I don’t need a work permit as I am married to a Taiwanese national.
About not paying tax on fees taken from overseas clients, I am not wrong - if I am, then I’ll post on here if I get deported.
When I began setting up over here, I initially read a few posts about the subject on this website. I then had a look at an official website, which mentioned something vague about tax only being charged on fees earned from companies on Taiwanese soil. I got a Taiwanese in-law to check that I wasn’t reading the Chinese wrong - they confirmed that my understanding was true, but that the policy sounded a little bit vague. I wanted to do a bit more digging first, so I got another in-law (the accountant… not “my” accountant) to make a few inquires at work. He thought that it sounded odd, but after asking around and checking a few documents, which he printed out for me, it turns out that I was right, and the brackets for fees earned from overseas 海外所得 <1,000,000 NTD you do not need to report and it is not taxed. 1,000,000 - 6,000,000 NTD you do need to report, but will not be taxed, and anything over 6,000,000 NTD will be taxed. This might not stop people from trying to tax you extra or claim whatever, but if you’ve done your homework, then you can show them the necessary documents.
Again, it only applies to fees taken from agencies overseas (so the overseas thing is pretty relevant) and I’m not trying to evade tax, I didn’t come here to avoid tax, I have a legit job. I personally find it strange that I don’t have to pay tax for these fees, as back in the UK they didn’t care where the money came from - just that I was earning it in the UK. It just so happens that there’s a bit of a tax loophole, making it more profitable to take on cases from non-Taiwanese agencies. As for dire consequences… the worst thing they could do would be to change the law, and then I’d be taxed. Hardly the end of the world though.
This might be useful for other translators who are married to Taiwanese or hold an APRC (that was my intention). Though I recommend that they do their homework - or get an accountant who knows about this.