Hi everyone,
I am running a online eCommerce store selling products mostly in the US and Europe, the products being shipped from China. I have no connections to Taiwan, except that I live and work here(ARC holder). The money is being sent to my PayPal account, but I never made a withdraw. I heard that ESUN bank is the only bank in Taiwan where I can withdraw PayPal funds. I am wondering, do I need to register a company, file tax or something like that, since my business is pretty new and I have no idea where to ask for more information. I would like to accept Credit Card payment in the future which I would like deposited to my bank account here in Taiwan if that is possible.
I have another friend doing the same thing, also pretty new and not informed 
So, if someone has some valuable information, please let me know.
I think you don’t need to establish a company in Taiwan if you only sell/trade things into Taiwan. Whether you create a permanent establishment while physically being in Taiwan and processing the business here is another questions. A permanent establishment refers to your company/legal entity in China/elsewhere by having physically a branch in Taiwan (e.g. an office, warehouse, staff) you create a tax entity in Taiwan that is under certain conditions taxable (even without a Taiwan company/legal entity).
For just having trading business, payment pay pal accounts no need to establish a company. I would assume that if things come via courier and the mount is not significant no duty etc has to be paid, for larger QTYs it would look different. But then out of convenience you would think anyway to establish a company in Taiwan for processing all the orders. Why not working with a local partner for all the things (courier, import, payment, etc.)?
But for all things consult with a local CPA or lawyer…
Thanks for your answer.
All my orders are processed online, everything is automated.
I have no contacts/partners here in Taiwan and besides that, I believe that most of the production factories are based in China. I am selling the hoverboards/self balancing scooters and I believe that all of those are produced in China. I have a contract with a factory there and that is the reason I never even searched in Taiwan. I believe the price will be higher also. If I import bulk products from China to Taiwan and then resell and ship from here, that will increase my work and the costs of running.
My only concern is withdrawal of the PayPal money in a Taiwanese bank, I don’t know if they have some procedures/tax filling etc for that.
I am not sure in which category are these earnings classified, as I saw here on the forum that freelance earnings under 1 million NTD are not taxed.
Why not using Hong Kong as hub, having bank accounts there, company, if you need money using ATM card from your Hong Kong bank account or even just wire the monies to Taiwan (you need to go in person if you are foreigner to get it/exchange it into Taiwan dollars). But also why not using a credit card while staying in Taiwan?
Yeah HK is the usual workaround. Run your business from
There, younwill need to file your taxes and keep it above board though it’s a small price to pay.
Where can I find more information about this? Which bank do you recommend, HSBC? And what kind of account, business or personal?
What to I need to open a bank account in HK? I am going there for Chinese New Year, but I doubt they will work. Using ATM card is not a problem for me, I don’t need to wire the money to Taiwan.
@SunnyboyInTaiwan what kind of credit card? I have bank account in China Trust and they only allowed me to get a debit card.
@headhonchoII where do I need to file taxes? Can you provide more information, please?
Thanks guys, you are very helpful.
File your annual company accounts in Hong Kong if operating company from there. I only know it is relatively easy to open a bank account in HK, don’t know much about opening company, there are many accountants there providing this service.
Credit card: I meant to get a credit card from your Hong Kong bank, corporate or personal, using it in Taiwan.
For setting up a HK company better to use the service of an accountant from Hong Kong (as mentioned before). This accountant provides to you the necessary secretary function (including business address) and the service of setting up the legal entity (from 2 to 4 days). (of course you can also do that yourself, but inconvenient). For open the bank account(s) you need to go to Hong Kong.
I am not sure if I want to open a company at all, I rather run this online if the money can go to HK.
Which Hong Kong bank do you recommend, is HSBC good or search for some other banks?
Yea, I definitely plan to get a credit card from the HK bank and use it in Taiwan. I am going to Hong Kong in February anyway and will handle all of this.
I am using HSBC, corporate and personal. Others haven’t tried. Be aware, it is complicated, all the forms and dealing with internet banking, but once it is set up and you have all the passwords and little security devices it works.
For getting a credit card the bank may ask you for certain documents, proof of things. Banking is also not that cheap, must keep a certain minimum. HSBC has a premium service with priority for phone banking, inquiries. The low end is doable though, minimum to keep it free of charge (except money transfer, credit card) a deposit of HKD 10,000 is needed.
Are you able to withdraw money from Paypal using the personal account? I believe the corporate will require a lot of paperwork which I don’t have, so I might go with the personal. How long does it take to set everything up? I’ll be there for 2 days only, I hope I can finish that. I believe I can also use a debit card for withdrawals, to keep the expenses low. The deposit is for credit card, right? (corporate or personal?)
Minimum deposit (HSBC) and fees for bank accounts:
(1) Corporate: HKD 500,000 (no charge), 100,000 (100 HKD / month), below 100,000 (500 HKD / month), I think I have business vantage
(2) Personal: HKD 5000 for the very basic account (no monthly fee for the account), below HKD 5000 80 HKD / month
But better call HSBC before you go and verify all the information.
Great, thanks for your information @SunnyboyInTaiwan
Yea, I will call them before I go to make sure.
[quote=“newpain01”]Thanks for your answer.My only concern is withdrawal of the PayPal money in a Taiwanese bank, I don’t know if they have some procedures/tax filling etc for that.
I am not sure in which category are these earnings classified, as I saw here on the forum that freelance earnings under 1 million NTD are not taxed.[/quote]
When you set up the account in person at ESUN you can discuss it. It is also possible to select option 139-1 i think it is which is ‘personal family expenses gift’ or something like that. Not taxed. Just make sure everything is set up nicely and test that it works on your phone before you leave the bank (bring U.S currency to deposit and test)
The problem is there is a 2.5% fee to transfer foreign currency from the linked paypal to ESUN foreign currency account
I get around this by having a 2nd paypal that can exchange from AUD and USD to TWD. Then deposit the TWD into the ESUN paypal account. 0 charge to withdraw TWD into ESUN TWD account
The ESUN linked paypal account will almost certainly not give TWD as an exchangeable option (my australian paypal account does)
I have a similar question to the OP, are there any Taiwanese banks that can accept payment from foreign credit cards? We’re good to go with Paypal, but running into a lot of obstacles with credit card processing.