New working visa renewal requirement: Paid Tax Certificate

Legal Visa & Residency
1

My visa sponsor has informed me that there is a brand new requirement to renew a working visa: certification from the tax office that you have paid your taxes for the most recent annual period. I’m told that a receipt stub or copy of your return does not suffice.

I called the tax office today, and they confirmed that you can apply for this by mail or fax as well as in person. In person, you need to bring your ARC and passport. By mail or fax, you need to write a letter requesting the certificate, and include your ARC and passport number, your address in Chinese, and your signature (which must closely match that on your passport signature page). A photocopy of the passport signature page must also be attached.

(EDIT: It took a full week to arrive.)

I don’t know whether one can get this certification at the same time that one files taxes (I’ll try that next year) but I imagine so.

2

You used to have to get this every time you left the country, back when you needed an exit permit. Sheesh.

How about demanding a certificate from the employer each time that IT has correctly managed the taxes? :unamused:

3

:laughing: That must have been a long time ago! Didn’t they cancel that in the mid 90’s?

4

Yeah. It was a pain back in the day, though. Of course I worked back when there weren’t any ARCs, too, which shows how old I am. :stuck_out_tongue:

5

Yeah I remember the exit registration thing as well. At the time I remember remarking that the only other country I could think of with that requirement was Iraq. And that was long before any of the current shenannigans.

Good to see the “government” is keeping on top of the How Do We Make All Foreigners Move To China policy.

6

Just heard about this the other day. What, is there a big problem in Taiwan with us foreigners cheating on our taxes? I think I paid a grand total of 500 US last year. Yay for priorities!

…what makes this new rule even stranger is that our employers usually deduct taxes automotically. I don’t think i’ve even seen my tax papers once since I’ve been here…

I have no current ARC. Can I apply for last year’s taxes using the ARC I had that year?

7

There were ARCs around. You just didn’t have one is all… Fess up … I was around way back then in 1980’s and people had them. Albiet there werent many occupations you could get one for.

8

That was 1984. You didn’t need an ARC or a work permit to teach.

9

You usually don’t get withholding for under the table ‘second jobs’ etc. Of course the new policy doesn’t do anything about that either since you could just show the tax paid on your legitimate job. It also doesn’t address the problem of those entering on visitor visas and working. Typical bureaucratic procedure that makes it difficult for everyone and yet doesn’t actually prevent any problems.

10

This rule has been in effect for a while, I had to go down to the tax office and get a certificate this year and last, and possibly the time before too. It’s easy to do, just a hassle.

What wasn’t so easy this time, was that the desk monkey not only wanted the certificate, but also my tax withholding statements too! Trying to explain that you have to give your tax withholding statements over to the tax office when you pay your taxes was beyond the brainless drone’s ability to comprehend and we ended up having to get the company accounts department to make new copies.

11

Keep photocopies of all documentation.

12

Photocopies are so last millennium.

I have now started to scan all my documents and keep encrypted copies on my USB Flash drive and on my home server accessible via SFTP. If some office goon wants to get all bureaucratic on me, she can pay the printing costs.