4 ms·

Depending on their country of origin. Most western countries have rules that make income originating in other countries taxable in their home country (and then

Depending on their country of origin. Most western countries have rules that make income originating in other countries taxable in their home country (and then often have bilateral treaties that avoid income being taxed twice). Quite a few digital nomads are tax frauds, though.

zoklet-enjoyer 4y ago
If someone is traveling in a tourist visa, why should they pay local taxes? They'll put money into the local economies where they're traveling just like any other tourist.
- DocTomoe 4y ago
  If someone is traveling on a tourist visa, they are not allowed to work in the host country. So now they are not only potential tax evaders both in their host country and their country of origin, a crime in many countries worthy of lengthy jail sentences, but also tack a visa violation on top of it.
  - sokoloff 4y ago
    If I’m visiting country C and read my work email or take a work Zoom call, have I violated my tourist visa? If I check that email all 6 nights in my 7 day stay? At some point, I think it flips from “a genuine tourist” to “an undocumented worker”, but I don’t think it’s easy to tell exactly when, especially if the actual job isn’t a local one. If I’m on a tourist visa and taking a local job, the country’s documented workers should rightly feel cheated. If I’m on a tourist visa and brought my own job from outside the country, I’m not sure those workers have nearly as much standing to feel I’m cheating them.
    - ben_w 4y ago
      > If I’m visiting country C and read my work email or take a work Zoom call, have I violated my tourist visa? If I check that email all 6 nights in my 7 day stay I would not be surprised, but that's a question for the lawyer and the answer may vary by which country you're in under a tourist visa. And likewise you may be owed overtime ;) > If I’m on a tourist visa and brought my own job from outside the country, I’m not sure those workers have nearly as much standing to feel I’m cheating them. Yeah well people are weird and not always consistent. From my point of view, people seem to care more about "immigrants taking our jobs" than they do about "foreigners staying at home and the factory was moved to where they already live" (not zero for the latter, this is just my opinion of the relative noise people seem to make).
    - zoklet-enjoyer 4y ago
      Exactly. It's not a foreigner coming in and taking a local job. It's a tourist coming in and doing stuff on their computer.
      - dorchadas 4y ago
        And if they're using local housing, and paying more than locals can reasonably afford, I'd argue that's worse for locals.
nicolas_t 4y ago
Not sure why you're downvoted... It's true a lot of digital nomads wilfully ignore the law and are unintentionally committing tax fraud. I know I did when I first started 16 years ago. Being a digital nomad does open great ways to pay very little tax but to do that legally is a more complicated process than just ignoring tax and not paying any attention to dual taxation agreements.
Macha 4y ago
I'm pretty sure "many Western countries" is literally only the US
- vinay427 4y ago
  I think it depends on how one interprets the parent comment. I read it as a home/residence country taxing worldwide income, which is true for most Western countries. The US is unique in taxing worldwide income (with notable exemptions) based on citizenship, but I’m not sure that’s what “home” referred to?
  - DocTomoe 4y ago
    > The US is unique in taxing worldwide income [..] based on citizenship This is technically correct, but many other countries use a similar principle called the worldwide income principle, in which all your income, no matter where it is being earned, is taxable in the country they originate in / spend most of their time in (rules vary widely, I am not a tax lawyer).
    - sofixa 4y ago
      You're mixing wildly different things. Regardless of where you come from, if you live in France you pay taxes in France on revenues obtained (even if they didn't originate from France). If you're a French citizen living in Canada, the French tax authority doesn't care about you. There are a few extremely rare exceptions to that, most notably the US, which wants to tax US citizens on any income generated, regardless of where they live and where the income is from. So a US citizen living in France getting paid from a French company has to pay taxes to France (due to living there) and the US (due to being a US citizen). There are tax treaties so the taxes paid to France would be deducted from what is owed to the US.
      - DocTomoe 4y ago
        World income principle works the same, only it thethers you based on main area of presence, not nationality. A Turkish citizen mostly living in Germany (-> Steuerinländer), but working in France for a French company will pay German and French income taxes (and may get the French taxes back from Germany after handing in his tax forms next year). It's the same thing, only that nationality does not matter, residence does.

zoklet-enjoyer 4y ago

If someone is traveling in a tourist visa, why should they pay local taxes? They'll put money into the local economies where they're traveling just like any other tourist.

DocTomoe 4y ago
If someone is traveling on a tourist visa, they are not allowed to work in the host country. So now they are not only potential tax evaders both in their host country and their country of origin, a crime in many countries worthy of lengthy jail sentences, but also tack a visa violation on top of it.
- sokoloff 4y ago
  If I’m visiting country C and read my work email or take a work Zoom call, have I violated my tourist visa? If I check that email all 6 nights in my 7 day stay? At some point, I think it flips from “a genuine tourist” to “an undocumented worker”, but I don’t think it’s easy to tell exactly when, especially if the actual job isn’t a local one. If I’m on a tourist visa and taking a local job, the country’s documented workers should rightly feel cheated. If I’m on a tourist visa and brought my own job from outside the country, I’m not sure those workers have nearly as much standing to feel I’m cheating them.
  - ben_w 4y ago
    > If I’m visiting country C and read my work email or take a work Zoom call, have I violated my tourist visa? If I check that email all 6 nights in my 7 day stay I would not be surprised, but that's a question for the lawyer and the answer may vary by which country you're in under a tourist visa. And likewise you may be owed overtime ;) > If I’m on a tourist visa and brought my own job from outside the country, I’m not sure those workers have nearly as much standing to feel I’m cheating them. Yeah well people are weird and not always consistent. From my point of view, people seem to care more about "immigrants taking our jobs" than they do about "foreigners staying at home and the factory was moved to where they already live" (not zero for the latter, this is just my opinion of the relative noise people seem to make).
  - zoklet-enjoyer 4y ago
    Exactly. It's not a foreigner coming in and taking a local job. It's a tourist coming in and doing stuff on their computer.
    - dorchadas 4y ago
      And if they're using local housing, and paying more than locals can reasonably afford, I'd argue that's worse for locals.

nicolas_t 4y ago

Not sure why you're downvoted... It's true a lot of digital nomads wilfully ignore the law and are unintentionally committing tax fraud. I know I did when I first started 16 years ago. Being a digital nomad does open great ways to pay very little tax but to do that legally is a more complicated process than just ignoring tax and not paying any attention to dual taxation agreements.

Macha 4y ago

I'm pretty sure "many Western countries" is literally only the US

vinay427 4y ago
I think it depends on how one interprets the parent comment. I read it as a home/residence country taxing worldwide income, which is true for most Western countries. The US is unique in taxing worldwide income (with notable exemptions) based on citizenship, but I’m not sure that’s what “home” referred to?
- DocTomoe 4y ago
  > The US is unique in taxing worldwide income [..] based on citizenship This is technically correct, but many other countries use a similar principle called the worldwide income principle, in which all your income, no matter where it is being earned, is taxable in the country they originate in / spend most of their time in (rules vary widely, I am not a tax lawyer).
  - sofixa 4y ago
    You're mixing wildly different things. Regardless of where you come from, if you live in France you pay taxes in France on revenues obtained (even if they didn't originate from France). If you're a French citizen living in Canada, the French tax authority doesn't care about you. There are a few extremely rare exceptions to that, most notably the US, which wants to tax US citizens on any income generated, regardless of where they live and where the income is from. So a US citizen living in France getting paid from a French company has to pay taxes to France (due to living there) and the US (due to being a US citizen). There are tax treaties so the taxes paid to France would be deducted from what is owed to the US.
    - DocTomoe 4y ago
      World income principle works the same, only it thethers you based on main area of presence, not nationality. A Turkish citizen mostly living in Germany (-> Steuerinländer), but working in France for a French company will pay German and French income taxes (and may get the French taxes back from Germany after handing in his tax forms next year). It's the same thing, only that nationality does not matter, residence does.