I'm sure my wife didn't pay any import tax on me, although the family tried to impose the VAT when we married, but I claimed and got a refund.
A Thai Region Where Husbands Are Imported
By SETH MYDANS
Published: September 24, 2010
UDON, THAILAND — The most dazzling creatures Nui Davis saw when she was a child were the village girls who had found foreign husbands, visiting in their Western finery and handing out candies to the children.
“For me, they were like a princess,” she said. “And I kept those pictures in my mind, and I made a wish that one day I would like to be one of those ladies.”
Today, at the age of 30, she lives with her husband, Joseph Davis of Fresno, California, in an air-conditioned, three-bedroom house with a driveway and basketball hoop, surrounded by flower beds and a well-kept lawn.
“My family keeps saying, ‘You got it. You got your dream now,”’ she said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/25/world ... ss&emc=rss
I would just like to give some of my feelings and thoughts on this subject . maybe the mods might condsider it needs a new topic , but to me it follows on naturally .I have in the past, as some may know, contributed to these type of reports, what I call honey and roses presentations . They have appeared on both Thai and international TV. My main purpose in appearing was to show the other side of the story which mainly showed us , the farang, as an old , beer drinking, womanising man, using our money to abuse the young impoverished girls , for our sexual and other selfish desires .The girls for their part, as money grabbing , heartless bitches, who really had no interest in the old farangs welfare outside of his monetry contribution . I agreed, with my wife , to appear in the story, to show that there was another side. That it was indeed possible to have a mutually beneficial partnership that would bring both happiness and indeed , love to the relationship . At the same time showing that all farang are not just womanising drunkards, neither are all Thai ladies the scheming money grabbing bitches they are often portrayed as .However I feel the story has moved on from there, so when I was recently approached by a high level delegation and a foreign media TV team to take part in another honey and roses presentation, I agreed to take part if the emphasise was moved from the benefits to the cause. I suggested the programme should include why the younger Thai woman should feel it neccessary to sell her soul and her body to a much older farang and indeed why, when the said farang has made the commitment, both financially and emotionally, he should be subjected to so much humilitation by the Thai government, just to stay here and support her family. Having to go through the embarrassing immigration proceedures every year, when all he wants is to live a peaceful happy life with his new family .Needless to say they didn't agree, saying it was too sensitive to discuss and went to find another more cooperative farang couple . 
