I would appreciate your help: I work for a school in Sanxia,Taipei County from November,2009 and I’m still at this school.Up till now,I haven’t recieved a copy of my contract,nor any payslip.I only get an amount paid into my bank account on a monthly basis.Tax should have been filed end of May,2010 but till now,my school hasn’t given me any tax withholding forms or payslips so I can go and file.I asked them today regarding this and they told me that the school will declare ta as a company and after I worked for them for 6months,THE SCHOOL will refund me my tax money!! Is this ok and what about that form the tax office gives you as proof that you paid taxes? How will this make an impact on getting an ARC after mine expires in November? PLEASE help!!
It’s not OK. You appear to be working illegally. You are not paying taxes. The school can’t declare tax as a company including you. If they refund you any money, it will just be to try to keep you quiet. You have to pay taxes to get the tax form for your ARC. Point this out to your boss, and see what he/she says.
Do you have an ARC with this school? Why don’t you have a copy of your contract with them?
When dealing with your school, be polite and ask the questions bababa has suggested. You are in a dangerous situation because if the school terminates your contract without telling you you will lose your ARC and you won’t even know it. Stay aware of your immigration status and seek advice from the Council of Labor Affairs if your school delays or threatens you.
I went to the school,showing them an example of previous year proof of tax payment.To make a long story short,I got payslips out of them from the period I’ve started working there.That all.They say because the tax year is from Jan-Dec and I only started to work in Taiwan from Nov,I don’t have to file the taxes for Nov and Dec.I only start paying taxes from the beginning of a year??? I’ve asked where the nearest tax office in Sanxia is and they say they don’t know!!So,I’ll find the closest one and go there with the pieces of paper they gave me…Do you think I should look for other work,or go to the Tax office,file and keep my mouth shut and start a new job after my contract epires end of Oct,2010. Yes,I do have an ARC with this school.
aaaaaaaah, so if you’re only paying taxes from the beginning of the year…why did they take that 20% out of your salary? The moment schools start with stories and hiding things, you know something is wrong.
Where can I check my immagration status?
First of all, as already stated, your school is lying to you. Why wouldn’t you need to pay taxes in November and December again?
Next, you can check your immigration status with the NIA. I don’t know where your nearest office is, maybe Banqiao, but you should start reading pages like this: tealit.com/arc_transfers_and … etters.htm and searching through Forumosa to consider your options. I certainly wouldn’t keep my ARC with these lying shits.
Also, you say your contract expires at the end of October, but you don’t even have a copy. Get a copy of that pronto. It’s your first line of evidence when it comes to visiting the CLA (Council of Labor Affairs) when you run into trouble with lying employers.
You’re flat-out asking for advice, so this is what I’d do:
- Find another job and add the new employer to my ARC.
- Demand a copy of my contract from employer no.1
- Tell them that I don’t understand why I don’t have tax withholding slips from November and December and suggest that I’ll have to visit the CLA and the tax office to figure it out.
- Wait for them to magically produce correct withholding information for me or refund the money they held back for “taxes” for Nov/Dec.
Is your school run by gangsters?
Thanx so much.I really appreciate all the advice!!Well,I’m going to the Tax office on Monday.Found one in Ximen.So I’ll take all the pieces of paper they gave me and see what the Tax office has to say!!Then,I’ll apply for other jobs,asap!!Thank you so much!!The support means one hell of a lot!!!I’ll keep you and others posted on this matter!!!
The school took 20% off your pay in November and December, but didn’t hand over this money to the tax office or report it. So they should give it back to you, because you are going to have to pay taxes - or they should hand it over to the gov’t and give you a tax withholding statement.
I don’t know if you can go to the one in Ximen, that is for Taipei City only. I think you should go to the one in Banciao.Be very careful though, because they may ask you many questions and if it comes out that you’re teaching kindergarten (if you are) you can get in trouble. If I were you I would very politely tell my school that this is not the kind of school you want to work at, that you need one that is more legit, but that you really need those tax receipts otherwise you can’t find another job. They can be fined much more than you if it turns out they are lying about taxes, but you can be deported.
Update: Today was pay day and i’ve reached my 183days mark in the beginning of July.Today, my school paid me my salary AND 6months of tax money that they deducted so far.I asked my boss what now - must I go to the tax office and pay this amount over and he replied NO!!He said I just need to pay taxes before I leave Taiwan and it would be around NT 5000. The school’s accountant will issue me a proof of taxes paid…WTF??? WHAT must I do??
You must pay taxes! That’s what you must do. Your boss is likely under-reporting your earnings. This is very common in Taiwan. Check the amount of money he returned to you–is it 20 percent of everything you have earned since you’ve worked there? Do the math! Because, for the first six months of this year–AND for any time less than 183 days that you worked last year–that is what you owe.
You boss doesn’t want you to bother going to pay taxes now because he might get caught out. If you suspect that you are working illegally–and if you’re teaching kindy then you ARE–you need to go to the Labor Counsel and Foreign Affairs Police and ask for help. You can be deported. But sometimes they are willing to help and work with foreigners who have been taken advantage of.
If you find a new job, make it a condition of employment that you get tax reciepts each month. They don’t usually like to do this, but you do have the right to insist! This way, you can know that they are being up front. Learn your rights and look out for yourself.