6 ms·

Since you talk so casually about travelling the world, please read your contract and local regulations to know what you can and can't do. For example, one can't

Since you talk so casually about travelling the world, please read your contract and local regulations to know what you can and can't do. For example, one can't just move to San Francisco and work from there. If you can, understand the legal (mostly taxes) implications.

sneak 4y ago
It's also possible to leave your mailing address the same (I like to use a post box) and blur your background on calls and use a VPN router and simply... not tell anyone. Where you sleep really isn't anyone else's business. This whole "you can't work from $PLACE while remote, it's illegal!" thing is super overblown. Just keep your mouth shut and live your life. Your coworkers/customers have no need to know with regards to your physical location.
- sulam 4y ago
  I seem to recall a phrase involving death and taxes. Be smart, pay your taxes and don’t have that hanging over your head the rest of your life.
  - sneak 4y ago
    Yes, you can and should pay all of your taxes in the place that the tax authorities believe you reside.
  - senorrib 4y ago
    That only matters where you keep your networth. If you die “overseas”, whatever your residency/networth is is the jurisdiction that would apply.
- remflight 4y ago
  You couldn’t be more wrong. You need to pay taxes where you reside. If you’re working abroad you need to pay taxes where you’re working. Professional athletes pay taxes to every state where they play a game. You are advocating for evasion of taxes as well as working in a country on a tourist visa. In the US that can get you as lifetime ban. EDIT: the company you work for has to pay things like payroll taxes and unemployment to the country as well, unless you are a contractor. So the company itself is on the hook if you are working from another state/country.
  - sneak 4y ago
    > You are advocating for evasion of taxes as well as working in a country on a tourist visa. Please read my comment again (carefully) and consider redacting your false accusation.
    - remflight 4y ago
      I read what you wrote and stand by everything that I said. You are advocating tax evasion (not paying taxes to the country and state where you are residing) and breaking the terms of your tourist visa by working. Your comment in case you edit or delete it: “ It's also possible to leave your mailing address the same (I like to use a post box) and blur your background on calls and use a VPN router and simply... not tell anyone. Where you sleep really isn't anyone else's business. This whole "you can't work from $PLACE while remote, it's illegal!" thing is super overblown. Just keep your mouth shut and live your life. Your coworkers/customers have no need to know with regards to your physical location.”
      - sneak 4y ago
        At no point did I advocate for any of those things. You'll also note that the concept of "the place you reside" is somewhat of a leaky abstraction. Where do you reside if you own 12 flats in 12 different countries and spend 30 days in each of them per year? Where do you reside if you are actually completely homeless and spend a month each in a different AirBnB living out of a suitcase in 12 different countries in a given year? The case of having two or three homes in two or three different jurisdictions is a common one, though it usually has some convoluted rules for which qualifies as your "domicile" or "tax home".
        asah 4y ago
        Jumping in: though enforcement is questionable, in many jurisdictions you are required to pay taxes based on where the work was performed, not your "primary residence." For example, during the recent tax year I moved, my accountant filed my taxes in two states for before and after the move. Typically, you designate the number of days in each location.
User23 4y ago
I knew an American working in the Netherlands without a permit. The company flew him home one weekend a month so he was technically on a 28 day business trip every month. They got him a fax machine and legally his office was his apartment in the USA.
- yardie 4y ago
  This might sound crazy, but why not get a proper visa to the Netherlands? Its not impossible to migrate Americans into Europe if you can show they are skilled. This does sound like short-term contract work where they didn't want to work through the channels (time constraints) so chose the most expensive way to do it.
  - trh0awayman 4y ago
    Because in many European countries the company is forced to open an office there to employ someone, which can bind them to European regulations.
    - badpun 4y ago
      The guy can work through NL-based contracting company, which will sell his services to mother company in the US, in exchange for a modest fee (say 10% of the income). It's done all the time when companies are affraid of local labor laws - they outsource that risk and hassle for the 10% extra.
  - tfigment 4y ago
    US taxes world income with some credit for foreign taxes paid. So if you don't have to pay taxes twice its easier and cheaper. Speaking from experience especially around investments.
    - devoutsalsa 4y ago
      My USA taxes are gonna suck this year because of crypto.
  - 4y ago

sneak 4y ago

It's also possible to leave your mailing address the same (I like to use a post box) and blur your background on calls and use a VPN router and simply... not tell anyone. Where you sleep really isn't anyone else's business. This whole "you can't work from $PLACE while remote, it's illegal!" thing is super overblown. Just keep your mouth shut and live your life. Your coworkers/customers have no need to know with regards to your physical location.

sulam 4y ago
I seem to recall a phrase involving death and taxes. Be smart, pay your taxes and don’t have that hanging over your head the rest of your life.
- sneak 4y ago
  Yes, you can and should pay all of your taxes in the place that the tax authorities believe you reside.
- senorrib 4y ago
  That only matters where you keep your networth. If you die “overseas”, whatever your residency/networth is is the jurisdiction that would apply.
remflight 4y ago
You couldn’t be more wrong. You need to pay taxes where you reside. If you’re working abroad you need to pay taxes where you’re working. Professional athletes pay taxes to every state where they play a game. You are advocating for evasion of taxes as well as working in a country on a tourist visa. In the US that can get you as lifetime ban. EDIT: the company you work for has to pay things like payroll taxes and unemployment to the country as well, unless you are a contractor. So the company itself is on the hook if you are working from another state/country.
- sneak 4y ago
  > You are advocating for evasion of taxes as well as working in a country on a tourist visa. Please read my comment again (carefully) and consider redacting your false accusation.
  - remflight 4y ago
    I read what you wrote and stand by everything that I said. You are advocating tax evasion (not paying taxes to the country and state where you are residing) and breaking the terms of your tourist visa by working. Your comment in case you edit or delete it: “ It's also possible to leave your mailing address the same (I like to use a post box) and blur your background on calls and use a VPN router and simply... not tell anyone. Where you sleep really isn't anyone else's business. This whole "you can't work from $PLACE while remote, it's illegal!" thing is super overblown. Just keep your mouth shut and live your life. Your coworkers/customers have no need to know with regards to your physical location.”
    - sneak 4y ago
      At no point did I advocate for any of those things. You'll also note that the concept of "the place you reside" is somewhat of a leaky abstraction. Where do you reside if you own 12 flats in 12 different countries and spend 30 days in each of them per year? Where do you reside if you are actually completely homeless and spend a month each in a different AirBnB living out of a suitcase in 12 different countries in a given year? The case of having two or three homes in two or three different jurisdictions is a common one, though it usually has some convoluted rules for which qualifies as your "domicile" or "tax home".
      - asah 4y ago
        Jumping in: though enforcement is questionable, in many jurisdictions you are required to pay taxes based on where the work was performed, not your "primary residence." For example, during the recent tax year I moved, my accountant filed my taxes in two states for before and after the move. Typically, you designate the number of days in each location.

User23 4y ago

I knew an American working in the Netherlands without a permit. The company flew him home one weekend a month so he was technically on a 28 day business trip every month. They got him a fax machine and legally his office was his apartment in the USA.

yardie 4y ago
This might sound crazy, but why not get a proper visa to the Netherlands? Its not impossible to migrate Americans into Europe if you can show they are skilled. This does sound like short-term contract work where they didn't want to work through the channels (time constraints) so chose the most expensive way to do it.
- trh0awayman 4y ago
  Because in many European countries the company is forced to open an office there to employ someone, which can bind them to European regulations.
  - badpun 4y ago
    The guy can work through NL-based contracting company, which will sell his services to mother company in the US, in exchange for a modest fee (say 10% of the income). It's done all the time when companies are affraid of local labor laws - they outsource that risk and hassle for the 10% extra.
- tfigment 4y ago
  US taxes world income with some credit for foreign taxes paid. So if you don't have to pay taxes twice its easier and cheaper. Speaking from experience especially around investments.
  - devoutsalsa 4y ago
    My USA taxes are gonna suck this year because of crypto.
- 4y ago