I was offered a teaching job from a school to teach elementary level kids. Pay is decent enough and the staff friendly…
The catch:
Me: I have my ARC through my JFRV, so I have open work rights. Let me get that for you so you can take care of my taxes, etc.
School: Ummmm, don’t worry that. We can just pay you cash.
Me: So you are not licensed properly? Shouldn’t I be paying taxes? What are the risks of me getting deported for working for you without paying taxes?
School: None of our foreign teachers before have problem with this. The police never come here; we make sure of that by pay some money.
My question to you experienced and all-knowing forumosans is: What kind of trouble can a JFRV holding, open ARC holding foreigner get into for working at an unlicensed school and not paying taxes?
Don’y worry, I wont be taking the job. However my curiosty leads me to wonder…
If caught would a JFRV ARC holder be deported just like anyone else, or would that person be fined the equivelent of the unpaid taxes, slapped on the wrist, and sent on their merry way?
I have no knowledge of the JVwhatever thing, but teachers I have known do did this on normal visas have been asked what they were living on when they filed their taxable income as ‘zero’ for a whole year. I don’t know anyone who’s tried to swing the ‘kept boy’ angle with the tax office.
If you are caught working then they can estimate what they think you earn and tax you on that at the rate of 20%, with a high rate of interest.
All of this info is from people I knew a while ago, so I don’t know if it’s accurate or useful.
I’m not sure about the married persons arc, but when i came to renew my current ARC, i had to get proof from the tax office that I had paid the appropriate amount of tax before they would renew it. Unfortunately my first job in this country employed me without paying tax, so i was required to make up the amount from my own pocket.
I think paying the tax yourself would be the only sensible way to go. You could try to negotiate a pay increase to cover it – I had a landlord once who, when asked for a tax receipt, said “Sure, if you pay 10% more rent”.
On the other hand, paying your own taxes might actually get the school in trouble …
IANAL, nor even particularly knowledgable about this stuff, but my guess is that this would be fine so long as you had an open work permit (eg, from a JFRV). If not, then freelancing is illegal anyway.
On a not-entirely-related note …
I’m told it used to be the case that the tax office were uninterested in work permits and visas, and that if working illegally you could pay tax there anyway without worrying. But I’ve also heard that lately there’s more collaboration between them and MOFA/BOCA/MOE/whoever.
I would imagine that some people who are working illegally are now trying to figure out whether they should pay taxes and hope no-one asks about their work legality, or dodge taxes and potentially have larger problems later.
It might be legal for you to work there if you have an open work permit through JFRV, but it is NOT legal for the school not to withhold taxes (as they are well aware).
The problem is that the school won’t get into trouble for it, but you could easily be liable for taxes. I’ve been in a situation with a Well-Known Unsavory Former Boss (let’s call him “Sam”) who, despite numerous protestations, did not in fact send the tax money on my salary to the Tax Office. At the end of the year, he issued me with a tax form listing my salary and declaring that zero income tax had been withheld. Guess who was liable for all that money. (Hint: it was not “Sam”, although the tax office was aware of his games.)
My take on it is this: there are plenty of opportunities to teach English in Taiwan. If you’re there on a JFRV, that means you have real, important ties to Taiwan and have a major interest in being able to remain there and work. Don’t risk it for one stupid job. The grey areas of the law are many and variable, and 99% of the time it is the foreigners who get stuck, not the local parties involved in playing the system.
[quote=“ironlady”]It might be legal for you to work there if you have an open work permit through JFRV, but it is NOT legal for the school not to withhold taxes (as they are well aware).
The problem is that the school won’t get into trouble for it, but you could easily be liable for taxes. I’ve been in a situation with a Well-Known Unsavory Former Boss (let’s call him “Sam”) who, despite numerous protestations, did not in fact send the tax money on my salary to the Tax Office. At the end of the year, he issued me with a tax form listing my salary and declaring that zero income tax had been withheld. Guess who was liable for all that money. (Hint: it was not “Sam”, although the tax office was aware of his games.)
My take on it is this: there are plenty of opportunities to teach English in Taiwan. If you’re there on a JFRV, that means you have real, important ties to Taiwan and have a major interest in being able to remain there and work. Don’t risk it for one stupid job. The grey areas of the law are many and variable, and 99% of the time it is the foreigners who get stuck, not the local parties involved in playing the system.[/quote]
Hand up here!!!
Over 4 years with the same boss (prior to my last employer), he ‘helped’ with the complicated tax process. End result, no taxes ever paid and supplied with FAKE tax documents that I believed were real and I had no reason to question it. End result, found out what happened, quietly asked the tax department what to do. Answer, pay the tax plus penalties. Nothing they could do against the employer. Left Taiwan. Lost shiteloads of money.
Even if it looks right it may not be. Simple answer… TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING YOURSELF AND TRUST FEW. :fume:
For those with the ha ha ha posts… forget it. Just be glad it wasn’t you.
Hand up here!!!