professor__doom t1_j5pt8mc wrote
Reply to comment by KeystrokeCowboy in TikTok reportedly threatened to terminate remote employees who don't live near their assigned office location by Sorin61
>Are you telling me people who go on vacations to other countries are legally barred from doing any work remotely in that country
That is entirely dependent on the laws of the host country. Most countries, USA included, forbid paid work while on a tourism/visitor visa. Even a "business visa" to the USA is granted for a specific purpose, i.e. attending a meeting or conference, signing a contract, assessing a property, etc. It's not for regular, day-to-day work that could be done in your home country.
KeystrokeCowboy t1_j5ptu4g wrote
Buisness Visa? Seriously. You think someone who is going to another country and getting that is the same as someone going on vacation which nobody gets a buisness visa for? If someone is going on vacation and working on some issue remotely for a company not in that country there is zero liability. If that same employee just stays there and takes up residency, that company is not liable unless its proven that employee submitted paperwork.
professor__doom t1_j5q1dfy wrote
Just because a law is hard to enforce (especially on individuals), doesn't mean that it COULDN'T bite you in the ass (especially if you're an employer).
Vacation visa (B-2): no work at all. Period.
Business visa (B-1): Work for a specific purpose, nothing that could be construed as "putting an American out of a job" (because that's what politicians care about).
USCIS does not fuck around with this. If you want to even VOLUNTEER in the USA you will need a J1 visa in many cases.
Q: if you earn income in a country, whether legally or not, are you liable for income tax to that company's tax authority?
A: Generally Yes (of course, the tax itself may be offset by foreign tax credits or other exemptions)
B: If you earn wages, is your employer liable for employment taxes where you earn it?
A: Also yes, with the same caveats.
It all comes down to enforcement and whether it's worthwhile for the tax authorities to go after you. But generally, employers make better targets than individuals. An individual (a) has less money, and (b) may just say "well I just won't ever go back to the country where I owe money." A company doesn't have that luxury if it wants to retain its clients in that country. Also, companies make juicer ATM's for tax authorities to penalize and collect from.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Wait until you learn about data protection regulations - and the (often stricter) terms that clients sometimes dictate.
Source: work for a small head count multinational and have dealt with some of these situations regarding foreign national employees and "workcations." Maybe we could get away with it. In fact, we PROBABLY could get away with it.
But we strictly don't do the "fuck around" part, because we don't want to get bit by the "find out" part.
KeystrokeCowboy t1_j5qioc0 wrote
So you don't have any proof of an employer having to pay back taxes for an employee with the example given. Got it. F
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