OPINION

A taxing argument

A reader in his March 23 letter makes a fair comment on two-tiered pricing for foreigners. But he then goes on to quantify the government's policy of a two-tiered charging system by saying that some farang do not pay taxes. I would dispute this. I am assuming by "some farang" he means tourists, as all foreigners living and working here pay tax in one form or another.

But wait a minute. Don't tourists also pay tax? Isn't hotel accommodation taxable and don't tourists also pay tax on their food in restaurants. The fact is, two-tier pricing is an abomination, and for a country that is forever telling the world how it welcomes visitors, should be discouraged by the government. In the absence of any action I would suggest that he exercises his right to choose, refuse to pay and walk away; something I have done on many occasions.

I would like to comment on the recent letters to the Bangkok Post about immigration. I can only concur the ever-present xenophobia has increased exponentially in the past few years. After 35 years of long-term visits, I've decided not to return to Thailand due to this feeling of being unwanted. The last time I entered Thailand I was dragged out of the immigration line and yelled at because I had too many tourist visa stamps in my passport, according to an angry immigration officer. I told him I had returned to my country and paid for a tourist visa and if there was an issue, why wasn't it flagged by the consulate in Australia when I applied for the visa.

On seeking some clarification from my local immigration office in Thailand, I was told to stop using tourist visas and either come on a non-immigrant visa or a 30-day visa which could be extended. This was just ludicrous as I usually only visit for two months at a time, so the first option was a waste of money and the second was basically what a tourist visa provides anyway. I felt I was just being messed around and given the money I've spent in Thailand and the Thais I've supported over the years, I felt like I was being told "your money is wanted, but you, we can do without."

With the low exchange rates, surly immigration, rampant corruption and dysfunctional military dictatorship running the country, you'd think Thailand would want to encourage people to come and spend their money. Yet, more and more I am hearing the same statement from people who formerly enjoyed visiting Thailand -- "I'm over Thailand, Thais and all their phony piousness and fake smiles" -- sad, but probably an inevitable scenario for us long-term visitors.

It seemed Thaksin Shinawatra has arranged the wedding of his daughter in Hong Kong on Friday to almost coincide with the day that the Pheu Thai party -- his political party in Thailand -- would celebrate its purported victory in today's general election (Online, March 23). During his address to guests at the wedding, Thaksin said he first planned to hold the reception on March 23, but the hotel reception room was not available. "So I moved the date to today because if we held it after March 24, we're afraid the room would be jam-packed because we would definitely win [Sunday's election in Thailand]," he said. It looks like for Thaksin, everything in life is absolutely inextricable from politics.

I checked the air quality index today and it rates as "hazardous". This is despite the visit of deputy premier Prawit Wongsuwon a week ago. Aside from jeopardising people's health, this is a great way to kill tourism.

I don't know if Thailand has a system for declaring a state of emergency but this situation deserves such a measure. Deploy the air force to locate fires, the army to extinguish them and police to fine the culprits.

The two most urgent issues that should be the centrepiece of any politician's electioneering in Thailand are:

1. Doing something permanent to fix the air pollution. Today in Chiang Mai, the reading is over 300, which is "hazardous".

2. The high death tolls/accident rates on Thai roads; and the lack of police action.

Nothing else ranks as important or so immediate!

Anyway, its about time they realised it. Expats are not at all wanted, but Thailand still practises BOAC, and it is not the old British Overseas Airways Corporation. BOAC these days means, "Bring Over American Cash".

A Johnson writes in his March 23 letter that the United States is a "flawed democracy". Indeed, Mr Johnson, it may be so. But nothing is perfect. America still sets the standards of a world democracy, regardless of its flaws and blemishes, that many countries still try to emulate. If not for American democracy, you probably might not be able to make such utterances. Many countries (China, Russia, Venezuela), maintain armed forces to keep their inhabitants in. The United States maintains an army to help keep the overflow out. That counts for a lot to debunk your statement. Personally, I'd prefer American style democracy, with all its flaws, to that of any of the Commonwealth democracies.