Thailand, US sign agreement to share tax information

[calbts2]

This agreement is a complete sham as are all of these illegal US treasury so called information agreements. As far as I know, no US bank has given up info on foreign account holders yet as there is no domestic mechanism to enforce these info exchanges from the US to the foreign countries. FACTA is a bad US law that foreign countries bow down to. I pray it gets repealed in the near future but not holding my breath if Hillary gets in. For those who want more info on how wrong, misguided, and terrible this FATCA is ..do a search for issacbrocksociety

[timendres]

FATCA is probably the most destructive legislation to be enacted by the US in the last 100 years.

It is utterly arrogant and self-destructive for the USA.

Genius: FATCA has brought in just $13.5 billion in revenue on a cost of $1 trillion

"For financial institutions abroad, the cost of implementing FATCA has been estimated by various foreign governments, banks, chambers of commerce, and financial media, at anywhere between $200 billion and more than $1 trillion."

Aside from this statement by Simon Black lacking any references for such estimates¹, such cost is being born largely by foreign chartered banks at little cost to the American government. Thus, the $13.5 billion in additional revenue is mostly a windfalll profit for the US Treasury.

If this is destruction, keep it coming!

¹I'd expect banks who relunctantly comply might exagerate their costs to solicit sympathy from the public.

And what about the cost to the US citizen in time and frustration? Lost freedoms? Lost privacy?

$13.5B - Wow. 9 whole days of interest on the national debt. Or 3 TENTHS of 1% of the Federal budget. Meanwhile, it is estimated that $70M was spent to develop the Obamacare website - a website any competent Silicon Valley tech firm could have produced for less than $10M. Any competent auditor could trim $13.5B of FAT from the Federal budget in minutes - blindfolded.

And why do you feel it is okay to pass these costs on to foreign banks? They don't pay the costs. Their customers do, in increased fees and lower payouts. Hence, the cost will inevitably be paid by the very citizens you think are getting the windfall.

More encroachment on personal freedoms. More invasion of privacy. More banks refusing to do business with US citizens. More unconstitutional legislation enacted using unconstitutional money.

The RICO act was written as a tool to fight organized crime, only to be perverted to the point of being used to grab money and vehicles from citizens pulled over in traffic stops, and take away the homes of parents whose kid was caught selling pot from his bedroom. Do a little research on civil forfeiture laws and witness the perverse ways in which the government overreaches with any law at it's disposal.

The FBAR law states that, if I happen to be $1 over the threshold requiring filing and I fail to file, the US government is entitled to take 50% of my holdings. That is seriously immoral and stupid.

If these laws were truly for the purpose of reigning in serious tax evaders, all thresholds would be set accordingly - say $1M. The fact that the thresholds are set at $10,000 (for FBAR), and $200,000 (for FATCA) is evidence that this has nothing to do with the stated purpose.

In my opinion, the US government is preparing for their Greece Moment, which is coming sooner than most think.

[jjczap]

If you do not have more than 10,000 USD in Thai accounts you do not have to register it with the IRS. Ah, but it is not just cash, it is assets. The problem that can, has in other countries, arise is when you are married and the IRS counts what has been acquired after you married a Thai lady as common property and it is over 10,000 USD in value. Then you are in violation of the law if you didn't report. This "law" has never and will never catch those that stash millions offshore. It will only catch the unsuspecting and lower/middle income expats. Nope, don't have, never have had, and never will have a reportable amount of USD here. I don't get taxed, yet, on my pensions but I'm less than 2,000 USD below the threshold. Of course with no COLA's these days nothing to worry about, right? While the plutocrats and corporations get away with paying nothing to little in taxes, thank you Republicans, the middle/working class gets saddled with paying for wars, US terrorism, overthrowing governments, and what it left of decency in social programs to benefit those struggling.

the FATCA law requires you only to report financial assets ie bank accts, stock brokarage accts , ins etc -- property assets are not part of it - so if you have over 10,000 in finalcial assets in total outside the US at any point during the calendar year it must be reported

[daftdada]

If you're not a U.S. taxpaying citizen and you want to hide your money? Put in in a U.S. bank. The United States is the largest tax haven in the world. Google it.

[timendres]

They had a hard time explaining the W9 requirement when it came to the employer tax identification number. As most of us US expats are retired or no longer work for a US company what ID would you use??

If not a business your SSN is your tax identification number.

Yes I understand that but in part 1 there are two boxes one labeled Social Security number and another one titled employer tax identification number... So as you stated you use only one number but the bank manager wanted both boxes filled in as it was in the sample form they kept in a binder.. He was not going to listen to any logic coming from a foreigner..lol.. So I filled in both as I stated in my original post.. no harm..no foul.. I am pretty sure the forms are filed locally in case of an audit I suppose so not a problem until they actually do an audit... TIT

That W9 will be filed with the IRS. And it has serious implications.

For example, my Thai company needed to establish a bank account to receive payments from US clients. I have no problem with anyone seeing the cash flows through that account - there is nothing to hide. The problem is this: the W9 requires a US Tax ID. Of course, my Thai company has no such ID. Hence, the bank insisted that I put my SSN on the form.

Now, let's say $1M flows through that account as business. I account for it with the Thai government. It is business income. I pay all appropriate taxes to the Thai government. I receive a salary from the company, and I report that to the Thai government and the US government. No problem. I receive a dividend from the company. Again, all reported to all governments. I pay all due taxes on that income to both government. Again no problem. My salary and dividend amount to less than $40,000.

Now comes the days that the IRS sees a bank account with my SSN on it, and sees that $1M flowed into that bank account. Who wants to bet there is a problem?

[timendres]

The main purpose of the law is to combat money laundering. If you have more than US$10,000 in your Thai bank account(s), you have a duty to report them.

Money laundering? Right. Yup, those pesky international money launderers. Ah, the hordes of cash they make with their $10,000 transactions. Thank God we have put an end to their threat to civilization.

[mjnaus]

I'm so happy that I'm not an American.

But I fear that the EU will copy this sytem soon. They all want full controll over us and let us work for them for peanuts to finance their pensions and their mismanagement.

They already have. My EU friends are selling their condo here as their country wants to tax them on it. The US tax rate is pretty good. Compared to many countries in the EU. If you have $5MM to invest, you have good investment advisers who help you reduce your tax liability. If not, the tax rates are really low. Check it out here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tax_rates

how can you be taxed on a condo ? how does the EU get involved here in Thailand?

They tax properties no matter where they are. Same as the US taxing your investments no matter where they are.

They only do so if the person in question is still registered as living in his/her home country. If you are not living in the EU anymore (officially), you are NOT taxed on property, income or anything else. This is the case for my home country (The Netherlands) and I believe it applies to other member states as well.

If you're living in Thailand and are paying in tax in the EU, you're doing something wrong

[montereyjp]

Wow...

I'm not sure how I feel about this agreement.

1. Fact 1: A man works 30 years. Pays his taxes. Moves his money from the US to Thailand to avoid having to pay double tax. Example. His income tax from his salary is taxed. What little money he saves each month grows. Now the U.S. wants to tax his savings????

This is double taxation. His savings should not be taxed.

2. Now Thailand signs this agreement..Mainly to sacrifice all the small fish expats. Those who are happy. With their wife and children. Who is most likily collecting Social Security. So as to increase U.S. imports of pineapple juice.

3. If I was ultra rich, Thailand isn't the place to deposit ill gain money.

The U.S. is after the low middle class..Those escaping the U.S. corruption machine that is designed to tax the dead.....

What do we do now?

Now Thailand signs this agreement..Mainly to sacrifice all the small fish expats. Those who are happy. With their wife and children. Who is most likily collecting Social Security. So as to increase U.S. imports of pineapple juice...

​Sacrifice?? I am pretty sure I would qualify as a small fish expat and have reported as required by FBAR but not for the first two years and so far I have not been sacrificed nor been ask to pay extra taxes or fined for not reporting the first two years. On the form you can state why you did not report for previous years and I simple stated it was to complicated and accountants wanted to much money to file for you and never heard back from them.. I had as much as 2.4 million baht at one point which I reported.. no problem.. I mean the interest rates are so low most expats earn below the minimum amount that you have to claim as income anyway.. which I think is 50 USD per account.. There was a lot of fear mongers when FBAR was enacted, a lot of it misinformation from greedy accountants to get you to pay USD 500 and up to file this for you.. This was before they got the online registration process running..As far as I know no small fishes has been fined the 10k USD for not reporting.. FBAR is not even a part of the IRS from what I understand... so if you have not reported for fear of reprisal I would do it now online.. and see what happens..maybe you will be the first to be fined..and become an instant celebrity. I am sure you would have your choice of lawyers ready to defend you probono..lol

[jjczap]

I am still looking for more info on this announced agreement - my understanding is the FATCA agreement between the US and Thai was a 2 phase approach - phase 1 was in effect July 2014 which was that you could not open a NEW financial acct in Thai with out filling out the IRS form which you provide your SS# and your acct info will be provided to the IRS yearly - my feeling is that this is phase 2 which will require all existing accts to be associated with a SS# and reported yearly -- so the Treas and IRS wil have you coming and going - if you have not been filling the FBAR ( unbelievable penalties!! ) or reporting you income on your accts they got you! penalty +++++++

[pookiki]

The main purpose of the law is to combat money laundering. If you have more than US$10,000 in your Thai bank account(s), you have a duty to report them.

Money laundering? Right. Yup, those pesky international money launderers. Ah, the hordes of cash they make with their $10,000 transactions. Thank God we have put an end to their threat to civilization.

It doesn't take rocket science to avoid the reporting requirement. Keep your money in US banks and transfer it as you need it. Most banks have internet banking - so it is quite easy. If you have unexpected expenses, use a credit card and pay off the balance at the end of the month. All transactions in excess of US$10,000 are tracked in the US. To me, FACTA is no big thing. Maybe I'm just too poor to care.

[Rayk]

Wow...

I'm not sure how I feel about this agreement.

1. Fact 1: A man works 30 years. Pays his taxes. Moves his money from the US to Thailand to avoid having to pay double tax. Example. His income tax from his salary is taxed. What little money he saves each month grows. Now the U.S. wants to tax his savings????

This is double taxation. His savings should not be taxed.

2. Now Thailand signs this agreement..Mainly to sacrifice all the small fish expats. Those who are happy. With their wife and children. Who is most likily collecting Social Security. So as to increase U.S. imports of pineapple juice.

3. If I was ultra rich, Thailand isn't the place to deposit ill gain money.

The U.S. is after the low middle class..Those escaping the U.S. corruption machine that is designed to tax the dead.....

What do we do now?

Sorry fella, I sympathize but tax law is tax law. You can bleat, moan, shout, scream and do whatever you want but it's there, it isn't going away. So if you have been avoiding the taxation system then the net is closing in I'm afraid. It's the same for everyone, so you can't really claim it's not fair, right?

Show me where it says personal income tax is a law.

[OccamsRazor]

Wow...

I'm not sure how I feel about this agreement.

1. Fact 1: A man works 30 years. Pays his taxes. Moves his money from the US to Thailand to avoid having to pay double tax. Example. His income tax from his salary is taxed. What little money he saves each month grows. Now the U.S. wants to tax his savings????

This is double taxation. His savings should not be taxed.

2. Now Thailand signs this agreement..Mainly to sacrifice all the small fish expats. Those who are happy. With their wife and children. Who is most likily collecting Social Security. So as to increase U.S. imports of pineapple juice.

3. If I was ultra rich, Thailand isn't the place to deposit ill gain money.

The U.S. is after the low middle class..Those escaping the U.S. corruption machine that is designed to tax the dead.....

What do we do now?

Sorry fella, I sympathize but tax law is tax law. You can bleat, moan, shout, scream and do whatever you want but it's there, it isn't going away. So if you have been avoiding the taxation system then the net is closing in I'm afraid. It's the same for everyone, so you can't really claim it's not fair, right?

Show me where it says personal income tax is a law.

It's called the 16th amendment.

[connda]

The main purpose of the law is to combat money laundering. If you have more than US$10,000 in your Thai bank account(s), you have a duty to report them.

Money laundering? Right. Yup, those pesky international money launderers. Ah, the hordes of cash they make with their $10,000 transactions. Thank God we have put an end to their threat to civilization.

It doesn't take rocket science to avoid the reporting requirement. Keep your money in US banks and transfer it as you need it. Most banks have internet banking - so it is quite easy. If you have unexpected expenses, use a credit card and pay off the balance at the end of the month. All transactions in excess of US$10,000 are tracked in the US. To me, FACTA is no big thing. Maybe I'm just too poor to care.

There are two threads that I contributed to regarding FACTA and FBAR filing in 2014 and 2015 (2013, 2014 tax years).

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/802507-tax-filing-for-2014-fbar-and-all-the-other-fun/page-3?hl=fbar#entry9253093

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/708551-filing-the-fincen-report-114-fbar-online/?hl=fbar

Unlike previous years where you had to mail in the FBAR and then keep the paper receipts, for the last two years you could file online. Last year was a requirement to file online. Check out those two threads. If you are an American and have a bank account for visa purposes, you should file. It's not difficult. It's just part of being from America. You file your taxes yearly and you file a FBAR with them. If you're like a lot of retired US Expats in Thailand, you probably use ACH to transfer money from the US to Thailand via Bangkok Bank of NY, so you have a clear paper trail. So, just report it.

[craigt3365]

how can you be taxed on a condo ? how does the EU get involved here in Thailand?

They tax properties no matter where they are. Same as the US taxing your investments no matter where they are.

They only do so if the person in question is still registered as living in his/her home country. If you are not living in the EU anymore (officially), you are NOT taxed on property, income or anything else. This is the case for my home country (The Netherlands) and I believe it applies to other member states as well.

If you're living in Thailand and are paying in tax in the EU, you're doing something wrong

Health insurance coverage!

[connda]

Wow...

I'm not sure how I feel about this agreement.

1. Fact 1: A man works 30 years. Pays his taxes. Moves his money from the US to Thailand to avoid having to pay double tax. Example. His income tax from his salary is taxed. What little money he saves each month grows. Now the U.S. wants to tax his savings????

This is double taxation. His savings should not be taxed.

2. Now Thailand signs this agreement..Mainly to sacrifice all the small fish expats. Those who are happy. With their wife and children. Who is most likily collecting Social Security. So as to increase U.S. imports of pineapple juice.

3. If I was ultra rich, Thailand isn't the place to deposit ill gain money.

The U.S. is after the low middle class..Those escaping the U.S. corruption machine that is designed to tax the dead.....

What do we do now?

Sorry fella, I sympathize but tax law is tax law. You can bleat, moan, shout, scream and do whatever you want but it's there, it isn't going away. So if you have been avoiding the taxation system then the net is closing in I'm afraid. It's the same for everyone, so you can't really claim it's not fair, right?

Show me where it says personal income tax is a law.

It's a hell of a lot less of a headache just to file your taxes, and FBAR if you have an account with a Thai bank.

[pookiki]

The main purpose of the law is to combat money laundering. If you have more than US$10,000 in your Thai bank account(s), you have a duty to report them.

Money laundering? Right. Yup, those pesky international money launderers. Ah, the hordes of cash they make with their $10,000 transactions. Thank God we have put an end to their threat to civilization.

It doesn't take rocket science to avoid the reporting requirement. Keep your money in US banks and transfer it as you need it. Most banks have internet banking - so it is quite easy. If you have unexpected expenses, use a credit card and pay off the balance at the end of the month. All transactions in excess of US$10,000 are tracked in the US. To me, FACTA is no big thing. Maybe I'm just too poor to care.

There are two threads that I contributed to regarding FACTA and FBAR filing in 2014 and 2015 (2013, 2014 tax years).

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/802507-tax-filing-for-2014-fbar-and-all-the-other-fun/page-3?hl=fbar#entry9253093

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/708551-filing-the-fincen-report-114-fbar-online/?hl=fbar

Unlike previous years where you had to mail in the FBAR and then keep the paper receipts, for the last two years you could file online. Last year was a requirement to file online. Check out those two threads. If you are an American and have a bank account for visa purposes, you should file. It's not difficult. It's just part of being from America. You file your taxes yearly and you file a FBAR with them. If you're like a lot of retired US Expats in Thailand, you probably use ACH to transfer money from the US to Thailand via Bangkok Bank of NY, so you have a clear paper trail. So, just report it.

I agree with your point about money in the bank for 'visa purposes'. Can you hazard a guess as to how many US citizens need to to that as opposed to getting an income affidavit from the US Embassy? I get the affidavit and live a very modest life style. My bank account is always well under US$10.000.00. No FBAR, no FACTA.

[Time Traveller]

Wow...

I'm not sure how I feel about this agreement.

1. Fact 1: A man works 30 years. Pays his taxes. Moves his money from the US to Thailand to avoid having to pay double tax. Example. His income tax from his salary is taxed. What little money he saves each month grows. Now the U.S. wants to tax his savings????

This is double taxation. His savings should not be taxed.

2. Now Thailand signs this agreement..Mainly to sacrifice all the small fish expats. Those who are happy. With their wife and children. Who is most likily collecting Social Security. So as to increase U.S. imports of pineapple juice.

3. If I was ultra rich, Thailand isn't the place to deposit ill gain money.

The U.S. is after the low middle class..Those escaping the U.S. corruption machine that is designed to tax the dead.....

What do we do now?

What you do is stop voting for democrat and republican statist political parties. Did you really think innocently electing Obama was going to help you?

[turk56]

You have to look at the essence of FACTA: Americans must wave the their Right To Privacy or the equivalent privacy expectation banking policies when maintaining a bank account in Thailand, or pay fines up to fifty percent. In other words, Thais have a greater Right To Privacy than Americans. Don't put your money in a bank if you want to bypass this law.

[ericthai]

This is why I renounced US citizenship 12 years ago. Paying tax on global income when you don't even receive the benefits of living in the country ... not for me thanks. All the while US Corporations sheltering their earnings overseas.

If you are not living in the USA (physically out of the USA for more than 330 days per year or a permanent resident in another country) you dont have to pay taxes on any income earned abroad under $105,000 USD. Also depending on the year you renounced you might still be liable for taxes on earned income for a 5 or 10 period from the date you renounced, you might want to check into that. I went through all of this with my account in the USA several years ago.

[Suradit69]

Wow...

I'm not sure how I feel about this agreement.

1. Fact 1: A man works 30 years. Pays his taxes. Moves his money from the US to Thailand to avoid having to pay double tax. Example. His income tax from his salary is taxed. What little money he saves each month grows. Now the U.S. wants to tax his savings????

This is double taxation. His savings should not be taxed.

2. Now Thailand signs this agreement..Mainly to sacrifice all the small fish expats. Those who are happy. With their wife and children. Who is most likily collecting Social Security. So as to increase U.S. imports of pineapple juice.

3. If I was ultra rich, Thailand isn't the place to deposit ill gain money.

The U.S. is after the low middle class..Those escaping the U.S. corruption machine that is designed to tax the dead.....

What do we do now?

The US doesn't tax investments. No double taxation. They would just tax the income on any investments. Any tax you pay to Thai goes towards a credit against US taxes. What they want is info on your bank accounts in other countries. If you have $5,000,000 invested here, but claim no interest/gains on it, it looks fishy and they will ask questions.

In the past you could just own accounts here and they wouldn't know. What this is doing is trying to get all Thai banks to cooperate and let the IRS know which american citizens own accounts here. Its been around for a few years already, but probably most thai banks are too lazy/incompetent to do it correctly (I know mine is). so the americans are appealing to a higher authority to try to get things done. We all know that's how it works here.

"In the past you could just own accounts here and they wouldn't know."

I've been out of the US for 40 years. While I was working I always included Form 2555, Foreign Income Exclusion and, in addition to that I seem to recall for quite a long time you were expected to report money held in banks etc. outside the US. to the Treasury Dept, not the IRS. It didn't just start recently, although it's become a bigger deal lately.

Of course if you had something to hide and you didn't report it, they wouldn't know, but that didn't make failing to report legal or that they wouldn't possibly investigate. That's why Switzerland was so popular for banking for so long ... they helped hide your money and conceal the fact that you were hiding it, up to a point.

[jjczap]

This is why I renounced US citizenship 12 years ago. Paying tax on global income when you don't even receive the benefits of living in the country ... not for me thanks. All the while US Corporations sheltering their earnings overseas.

If you are not living in the USA (physically out of the USA for more than 330 days per year or a permanent resident in another country) you dont have to pay taxes on any income earned abroad under $105,000 USD. Also depending on the year you renounced you might still be liable for taxes on earned income for a 5 or 10 period from the date you renounced, you might want to check into that. I went through all of this with my account in the USA several years ago.

for the readers let me point out the term used was any income earned - which basically means like salary the things that in our world are things that are reported on a W2---- un- earned income like interest, dividends , capital gains, SS etc must be reported regardless of earned income - so I think for the majority of US expats in Thai the major income is unearned income which must be reported

[thaihome]

It doesn't take rocket science to avoid the reporting requirement. Keep your money in US banks and transfer it as you need it. Most banks have internet banking - so it is quite easy. If you have unexpected expenses, use a credit card and pay off the balance at the end of the month. All transactions in excess of US$10,000 are tracked in the US. To me, FACTA is no big thing. Maybe I'm just too poor to care.

That is exactly what I do. No more then 10k in Thai bank account (use income letter for extentions), no assets in my name in Thailand.

All very simple.

TH

[AZBill]

Another attempt by Obama to pick American pockets.

[jjczap]

It doesn't take rocket science to avoid the reporting requirement. Keep your money in US banks and transfer it as you need it. Most banks have internet banking - so it is quite easy. If you have unexpected expenses, use a credit card and pay off the balance at the end of the month. All transactions in excess of US$10,000 are tracked in the US. To me, FACTA is no big thing. Maybe I'm just too poor to care.

That is exactly what I do. No more then 10k in Thai bank account (use income letter for extentions), no assets in my name in Thailand.

All very simple.

TH

what happens when immigration stops excepting income letter or US wants proof like all the other countries - in these times were in nobody knows what the future requirements might be

[thaihome]

It doesn't take rocket science to avoid the reporting requirement. Keep your money in US banks and transfer it as you need it. Most banks have internet banking - so it is quite easy. If you have unexpected expenses, use a credit card and pay off the balance at the end of the month. All transactions in excess of US$10,000 are tracked in the US. To me, FACTA is no big thing. Maybe I'm just too poor to care.

That is exactly what I do. No more then 10k in Thai bank account (use income letter for extentions), no assets in my name in Thailand.

All very simple.

TH

what happens when immigration stops excepting income letter or US wants proof like all the other countries - in these times we

re in nobody knows what the future requirements might be

I can back up the letter with Thai bank statements showing money coming into Thailand. US consulate will never ask for proof, all they do is notarize my signature on a statement I make on my income. Legally they cannot do anything else.

TH

[jjczap]

It doesn't take rocket science to avoid the reporting requirement. Keep your money in US banks and transfer it as you need it. Most banks have internet banking - so it is quite easy. If you have unexpected expenses, use a credit card and pay off the balance at the end of the month. All transactions in excess of US$10,000 are tracked in the US. To me, FACTA is no big thing. Maybe I'm just too poor to care.

That is exactly what I do. No more then 10k in Thai bank account (use income letter for extentions), no assets in my name in Thailand.

All very simple.

TH

what happens when immigration stops excepting income letter or US wants proof like all the other countries - in these times we

re in nobody knows what the future requirements might be

I can back up the letter with Thai bank statements showing money coming into Thailand. US consulate will never ask for proof, all they do is notarize my signature on a statement I make on my income. Legally they cannot do anything else.

TH

NEVER is a very strong statement! I am happy for you that you are so CONFIDENT!

[Johpa]

Another attempt by Obama to pick American pockets.

You really need to stop drinking the Kool-Aid from the likes of FOX. Obama has maintained the same neocon ideology as did his Reagan, Bush I, Clinton and Bush II and has also adhered to the same neoliberal economic folly as Reagan, Bush I, Clinton and Bush II. The US tax system hasn't changed in decades with a focus on earned income over unearned income. The system works for the benefit of the 1% and the corporations at the expense of the vast middle class wage earners. This system has been picking the pockets of one class of citizens to the benefit of a much smaller group of citizens for decades and singling out Obama is either ignorance or racism.

[thaihome]

NEVER is a very strong statement! I am happy for you that you are so CONFIDENT!

You appear to have no knowledge of what a US Consulate is allowed to do while at the same time you appear to the sort of person that can only post non productive, negative posts.

Yes I am confident because knowledge is on my side, not ignorance.

TH

Edited March 4, 2016 by thaihome

[jjczap]

NEVER is a very strong statement! I am happy for you that you are so CONFIDENT!

You appear to have no knowledge of what a US Consulate is allowed to do while at the same time you appear to the sort of person that can only post non productive, negative posts.

Yes I am confident because knowledge is on my side, not ignorance.

TH

thank you for your polite input -- GEE if knowledge is on your side please enlighten the rest of us as to US government /consulate laws - no mention or acknowledgement of what Thai might do -- head in the sand - ignorance! this is the meaning of someone who ignores the possibility of change and sticks by there belief's that what I believe is cast in stone - good luck my friend

[NCC1701A]

Americans: Pay Your Taxes--Or Lose Your Passport

http://www.wsj.com/articles/americans-pay-your-taxes-or-lose-your-passport-1447971424

this is for $50k in back taxes. they will add not reporting overseas accounts soon.