If treating the foreign nationality as a separate person, I think this is the same as a Taiwanese working for a foreign client/company from Taiwan and then having the salary/payment remitted to another person in a foreign country and not reporting local Taiwan tax. The correct thing to do in this setup would be to report it as both income in Taiwan and then a gift to the foreign person.
Otherwise I can’t see how this isn’t tax evasion if tax bureau found out? You can’t simply divert your salary/payment for services rendered in Taiwan to a foreign person and avoid paying tax on it.
I think there’s a few important things to know in this case?
Where is the work being performed? In this case, it looks like Taiwan. I don’t think immigration status matters here. Someone who swam to Taiwan and is invisible to immigrations is still legally obligated to pay taxes.
What’s the reason for the money remittance to the foreign person? This would be recorded at the bank. Is it for services rendered? Or a gift?
Given that the work is being performed in Taiwan by the foreign nationality person (even if they don’t have an entry stamp to Taiwan) and that foreign person is being paid while physically in Taiwan, it seems taxes would be due.
I went to the tax bureau to ask. It was like don’t tell we don’t ask about your silent silent foreign identity we know nothing about. Why even tell us? Lol
I’m not sure if that’s just them saying, they don’t know how to deal with this. Most government workers work off existing checklists. They may not have a checklist for this scenario or they don’t have the authority to decide such things.
Except European courts actually follow rule of law and take these breaches seriously. Taiwan is mickey mouse shit where they don’t see a problem with it. Foreigner = not a tax resident or American
Arnnt services rendered here liable to pay tax? Products and services while a resident of Taiwan i mean. The 2 ID thing makes it interesting, but ultimately I wonder how far that goes under audit? As I said originally, get it all in writting. Have audio recordings as well. When/If a person gets investigated, those will surely be at least a one time get out of jail free card. If for nothing else other than the gov saving face.
The lucky thing with Taiwan being so rich is they don’t even raise an eyebrow until there is a complaint, some other criminal activity or the numbers are very very high. Most people skate under the radar with zero effort.
Yes, that’s what the Income Tax Act says. But only if the individual resides in Taiwan for more than 90 days per year:
The term “income from sources in the Republic of China” used in this Act refers to income of the following categories:
[…]
3. Remuneration for services rendered within the territory of the Republic of China, provided that this shall not apply to remuneration obtained from an employer without the territory of the Republic of China by an individual not residing in the Republic of China but staying in the Republic of China for a period of not more than ninety days during a taxable year;
However, article 2 states (of course, the Chinese version might use a different terminology):
For any individual having income from sources in the Republic of China, consolidated income tax shall be levied in accordance with this Act on his income derived from sources in the Republic of China.
I wouldn’t assume that one can easily argue that having multiple citizenships makes one multiple individuals.
So this approach sounds to me like the classic tax-avoidance trick “just don’t declare the overseas income - they cannot find out” with extra steps
Yeah, I noticed the same ambiguity and it’s why I mentioned complex interpretations above - I’m not sure whether this (i.e., SatTV’s second identity being paid for SatTV’s work being conducted in Taiwan for his Taiwanese business) would count as “remuneration obtained from an employer without the territory of the Republic of China”. There are like several levels of ambiguity here, and it seems like it might depend also on the employment relationship…
I think it’s NT$1 million exempt from declaring and NT$6.7 million exempt from tax, unless the values changed recently, but like @citizen86 said it’s not overseas income if the work was physically performed in Taiwan.
that @anon24369109 is legally not in Taiwan, nor anywhere else for that matter. Like being on a sea platform in the middle of international waters. Legally is nowhere. I can see why the tax bureau had to say that since, if brought in court, there is no law which would stick to it and force some sort of fiscal obligation.
Otherwise, if they say that he is tax liable, then Taiwan would set a precedent and start taxing anyone in the world with no legal demonstrable connection to Taiwan.
Is it fair? Likely not. Is it right? Doesn’t matter, that’s the law and to protect the law.
