Eneukman

Nationwide International in the Isle of Man have now confirmed to me that as I am no longer living in the EC, I can get my interest paid without deduction of tax. Wonder how long it will take those overpaid wankers in Brussels to try to tax non-residents in the EC as well? Alan

When I was in the RG back in June, I was able to use wifi by the pool with no problems but initially had to sit on the balcony to get any sort of signal. By the time I left in the middle of July, the problems had been resolved and I was able to access the internet from my room. I would reckon that you would probably get a better signal from the pool area than some of the higher floors. In fact, there is at least one guy who works on his lap top from the cafe at the pool in View Talay 2A. Alan

Niall, According to the Inland Reenue's leaflet IR138, "If you are not resident in the UK for tax purposes you will not be liable to UK tax on any overseas income. You will, however, normally remain liable to UK tax on your UK income. Whether you will pay tax and if so at what rate will depend on the type and amount of your chargeable income." Certainly if your sole source of income in the UK was bank interest, you would be well aadvised to arrange for it to be paid without deduction of income tax. My own feeling is that in the long term property prices will continue to rise but a

Wagger, I've seen that sort of computation before. The problem is that it assumes that you die BEFORE your money runs out. If you manage to live for a further 35 years, you're in deep shit for the last 10 years. Having said that, when I was doing my earliest sums, I was working on a similar method on the basis that I wouldn't touch my pension until I was 60 and that I would need to draw on some capital every year until it kicked in. As it happened, I decided to take my pension at 50 on the grounds that I might not even reach the age of 60. I also took the tax free lump sum option, wh

I suspect that the success or otherwise of that would depend on where in the UK you used to live. There were two or three flats available for rent in the street where I lived in Edinburgh and the yield after tax and expenses would have been quite a bit under 4%. I'm not sure what the Capital Gains Tax implications would be if you were to do that and then go back there to live out your dotage. The gain in the period you were living in Thailand might not be exempted as it wasn't your principle residence during that time. Nevertheless, that is one option that might suit some people. Al

My figure of £305,000 - £340,000 would give you a monthly income of 80,000 baht per month (assuming you could get 4% to 4 1/2% after tax) now. I hadn't factored inflation into my figures which will increase the 80,000 baht per month requirement year on year. So if inflation in Thailand were to run at say 5%, you would need 84,000 baht next year and so on. The principle of what you're saying is correct though I'm not absolutely certain on the arithmetic. Certainly £700,000 would cover you, and would I think from some very quick and very rough computations give you a reasonable amount of

I'm always somewhat wary of very short connection times, especially at the start of a holiday as the slightest delay could result in you missing your onward connection. Flying from Edinburgh to London I've had more than one delay of an hour or so plus a delay at Heathrow due to a fire alarm going off in the Flight Connections area. On my way back home, I wasn't quite so concerned as there were always plenty flights back to Edinburgh. Alan

Not aware of anything, Emil though unless the other person was expecting a PM, they might not let you know that the message hasn't been received. Alan

If you can get 4 1/2% after tax, you would need £305,000 (based on an exchange rate of 70 baht to the £). On a rate after tax of 4%, you would need £340,000. I have ignored personal tax allowances in arriving at these figures, as I'm too tired to do the necessary sums. However, in reality you would need more than that to compensate for the fact that interest rates are likely to fall in the UK. In addition, you also need to factor in the effect of inflation as by leaving all your money in a bank account it isn't going to grow and the interest you get isn't going to increase unless int

November is going to be my most expensive month of living here and even with that I reckon my total expenditure is going to come in at something a bit under 90,000 baht. This figure includes some exceptional items such as a customs "bribe" of 4,000 baht to get my effects through Customs without any hassle and 4,300 baht for my next (and final) round of language lessons and the purchase of a portable CD player for 3,200 baht. Excluding these items, my expenditure for this month will be a bit under 80,000 baht. My income will allow me to spend a bit more each month but I need to keep some

I bought shares in 8 different companies when I got the sale proceeds of my flat last month and in the few weeks since then 7 have risen and 1 has gone down though only by 3p a share. I was particularly fortunate when I bought a batch of Alliance & Leicester shares at 822. They closed last week at 895. The market as a whole has risen in this time, which has helped. Now if only every share I bought would do as well Alan

Thanks for clarifying the tax rate on rental income, Bill. I couldn't remember whether it was treated as earned income (22%) or as investment income (20%). I have to go along with Niall as the net income I could have received by renting my flat in Edinburgh would have been a lot lower than I can get by investing in the stock market and a lot less than the 180,000 baht per month that Valentino can get. One thing I did before moving out was take out a subscription to Investors Chronicle magazine. http://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/content/paid/home.html It cost something in the region

You don't pay capital gains tax on rental income. You pay income tax at either 20% or 22% (can't remember which) though if you're UK income is above a certain figure then you will have to pay income tax at 40%. However, from the rental income you can deduct agents' fees, insurance, cost of running repairs etc and you are liable to income tax on the rental income AFTER these outlays. As you are no longer resident in the UK, you will have to pay Capital Gains Tax when you eventually sell the house. This will be the difference between the sale price and the value when you left the UK, less ce

Because I only worked for 33 years, I'm going to have to pay additional voluntary contributions from next April until I'm 60 or so tio ensure that when I do eventually reach the grand old age of 65 I'll get my the full state pension, albeit until the next increase goes through. I have no doubt whatsoever, that one of these days they'll bring in a law that says that all those of us who have paid tax and national insurance for years but have chosen to save the government money in health care costs etcx by going abroad to live will be banned from coming back to get free medical attention or e

Erm -directions are fine except that if you turn right after going south, you will be heading in a westerly direction. Alan

Letter written. I'll post it tomorrow afternoon. The letter from Nationwide was actually written when I was still living in the UK so hopefully once they accept that I'm now living in Thailand, there won't be a problem. Alan

I believe you. We had no central heating at home in these days and it was not uncommon to have to scrape ice off the INSIDE of the bedroom window in winter. Yet, I don't ever recall complaining about feeling cold! Alan

The place you're looking for is TukCom. It's on South Pattaya Road (right hand side as you walk down from Beach Road). It's almost directly opposite Soi Buakaow. Alan

If I wish to request my interest to be paid without deduction of tax in future, I have to complete a "Self Certified Exemption Form" giving the reason for being excluded from the European Union Savings Tax Directive. This gives me 4 options - 1. I am resident in the UK but my offshore interest is only liable to tax in the UK if that interest is remitted. There is more on this exemtion but it doesn't apply to me as I'm no longer resident in the UK for income tax purposes. 2. I attach a Tax Exemption Certificate issued by the tax authority in the country in which I am permanently res

As most of you from the UK will know, those bastards in Brussels are doing their best to mess up the tax free intrerest available on accounts held in the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. As I understand the position, my Isle of Man bank will be obliged to deduct withholding tax from my interest unless I can send them a letter from an accountant here certifying that I do not have to pay income tax in Thailand. Can anyone recommend a reliable accountant who can give me an appropriate letter? The tax rate for this tax year isn't too bad but it seems as though this will increase to so

When I was getting my bank letter, the girl was quite keen to sign me up to one of those higher interest accounts. I was interested but couldn't stay on at that point so I couldn't ask what the lock-in period was. I'll make some enquiries in the next week or so and will post here what they tell me. Certainly, the money put into that type of account would have to be funds you don't need for the immediate future. Alan

Larry, It's not so much as getting your pension paid if you live in Thailand. It's rather that the UK Government are saying thank you very much for saving us money by living abroad and then tell us that the amount of pension they pay will never increase unless we return to the UK (or the EU and a few other select countries) to live. I saw some figures a while back and seem to recall that the actual cost of paying all those ex-pat pensioners the annual increase would be minimal compared to the total overall cost. Alan

El tib, I have no option but to show proof of funds in the bank as my pension income is less than 65,000 baht per month. My total income is, however, well in excess of that figure. You can use the funds in the account for day to day living expenses whilst here. Higher interest accounts are available but I'm not sure what the minimum depost is. I'll look into this at some point. Also, if you were planning on retiring here, the Thai Immigration are cracking down on people who come in on a 30 day stamp and then leave and immediately re-enter the country once their permission to stay e

Exactly what happened to me though mine cost 400 baht at the Pattaya International Hospital. I needed some different blood pressure pills as the Bendrofluazide I took aren't available in Thailand. The doctor gave me a chit for some different pills. Next year, I'll go to a clinic instead. Alan

I got my retirement visa a few weeks ago and so long as you have the correct documentation, it is very straightforward. I obtained my medical certificate one day and I was 2nd in the queue at the Bank of Bangkok when it opened at 8.30 the following morning. I then had to return home (opposite direction) for a toilet emergency and even allowing for that I had my extension stamped in my passport by 10.30. One point, though - the multi re-entry permit is 3,800 baht. Single re-entry permits are 1,000 baht. I have still to apply for this but will probably go for the multiple permit to avoid ha