Right to speak
Re: "Short arm of the law", (Editorial, Oct 10) & "Ghosts of Tak Bai", (PostBag, Oct 11).
In his letter, Vichai raises a point worth exploring. The antique mantra of nation, religion [formerly Buddhism] and monarchy is ironically defended by a violation of Buddhist teaching. As he observes, shooting and silencing those who simply voice a dissenting opinion is not Buddhist, irrespective of one's religion. But perhaps Vichai is onto something deeper regarding the divisions long apparent in Thai society. It is, as noted, profoundly unBuddhist to suppress by violence those people who critically question the status quo or its elements. Critical assessment of received thinking is what the Buddha instructs us to practise in his Kalama Sutta. The embrace of open dialogue is also fundamental to democracy.
Humanity first
Re: "Thailand's Dhammacracy,"(PostBag, Sept 1).
Songdej Praditsmanont shows Buddhism's role in Thailand politics. But in my opinion, Buddhism did not start from political points or points of view.
Buddhism was developed for humanity and human welfare. Buddhism is never a means of managing democratic thought. Buddhism and politics can never be compared. But Buddhism can shed good light on politics.
For sure, Buddhist beliefs are shared all over the world; but one type of politics is often not accepted in another type of politics or political system.
Tax clarifier
Re: "Navigating new foreign income rules: the Revenue Department is studying adoption of the principle of worldwide income", (Business, June 27).
I just noticed the Revenue Department's home page (English site at https://www.rd.go.th/english/index-eng.html) has Sept 24, 2024 update regarding taxation.
To see it, click the link under News Update: 'How do foreigners living in Thailand pay tax?' and you'll see six easy to understand slides describing the new changes.
In a nutshell, worldwide income "is subject to income tax if TWO of the following conditions are met: such income has been earned in any tax year starting from Jan 1 2024 onward by a foreigner who stays in Thailand for 180 days or more in a tax (calendar) year, and; such income earned has been remitted to Thailand (wholly or partially), even if that remittance occurs in a later tax year."
It also says that "when a foreigner who is a resident of Thailand pays tax on income abroad, tax paid can be taken as a credit against the tax payable in Thailand" because "income tax paid abroad can be credited against Thai taxes."
Unwanted curbs
Re: "CO2 confusion", (PostBag, Oct 10).
Tarquin Chufflebottom says "It's not the presence of CO2 in Earth's atmosphere that is causing global warming, it is the excess of it," and claims "No one is advocating removing CO2 from the atmosphere".
The author's mindset is consistent with pervasive media/UN propagandised distortions of climate science.
The Arctic Ocean was ice-free around the time Stonehenge was built: when atmospheric CO2 was at pre-industrial levels (0.03% of the atmosphere rather than the current 0.04%) and palm trees grew in Greenland.
The Cambrian period, about 500 million years ago, saw the greatest increase in biodiversity in history with CO2 levels 10 times higher (4,000 ppm) than at present. The claim that there is "excess" CO2 in the atmosphere is entirely spurious and arbitrary at best.
And according to carboncredits.com, the UK has a new £22 billion carbon capture and storage plan, the Danish government has placed a tax on cows based upon their emissions, and the entire carbon offset/capture industry is projected to be valued at $25 billion by 2030.
Indeed, following the Kyoto Protocol, everyone seems to be in the unnecessary business of removing CO2 from the atmosphere.
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