Yeah, for sure. I was including sales tax etc in "what you consume". And there's actually a good argument to be made that countries that are popular digital nom

Yeah, for sure. I was including sales tax etc in "what you consume". And there's actually a good argument to be made that countries that are popular digital nomad destinations could benefit greatly from setting up a specific visa class for remote workers. Most visa laws do not take remote work into account, or else unenforceably prohibit other sources of income, and a country that took a careful look at the up and downsides and set something up accordingly could reap serious benefits. Morally it's a bit hazy at the moment. But if we think we'd be OK with someone living in our own country in three month chunks, while all the income they generate that is not spent on local goods/services essentially goes offshore, then no problem I guess. Add to that the fact that for the analogy to be accurate, our hypothetical person would likely speak our country's language at an extremely basic level, or not at all. edit: just saw your edit and now I will have to edit accordingly >_< edit: >Working visas allow people to take jobs from locals, which not what “digital nomads” are doing. This is getting into slightly different ground than my OP. In the Asian countries I'm familiar with, almost all visas for foreigners do not take jobs from locals--they are for jobs locals can't do for whatever reason. I agree with some of what you wrote about NZ and digital nomads' spending generally, but I still think it's reasonable to expect tax revenues from someone who is employed and in a country longer than 180 days. That's when the NZ government starts to consider NZ citizens as NZ tax residents--after 180 days in country. "Wanna stick around? Gotta contribute." is just my basic view I think, but thanks for your input.