Then, so long as you remain employed by your company, and so long as MoM continues to issue you an EP to work for that company, then you will always be tax resident in Singapore.theboomboom wrote: ↑Thu, 19 Nov 2020 11:56 amThanks Myasis Dragon. PNGMK is correct, I don't intend to leave Singapore and settle down elsewhere while retaining tax residency here. I know that is not possible. Instead, given that I am permanently WFH, I want to spend some time in other countries on tourist visas. Say spend a month or two maybe in Malaysia, then three months in Singapore and then two months back in my home country in the Netherlands, you get the idea. Basically, be more nomadic with a base in Singapore.
If I do this, I'll likely forego my lease in Singapore and stay either in Serviced Apartments or with my in-laws when I am back. To help me, my company is willing to put in a letter for secondment, but I am not sure how that works and if there are ifs and buts attached to that. Right now I am under the impression that I can do this provided I am in Singapore for >183 days, but I don't know what will happen if I spend less time here and don't settle down anywhere else. This will put me in a legal tight spot as I won't be a tax resident in Singapore, nor elsewhere, and technically avoiding taxes. This will bring its own sets of problems and is something I am looking to avoid.
You would only be considered as non tax-resident if, for example, your company brought you over for five months. You would get a five month EP and be subject to non-resident tax. But your EP gives you residency status otherwise.
Things get substantially more cloudy when it comes to taxation in the country in which you are actually living. As others have noted, there are plenty of people who travel extensively and are out of Singapore for most of the week, if not more. But, they are also in other countries for short periods of time and don't worry about the tax situation.
If you're living in a country for longer periods of time, then things change. I offer you the following from my experience.
I had an American who worked exclusively in Kuala Lumpur. He used my home address in Singapore and was on EP. I paid him into a Singapore bank account. He was able to stay in KL for extended periods of time because my company rented the apartment. He paid his taxes in Singapore. This was technically illegal as he was working full time in KL, contracted into a KL company.
I kept an apartment in KL for about 18 months, again, rented by my company. I flew between Singapore and KL at least once a week, and although I had about about a 100 Malaysian immigration stamps in my passport, never once was I asked why I traveled back and forth so much. I thoroughly overstayed any 90 day social pass, and should have gotten a work permit (I had a Malaysian company, didn't want the financial obligation of applying for a work permit).
My view is that if you are working remotely for your Singapore company, you affect nothing in the country in which you are working, and you will not be found out... if there were to be any issue in the first place.
I will counter this with one more example. I had one employee working for my Thai company under a work permit (a million Baht deposit commitment). I had another employee that was on EP in Singapore to my company who flew back and forth, spending 3 to 5 days each week in Thailand. One night, she flew back, and being a slow night, the immigration official determined that she had spent 93 days out of 180 already and refused her entry to the country.