PM me with a time you would be available, I am sure compensation would be available for your time.