I was recently told by my accountant that there was a new tax policy just introduced last month. It states any total income at a single work place below $26,000nt is taxed at 6% regardless of how long a foreigner has been in Taiwan. So this is good news if you make less than $26,000nt, you won’t have to endure the 20% tax rate from January to the first of July. I work at two different schools, so I noticed that at one school where I only have 2 classes so my income is less than $26K there, I was only taxed at 6% last month, but at my second school I was taxed at the normal 20% because I made more than $26K there. This constant change in tax policies is very annoying and confusing.
Are you talking tax or withholding? People confuse the two all the time.
Tax withholding, the amount your company deducts from your pay check every month. It would normally be 20% from Jan-July 1st for foreigners on a normal ARC, but this new policy makes it 6% if you make under $26,000nt.
It’s interesting but I don’t know anyone making under that amount except maybe a local taxi driver or 7-11 employee. Doubt it will help any furriners.
I still pay 6% and make over 26000. It’s not what you make anyway, it’s what the school claims you make, which is significantly less than the real figure.
It will help foreigners, particularly those with jobs at more than 1 place. Like in my case, I work at 3 different schools (legally). Of course if you add all the income together it is way over $26,000nt, but at 2 of those schools my income is less that that. So at those 2 schools now where I make less than $26K, I only get 6% on my with holding.
Doesn’t make sense, sorry. ‘Your income’ surely means how much money you earn a month in total. That you happen to earn less than 26,000 at one school concerns your wages from that job for that month, not your ‘income’ for the month.
At least, that’s how I, and probably any other tax office in the known universe, would understand it. You sure about this?
I’m positive about this new policy. I work at two different schools, and talked to both accountants about this, and they both gave me the same story. They pay me separately, so I asked both of them why I was getting taxed at 6% at one place and 20% at another place. This was the explanation I was given. It could all be bullsh*t and one of these schools is screwing me over, but I highly doubt it, since I asked two different accountants at two separate schools who don’t know each other, and got the same explanation and news about this new policy.
As long as you are sure of the policy, why ask? Go for it. Let us know what happens.
Excellent! Bit hard to fathom why, mind you. Ease of accounting?