Self employed in Taiwan

[Alex2010]

I have Gold Card and I’m thinking to start working as self-employed after retiring at 65. But need some clarification and/or opinions of following:

1. Can I work as self-employed (freelancer) without having my own company? I believe it’s possible, of course need to register for tax, insurance etc. Because at beginning it would take time to get jobs, so making my own one-man company sounds not necessary at this stage. Any opinion or advice?
2. When registering as self-employed is it possible to have business name, like a brand name, not a company?
3. Finally, if all goes well and I can have regular business, sure I want to make my own company. And then:

• Do I need to have Taiwanese citizen as partner/employee in my company?

4. I live in Kaohsiung, can anybody advice for reliable and reasonable priced consultant since I don’t speak Mandarin?
   Appreciate of any input!

[qwert_zuiop]

See those threads:

Remote income from overseas - Taxes?

I have a work based ARC here. If I start working for an overseas company on a contract basis, should the income coming from overseas be declared? Keep in mind that the amount will be deposited to my Taiwanese account. I just called the NIA and contrary to what’s mentioned here, I was told that the income needs to be declared - The proof being the business contract + my passbook copy indicated the money wired. Anyone who could help me on this? Thx

Working remotely for a self-owned foreign company without an office in Taiwan - legal?

Hi, I am planning to relocate to Taiwan on a Gold Card soon (given that my Gold Card application will be accepted). My goal is to continue working remotely for my former employer in Europe. However, they are a small company without a dedicated HR department, so in order for them to accept my proposal to work remotely, I need to offer them a way they can “hire” me without causing them too much effort in terms of taxes, compliance and stuff. So them actually hiring me as an employee is most like…

Investment Commission for foreigners registering company

I understand that foreigners from abroad coming to Taiwan to open businesses need to get approval from the Investment Commission, and this can take around 2 months. Does this also apply for foreigners who are already resident in Taiwan with ARC or can we skip this step? I’ve found conflicting information online.

[Marco]

@Alex2010

Can I work as self-employed (freelancer) without having my own company? I believe it’s possible, of course need to register for tax, insurance etc. Because at beginning it would take time to get jobs, so making my own one-man company sounds not necessary at this stage. Any opinion or advice?

On a Gold Card, I believe you have an open work permit so that should not be an issue.

@Alex2010

When registering as self-employed is it possible to have business name, like a brand name, not a company?

You’d probably be opening a sole propietorship in this case. But you might as well do an LLC at that point.

@Alex2010

Do I need to have Taiwanese citizen as partner/employee in my company?

No.

@Alex2010

I live in Kaohsiung, can anybody advice for reliable and reasonable priced consultant since I don’t speak Mandarin?

Here is the Taiwan CPA I recommend and use. He speaks English. Rates are reasonable.

It’s not an issue he is in Taipei. Contact him and he can work it out with you.

[Alex2010]

Many thanks!!

[Satellite_TV]

I use an “enterprise” as a sole proprietor not a company.
Just need small amount of capital.

Easy for any accountant to setup. you can issue all the normal business tax receipts and open a business bank account with this.
This is my business name in Chinese. Would not say its a brand.
Also Chinese name and English translation name doesn’t have to be exact.

福爾摩沙衛星企業社

[Explant]

Big thing is having the open work permit. Dknt let immigration staff tell you it’s not important, happens sometimes. Get the physical card, and don’t break their face requesting it hehe.

Also note what industry you are in. For example if you are related to food (loads of foreigners doing markets and related now), you need to register a food ID number. Not a company. But at least an ID for said industry. Check your specific industry if there may be similar things involved. Especially if they touch of public safety and/or security. There may be other regulations apart from your visa status.

Also note that some industries are banned for foreigners, regardless of visa type. Not a citizen = no go. Some examples being defense, agriculture, fisheries, forestry probably numerous others.

@Satellite_TV

I use an “enterprise” as a sole proprietor not a company.
Just need small amount of capital.

Easy for any accountant to setup. you can issue all the normal business tax receipts and open a business bank account with this.
This is my business name in Chinese. Would not say its a brand.
Also Chinese name and English translation name doesn’t have to be exact.

福爾摩沙衛星企業社

Opening a limited company in Taiwan now is VERY easy. Require capital is $1nt. That is to say, just need a number on the books, and it doesn’t matter how little. Of course, in business, there are many nuances about laying the game. But legally, it’s easy, fast and cheap. The only hurdle is a registered accountant is required, by law, to process so.e paperwork. Meaning you can’t actually setup without a lice set person stamping some sheets of paper.

Ltd companies are often for.ed with small busi esses for loan reasons as borrowing from banks works better with such. And manny companies open a dozen small businesses to avoid tax. It gets deep fast. But basically easy to open and start. Advantage of a Ltd company is the tax is VERY cheap. High 1s to low 3s percentile.

Note this doesn’t touch on a person’s visa issues, just companies in general.

[Alex2010]

Many thanks again! My profession is naval architect and marine surveyor, already been working since 2021 in Taiwan under special work permit. After retirement from my employer company my plan is to continue doing the same, after more than 30 years in the businesss. This is why I applied for Gold Card. Plan is to stay here and to work as a freelancer, two (say three) reasons:

• to have some bacon on top of my pension
• to keep doing something useful, cannot stay home or play golf all day like some people do, not for me
• climate is healthy and comfortable, country is safe and people are nice which all makes a valid reason

[Explant]

@Alex2010

Many thanks again! My profession is naval architect and marine surveyor, already been working since 2021 in Taiwan under special work permit. After retirement from my employer company my plan is to continue doing the same, after more than 30 years in the businesss. This is why I applied for Gold Card. Plan is to stay here and to work as a freelancer, two (say three) reasons:

• to have some bacon on top of my pension
• to keep doing something useful, cannot stay home or play golf all day like some people do, not for me
• climate is healthy and comfortable, country is safe and people are nice which all makes a valid reason

Very cool. But being military related, I would just assume there may be huge amounts of special laws in regards to owning companies related to national defense and you not being a citizen. If you were to say be involved with shipping, logistics, fisheries etc it may be easier to open a consulting firm, factory etc. But no idea personally, seems like something to speak with a lawyer about, especially if you are wanting to get into manufacturing which tends to be far more troublesome than things like consulting. If, by chance, you are married to a local citizen, having companies in certain fields owned over half by taiwanese, it may be viable that route as well. Something to look into anyway.