Paying taxes when your employer didn't take 'em off?

Legal Taxes
1

I worked at a place here in TPE from Sept to Feb. They paid me cash and said I had to pay my taxes on my own.

I wanna be legal and all, so I’m not sure how much of my taxes I should be paying… my ARC wasn’t issued till the beginning of October (though I started working there mid Sept) so should I only claim taxes from Oct-Dec? And do I need some sort of form from my former employer? I asked them about it, but they said no, but then I went to the tax office and they said yes, I need something from them. My former employer is a bit… well, I don’t trust them to be entirely legal about what they do. Basically, I don’t have any proof how long I worked there or how much I was paid monthly. They are being very helpful.

I do want to be legal about all this though. I’ve got my tax holding statement from where I worked Jan-July of '09, so that’s all good, but this other place is screwing me up a bit.

Any word?

2

They are not screwing you a “bit”. They are raping you. When you get your next ARC, you will most certainly need your tax stement and my guess is that it won’t be enough gross income without serious inquiry. Your primary ARC must have at least 14 hours per week and the tax people are not stupid. They know how much the average teacher is paid. Of course, if you have more than 14 hours per week and at a decent wage, it might, just might, go un-noticed.
Are they taking taxes from your wages? If so, that’s the “rape”.
Look, make them do it right. If they have taken money from you and refuse to give a tax statement they are in serious shit.
In that case, just explain that you don’t understand all this “tax stuff” and will ask the tax office to sort it out.
Amazing results. They know what is legal and they most certainly don’t want an audit. JMHO

3

I’m confused.

Sep - Feb // Jan - Jul 09

Are you saying the Sep - Feb was 08-09 or 09-10? Was it the primary employer on your ARC? Did you even have a work permit for them?

If you had a work permit for them, then they should prepare the “Withholding and Non-Withholding Tax Statement”. If they didn’t withhold tax, that box would show 0. I know of employers who tread the withholding for foreign workers the same as local workers: If the monthly earned income is less than a certain amount (I forgot what the number was), they don’t have to withhold…for locals. Then the local employee pays any amount due in the spring. They still have to have the official tax statement.

If you are not getting a tax statement from the employer, it sounds like you were off the books altogether.

You think that’s bad? I filled in at a school once that had a teacher break their contract. It was off the books, but the owner of the school withheld 6% of my pay, saying it was for tax. No work permit, no ARC, no tax statement. This after I helped them out of a bind, and even narrowly got out myself when we had a surprise visit from immigration. Two others weren’t so lucky and didn’t come back… I felt sorry for the director (not the owner), and helped cover extra students until they could get replacements. This was when the owner decided to steal 6% of my pay.

Moral of the story: If you are working illegally, well, you get what you get. If you are working legally, get everything in writing. including the end-of-year tax statement.

4

I worked there Sept 09 to Feb '10, then got “fired” because they said they didn’t have enough hours for me. Got a new job now though that I much prefer, but I’m in need of getting my ARC transferred. The last place was at least kind enough not to cut me off immediately. I understand I have grounds to sue them though for not giving me proper notice before termination.

I’m just gonna go to the tax office today and explain everything. I didn’t get any sort of tax statement from this last place, and they don’t seem interested in being straightforward with me. Yesterday they called my former employer in Kaohsiung and tried to get her to do something shady apparently, my manager down there called me immediately, but I wasn’t clear on what they asked her to do. Apparently they said they were trying to save me some tax money. Of course they never told me anything about that.

I had a valid ARC there, for what that’s worth. I’m going to the tax office today and just put it all on the table. Maybe even let them call my former employer while I wait.

5

I had a work permit and valid ARC and all. That statement seems to be what they don’t want to give me, and keep giving me excuses about why they don’t have it.

So I’m clear though… if I have to claim my own taxes, I should tell the people at the tax office i started working there when my ARC became effective, right?

6

[quote=“Injektilo”][quote=“CraigTPE”]

If you had a work permit for them, then they should prepare the “Withholding and Non-Withholding Tax Statement”. If they didn’t withhold tax, that box would show 0. I know of employers who tread the withholding for foreign workers the same as local workers: If the monthly earned income is less than a certain amount (I forgot what the number was), they don’t have to withhold…for locals. Then the local employee pays any amount due in the spring. They still have to have the official tax statement.
[/quote]

I had a work permit and valid ARC and all. That statement seems to be what they don’t want to give me, and keep giving me excuses about why they don’t have it.

So I’m clear though… if I have to claim my own taxes, I should tell the people at the tax office I started working there when my ARC became effective, right?[/quote]
I wouldn’t tell the tax office anything until you get the tax statement from the employer. If you don’t get one, it makes me wonder if you were even on the company’s books. If you were legally working for that particular employer, then I don’t understand how/why they can not provide you the tax statement.

7

[quote=“CraigTPE”][quote=“Injektilo”][quote=“CraigTPE”]

If you had a work permit for them, then they should prepare the “Withholding and Non-Withholding Tax Statement”. If they didn’t withhold tax, that box would show 0. I know of employers who tread the withholding for foreign workers the same as local workers: If the monthly earned income is less than a certain amount (I forgot what the number was), they don’t have to withhold…for locals. Then the local employee pays any amount due in the spring. They still have to have the official tax statement.
[/quote]

I had a work permit and valid ARC and all. That statement seems to be what they don’t want to give me, and keep giving me excuses about why they don’t have it.

So I’m clear though… if I have to claim my own taxes, I should tell the people at the tax office I started working there when my ARC became effective, right?[/quote]
I wouldn’t tell the tax office anything until you get the tax statement from the employer. If you don’t get one, it makes me wonder if you were even on the company’s books. If you were legally working for that particular employer, then I don’t understand how/why they can not provide you the tax statement.[/quote]

It doesn’t look like I’m going to get one from them. I just got a text from them asking me to wait till tomorrow and if they can talk to my new manager about this. I’m hesitant to do that though, because when they called my previous manager in KHH and asked her to do something a bit shady and she said no, they trashed me. And when my manager defended me (we had a great relationship, I worked there for two and a half years) they trashed her school, saying she was too nice to her foreigner teachers and that’s why they don’t know anything. This is what my KHH manager told me anyway.

Anyway, they’re offering to give me some paper that says I didn’t have any hours there in Nov. and Dec. '09, so then I wouldn’t have to pay any tax. Which sounds incredibly shady, and not something I want to do. This is also what they told my former manager in KHH

So, they wanna talk to my new manager, but I’m hesitant to let them do that, for obvious reasons. They don’t want to give me this paper though, I doubt they even kept any records. I"m pretty sure I was there legally though, seeing as my ARC seems to be perfectly valid and all.

8

So they are the company who sponsors your ARC? You didn’t have any other work permits at the same time?

The only conceivable reason they wouldn’t provide you this documents is that they are covering something up. Are you sure they withheld taxes? If they withheld taxes and have provided you no documentation, they might have done something similar to the employer I mentioned who withheld 6% but pocketed it.

Something isn’t adding up. If they had a work permit for you, and especially if they were your ARC sponsor, I don’t know how they could hide your income for that time period.

9

I wonder is there a web site that details all the documentation that should be given and when? If not, perhaps someone more experienced can help. I am wanting to make sure I don’t get in the same situation when I get to Taiwan. It might also help others in this situation.

Failing finding the information online, For the original poster, if you are really like taiwan, I suggest putting up the money for a lawyer who can sort it out for you and tell you what you need to do to make sure you dont get in trouble. The layer can possibly do the phone calling (or write letters) to the appropriate people to make sure they get their s*** sorted

10

CraigTPE, yes, they were my ARC sponsor, and yes, I’m pretty damn sure it was legal. I even got pulled over once by the cops, who took my ARC and ran it through a machine to verify it. I really don’t know what they’re trying to pull here, but I’m pretty sure they never took tax off my pay. I was paid once a month in cash, and it always lined up exactly with what I expected. Whenever I’d ask about taxes, they’d just brush it off and say I would have to pay them myself and I should ask someone else.

I think I got it sorted out though. I had a friend of mine call the tax office, and they said I could come in and give an estimate on how many hours I worked during my time there in 2009, and they would tell me how much to pay. Then in May they would look at the companies books and tell me if I owed more or less, but in any case I could get the paper I need to get my new ARC.

I called my former employer and told them this, and suddenly now they say they can get me the paper, but first they said I would have to pay them the tax they didn’t take off last year. I said no, I’d rather just pay the tax directly to the tax office and I would be going there tomorrow to deal with it. Then they called back and said they could get me this document after all, but not till tomorrow. I don’t really want to have to drive back there to meet them face to face and pick this up, but they insist they can’t just give it to my friend who still works there for me to get from him. Whatever, if they’re gonna be slow about, I’ll just go on my own.

Much thanks for your advice here.

pqkdzrwt - there’s a site called TEALIT that has a lot of info about paperwork and whatnot, but it’s not always clear and doesn’t always say what to do at times like this.

11

As for sending you the papers, have they never heard of 7-Eleven? Seriously, sending documents is done all the time. I just sent my passport for christ sake to my travel agent. Tell them the address of a local 7-Eleven and get them to send your papers there. No need to meet these asswipes.

12

Cool, sounds like you have it under control. For a minute there it sounded like you were going to walk into a government office and give them enough information to prove that you may/may not be working illegally (:

13

This is not brain surgery stuff. If you work for them they MUST take withholding. Some exceptions apply but I don’t think the average person willl meet them. If you have not received a tax statement by this date, your getting screwed. They took your payroll deduction and left you to hang in the wind. Again, as I have MANY times mentioned before, go to the tax office and explain. All northern Taiwan tax offices have workers who speak very good English. Explain what happened and request their help in resolving the situation. There are still a few schools out there that think they can cheat you out of your taxes. It has changed in the last few years and the tax office will be the "bitch from hell! They will sort it out and you will be vindicated. Don’t forget that if you want a new ARC, you will have to provide an A4 size tax statement that the tax office will provide you, upon request. If you don’t have it, go to the airport.

14

Email sent. Learn it, live it, love it. Let me know how it works out.

15

Thanks for your help all.

Hopefully I’ll learn more tomorrow.

16

The OP said they paid cash and didn’t take any deductions.

17

I have been in this position.
Simple you go to the tax office. State your earnings, work out your deductions and pay up.

Some employers stop tax at source, many smaller employers do not.

It is your responsibility to file in Taiwan. The employers should give you an income cert. but if they don’t simply tell the tax man. They are in the shit, not you. You pay the tax, not the employer remember.

18

Unless I missed something, the OP said he is having trouble getting the income statement. It’s not only a question of no withholding, but of no paperwork.

19

I have had no paperwork in the past due to a slow employer. No problem.
Blame the employer! Estimate your earnings-file- then the tax office will inform the employer who will be in the shit for not supplying the paperwork.
You must insist that you asked the employer for the paperwork frequently to no avail!
The onus is on the employer.