Cost of taxation
Re: "Guard against foreign crime", (BP, July 23). The appearance of a billboard advertising citizenship for investment programmes should not be met with shock by the Thai government.
Although it cannot be ruled out that criminal elements may avail themselves of these types of services, it may well be their target customers are expats seeking an alternative to a long stay in Thailand.
Since the new and proposed tax changes were announced, there has been an observable pickup in the advertising for international visa programmes online. All of these schemes offer exactly what many expats are seeking: either a definable path to citizenship with all rights and benefits, a long stay for tourism and retirement purposes with zero tax headaches, or something in between.
Thailand should not be surprised at the recent developments. The country's adoption of aggressive taxation polices comes at a price.
It is interesting that many of the solutions being floated by the service providers come from OECD/EU countries, the very countries Thailand suggests are pressuring it to adopt the new tax changes. Perhaps not all of these countries have Thailand's interests at heart. After all, when it comes to attracting long-stay tourists and retirees and their capital, many of these countries will put their own interests first.
If Thailand decides to press on with its new and proposed tax changes, it should prepare for even more intense campaigns to draw its resident expats to greener pastures.
Education fail
Re: "Thailand dropout initiative: bridging education gaps", (BP, July 23).
Ensuring that nobody drops out of our education system is very laudable, but our education goal must be re-oriented first. As it is, even after focusing on emphasising rote memory for ages, "almost two-thirds (64.7%) of youth and adults in Thailand can barely read and understand short texts to solve a simple problem such as following medical instructions. Moreover, 30.3% of youth and adults do not manifest tendencies to take social initiatives or to be enthusiastic, curious, and imaginative" (source: World Bank). We've badly failed generations of our children -- yet we're not seeking to change our fundamental mindset.
What's key in education? We've been teaching students "what" to think rather than "how" to think. But imagination is more important than knowledge.
What are our education goals? Decide first, then get everybody on board.
Olympic shenanigans
Re: "Dujardin faces probe over alleged horse mistreatment", (World, July 25).
It didn't take long. The Olympics are meant to be the ideal, the best of the best, but humans are flawed. We have had equestrian Charlotte Dujardin going home after a video apparently showing animal cruelty emerged, but a convicted child rapist is still competing.
Previously, the main form of cheating was the use of drugs, although another example that deserves mention is taking a ride in a car during the 1904 marathon. But now cheating has gone hi-tech.
A Canadian football team staff member used a drone to spy on a New Zealand training session, presumably to see if they had some new strategies. It probably won't be the last cheating incident we will hear about.
The IOC must ensure the events are clean and fair. The 2026 Commonwealth Games have been abandoned, with little hope of revival, as they were too expensive and interest was waning.
Let's see the best of the people.