Taxes for 9B editing for a guy with an ARC - Prepay?

[loaker]

Hi, all--
Thanks for your input. I qualify as a #2 exemption as my wife is native Taiwanese and I have a registered permanent residence in Taiwan. Also, my work is clearly gao fei 9B, so the legality of my work here is moot. I simply would like to know if I need to put some sort of prepayment information in my invoice, since only one of my customers has ever been asked for it by his accounting department. Any thoughts along those lines? Thanks, --loaker

Incidentally, the relevant article of law for this is Article 48 of Taiwan's Employment Services Act, which specifies the requirements for foreigners to work in Taiwan. It gives the following three exemptions to the work permit requirement [translation from Lawbank.com.tw]:
1. A foreign worker to be employed as consultant or researcher by the respective government or their subordinate academic research institutes.
2. A foreign worker has married a national of the Republic of China with a registered permanent residence in the Republic of China and has been permitted to stay therein.
3. A foreigner employed at a public or registered private college/university within six months in the field of a course of lectures or an academic research approved by the Ministry of Education.

If a foreign national earning 9B income falls in one of the categories above, they are cool.

[Rotalsnart]

Hi, all--
Thanks for your input. I qualify as a #2 exemption as my wife is native Taiwanese and I have a registered permanent residence in Taiwan. Also, my work is clearly gao fei 9B, so the legality of my work here is moot. I simply would like to know if I need to put some sort of prepayment information in my invoice, since only one of my customers has ever been asked for it by his accounting department. Any thoughts along those lines? Thanks, --loaker

In that case I would simply touch base with each client, at the time you accept an editing job, about how you intend to bill them (or how they expect you to bill them). Unless you wish to set up a registered business so that you can issue official invoices, then the natural approach I think would be to ask each client to withhold tax for you at the time of payment and to issue you a withholding statement. (If the clients are individuals who cannot issue withholding statements, you may have to self-report the tax.) You can prepare a checklist of things that need to be discussed at the time you accept a job, such as whether they need you to issue an (informal) invoice, whether you need to put prepayment information in the invoice, whom you should send your invoice to, at what (email) address, what your tax withholding rate should be etc, and prepare a photocopy of your APRC to send them at the same time for their records.

(BTW sorry to get off track earlier as was not aware that your are married to a local citizen. I've lately seen a number of cases of people running into trouble for working illegally, some of whom were not conscious at the time that what they were doing was technically illegal -- so sometimes I'm too quick to harp on this issue.)

[loaker]

Thanks, folks. As I understand it, the key here is to check with each client to see how taxes can be withheld on my behalf. I can easily do that. Thanks, --loaker

[ScarletLetter]

As for the third provision in Article 48 of the Employment Services Act, does this mean that someone employed at a local university can work at ANY other outside job with only an ARC (one work permit) -- not just 9B editing jobs?

Article 48
Prior to employing Foreign Worker to engage in work, Employer shall apply to the Central Competent Authority for Employment Permit with relevant documents submitted.　However, The following foreigners are exempted：

1.A Foreign Worker to be employed as consultant or researcher by the respective government or their subordinate academic research institutes.

2.A Foreign Worker has married a national of the Republic of China with a registered permanent residence in the territory of the Republic of China and has been permitted to stay therein.

3.A foreigner employed at a public or registered private college/university within six months in the field of a course of lectures or an academic research approved by the Ministry of Education .

[Rotalsnart]

My understanding is that specific work eligibility is still required for each job. Just because a person qualifies for a certain job under Article 48 does not mean that they can also perform another job that is not specified under Article 48. The tax category 9B is irrelevant to work permit issues -- it is purely a tax break -- as I mentioned in my earlier posts in the thread.

[bigduke6]

On the subject of taxes, I have a question.

I have a JFRV through marriage.
A lot of my work is now private lessons.
I therefore need to self declare my income.
Must I only do this at the end of the tax year, when it is time for my wife and I to submit our return.
Obviously there will be no withholding of taxes by the folks I teach.

Thanks