mohinga

Born and raised in Montreal. Spent the '50's, 60's and 70's there, after which wandered elsewhere. Sometime in the '90's (maybe) started hearing of a famous French Canadian dish... poutine. Never saw it or heard of it when living in Montreal; a city known for its cuisine.. so many good things to eat... Ben's smoked meat, St. Hubert BBQ, and great pizza from Mob owned joints. Guess I'll go to my grave never having know the delight of eating poutine or pizza cake.

So I gather that there is no provision for the purchase price to be deemed the price on the asset at the time of becoming a resident of Thailand for tax purposes. I am not a resident for tax purposes in my country of origen. I am on the Malaysian MM2H programme, and am looking for alternatives as the rules are in flux here. Malaysia does not tax offshore income (yet), and pension money I remit to here is taxed at source in my "home" country (which has a tax treaty with Malaysia). Most importantly, Malaysia does not (yet) tax capital gains. I could theoretically sell everything while here in Malaysia, and buy it back to establish a new "purchase price". But that is messy. I have no wish to return to my home country; and see no reason to pay tax there if I don't have to. I guess I'll just wait and see how the next few years work out with the MM2H programme. One thing I'm sure of is that all governments will be trying to squeeze as much tax out of the plebs as possible.

I'm not asking about how to become a resident for tax purposes in Thailand. I think that is easily done. I understsand that, under the terms of certain visas (retirement?), one can choose to be taxed in ones' own country, or in Thailand. I think I read that there are some financial benefits to choosing Thailand... e.g. bank accounts having more benefits. My country of origen is not a concern; since it is not the U.S., but rather a country that taxes base upon residence... not citizenship. I do know that if I were to return to my country, and re-establish residence for tax purposes there, my holdings would be deemed "acquired" on the date of my return... not on the actual date of purchase. So I am trying to find out if Thailand has a similar standard for valueing assets liable eligible for capital gains tax.

Maybe someone here knows from personal experience. But not likely... in which case maybe someone could recommend a Thai tax service that I might contact. My question is this: if I were to establish residency in Thailand, and choose the option of being taxed as a resident, how would capital gains on existing assets be calculated? Specifically, if I had assets like precious metals on account with service, or bitcoin, and I sold them at some point, would the capital gain be calculated from the original purchase price (i.e. long before becoming a resident of Thailand), or would the price of acquisition be deemed to be the price of the asset on the date of my becoming a resident?

Okay, thanks for that. It was in a Malaysian newspaper last month that I read about that incident. Pretty sure it was a land border crossing; so it may have just been on a whim of the immigration officer.

I can't make out the url of that website. Is it a Thai government site? Also would like to know if booster shots are required for those over 60 yrs. of age. I read that a Malaysian woman was denied entry because she did not have a booster.

Thanks, I'll check it out. UOB has a branch in my town. Having an app that is widely accepted in Thailnd is basically what I am looking for. I will also see if CIMB has such an app. Since I am already set up with them it might be easier. The past few years Malaysian banks have made it more difficult to open accounts... even for Malaysians.

2% commission is not a big deal compared to extremely poor exchange rate for physical cash MYR/THB at exchanges. I think the solution I'm looking for is still in the future. So I will see what CIMB can offer me. I could make trips to their ATM's and draw baht at a good rate of exchange, and (I think) no fee. Too bad they don't have a branch in Hua Hin where I'm hoping to stay. Could be that their debit card might also work for hotels.

You mean a Malaysian bank debit card? Would that work for hotels etc? Or do you mean top up an ewallet with a Malaysian bank card. Or do I have to open a Thai bank account?

So I would need a Thai bank account to top it up? Or use cash (baht) at a 7-11? I see that TrueMoney works in some SE Asian countries; but not Malaysia. The problem with ringgit is that one can only get a halfway decent exchange rate at the border. Elswhere it's a big ripoff.

I don't know if this is the right forum... I looked for a "finance" thread; but couldn't find one. It's been many years since I've been in Thailand, even though I have been living nearby in Malaysia. Covid...! I'm thinking of maybe visiting when, and if, the covid restrictions are lifted. I would like to know if there is an ewallet that I, as a tourist, might be able to use for daily expenses. I don't have a credit card, and carrying MYR cash is not practical since the exchange rate is very poor. I do have a CIMB bank account in Malaysia, and I think I could get a good rate at their ATM's in Thailand... but they are not everywhere. So if there was an ewallet that I could somehow load up that would be a good alternative. Otherwise I would have to change MYR for USD here, and carry a lot of cash. Years (decades) ago I used to be comfortable travelling in the Land of Smiles with a money-belt full of cash; but I'm older now. A few years ago I saw a YouTube video on (I think it was called something like) "Satang Pro" ewallet. It used a cryptocurrency called Firo. I assume this died out; but something like it would suit me. e.g. an ewallet that could be loaded with BTC. This will be happening with Lightning network over the next few years in some countries; but maybe not so soon in Thailand. The ideal would be if there were an ewallet that was used in both countries so I could load it with ringgit and spend baht. But too soon for that I guess... Any suggestions?