Working as a contractor in Taiwan

[ayaniv]

Hi,

i got a work offer from a company in Taiwan.
as a foreigner they prefer to hire me as a contractor and not as their employee.
they ask me to give them receipts every month for what i did, and they will pay me the month after.
and of course i’ll need to handle everything by myself. taxes, insurance etc…
after researching the internet for some help it looks like a big headache for me. but it looks like i have no choice.

does anyone around here has experience with that type of paper work?
whom should i follow in order to get help in English for that issue?
where can i get the receipts from?

thanks in advance

[Okami]

You are in for a lot pain if you work legally. If you’re American, it just gets worse.

Legal:
Start company in your country, start rep office in Taiwan, get ARC, and wait.

Illegal:
Start company in your country, get multiple entry visa and fly out every 2 months.

I hope it’s a really good job offer. Check the Business forum forthe stickied post on starting a rep office.

Complete Guide to Opening a Rep Office 2011 Update

Preamble Although this was written a few years ago, it has undergone periodic updates and should still be accurate. Please let me know if you learn otherwise. First, thanks to fellow board member Llary, without whom none of this would have been possible for me, as well as my friend Vlad who helped me a lot during the process, and the other active posters here on Forumosa, most notably LostSwede. Basically you can register a rep office all by yourself, in 3 easy steps. But first some explana…

Best of luck

[ichbinjenny]

Does contractor mean the same as consultant?

As far as I understand it, you still need a work permit to do this kind of work to be legal. You might be required to start a company that is registered to do contractor/consultant work. Well, if you’re obligated to give the company receipts (official receipts) then you’re going to have to register with the government and get a tax ID number. You can do all the paperwork yourself or hire a CPA or otherwise experienced agent to set everything up for you. There is more information on this in the money/business section of the site.

[quote=“ayaniv”]Hi,

i got a work offer from a company in Taiwan.
as a foreigner they prefer to hire me as a contractor and not as their employee.
they ask me to give them receipts every month for what i did, and they will pay me the month after.
and of course I’ll need to handle everything by myself. taxes, insurance etc…
after researching the internet for some help it looks like a big headache for me. but it looks like I have no choice.

does anyone around here has experience with that type of paper work?
whom should i follow in order to get help in English for that issue?
where can I get the receipts from?

thanks in advance[/quote]

[TainanCowboy]

Contractor?

So, you’re doing building, remodeling or construction work?

Are you doing it to ‘Western’ standards?

If so, I might have some leads for you.

[ayaniv]

to be more specific - im not going to build any monument here in Taiwan.
and im not going to open any company.

the contract just says:

• The Contractor will invoice for Services actually performed and reasonable disbursements, at the end of each calendar month. Payment for the Contractor’s services and disbursements will be paid within 30 days of receipt of the billing.

• The Contractor shall be responsible for paying all other taxes or charges in connection with the provision of the Services under this Agreement.

is that mean that i need to open a rep office as described above?
how can i handle the taxes myself? do i need CPA?

thanks,

[ichbinjenny]

You need to ask if the invoice is a generic invoice or if it is an official Taiwan invoice (“invoice” here doubles as “receipt”). Get the answer to this first.

[ayaniv]

i asked. nothing official.

so it seems that the only problem i’ll have is handling the taxes myself.
any help with that? where can i start?

[Petrichor]

You could try contacting Jusregal, who will talk you through your options free of charge (or they did for us, anyway). I don’t see how you can do this without opening some kind of company though, for visa reasons. You need to look at the stickies in the Business section of the forum.

[ayaniv]

who is Jusregal?
i’ll also post it in the business forum.

thanks

[Petrichor]

[quote=“ayaniv”]who is Jusregal?
I’ll also post it in the business forum.

thanks[/quote]

They are an accounting company who can handle business applications to set up in Taiwan and have a good understanding of the legislation around working here. They advertise on this forum but here’s their website: jusregal.com/English.htm#A4 The contact number is at the bottom of the page.