Taiwan citizen receiving USA royalties. Withholding?

Hello,

My wife is Taiwanese and is not a citizen of USA. She is not a green card holder, either. We live in Taiwan.

She has a business in Taiwan receiving royalties from Steam (Steam, a USA company, sells digital copies of video games). Once per month, Steam pays out the royalty.

She is subject to 30 percent withholding. Steam holds this.

I am confused how EIN stuff works and whether or not it does anything in Taiwan, a non treaty country.

  1. If she gets an EIN, would that forgive the withholding in USA?
  2. If she gets an EIN and the withholding is gone, would she still owe anything to USA? Or only worry about her own local (Taiwan) taxes?
  3. Would she need to file anything quarterly with USA? Or annually?
  4. Any general tips to prevent double taxation?

Thanks!

Which game is it?

Withholding applies to all foreign entities, regardless of whether they are people or companies. There are typically only two ways to avoid it: (1) move to or set up a company in the US, or (2) move to or set up a company in a country that has a tax agreement with the US. In either case, you would be liable to income taxes under these jurisdictions.

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