眾律國際法律事務所

Please be aware that a foreign company must either set up a subsidiary company in Taiwan, or to establish a branch in Taiwan. Such company must be recognized by the competent authority before engaging business activities such as selling goods or providing services in Taiwan.

The procedure of setting up a subsidiary company includes:

1. Application for registration of the company name.

2. Scope of business.

3. Investment permission application.

4. Capital remittance.

5. Capital verification application.

6. Company registration.

Please note that this is only for the case of a company limited by shares.

The procedure of setting up a branch includes:

1. Application for registration of the company name.

2. Scope of business.

3. Foreign company recognition application.

4. Branch registration.

5. Capital remittance.

6. Proof of capital remittance submission.

7. Recognition and registration procedure completion.

There are several types of business entities in Taiwan. Including sole partnership, partnership, branch office, representative office, company/corporation which are further divided into:

a. Company limited by Shares.

b. Limited Liability Company.

c. Unlimited Company.

D. Unlimited company with limited liability shareholders.

The two common types of companies are usually sole partnership and partnership. A sole partnership is a business entity which is owned and managed by one person. There is no minimum capital requirement for a sole proprietorship. Nevertheless, sole proprietorships usually remain small and with limited resources, which is difficult to expand its capital and scope. On the other hand, a partnership is formed based on a partnership contract in which two or more persons agrees to put contributions in common for a collective enterprise. Such contributions can be money, work, use of property or other resources. Each partner’s contribution would need to be assessed, or is assumed to be equal to the average contribution of the other partnership.

Tax Matters:

According to the Tax Collection Act, sole proprietorships and partnerships must maintain independent accounting books and have the obligation to preserve all relevant proof of expenditure and income.

Any people who is staying in Taiwan for less than 183 days within its tax year, is considered to be a ‘Non-Resident’ for taxation purposes. Non-Residents would pay a flat rate of 20% on all income.[1] Therefore during the first 183 days, all foreigners need to pay a flat rate of 20% on all income in Taiwan. However, if you as foreigners can prove that you have stayed for more than 183 days, the government will give a tax refund if the effective tax rate is less than 20% for the following year.

Once you stay in Taiwan for more than 183 days within the tax year, you would be treated as resident of Taiwan for which your individual income tax will be assessed by the taxable rate below.

Your taxable income would be calculated as your annual gross income in Taiwan, minus various exemptions and deductions.