Overseas Income Tax

[myauq]

i work in Thailand and pay tax in the normal way through my wages. but i've also been worked as a freelance writer and researcher for a British company. they pay money into my Australian bank account.

i was wondering if this is taxable income, and if so which government should the tax be payable to? i don't use the services provided by the British government or Australian governments (as i am not living in those countries), so if it is taxed then it would be according to Thai laws right?

[spw888]

What is your nationality and country of domicile? Have you informed your own government of your "Non-Resident" status? I know UK & Australia like to tax everything they can, so you are probably liable in one of those.

It may not be liable for tax in Thailand if the money is not earned and is not paid here. Having said that it opens up another whole can of worms regarding your visa & work permit. If you are performing that "freelance" work whilst in Thailand then technically you should declare it and have it enetered on your work permit.

Is the British company paying tax at source, i.e. PAYE? If not (and possibly even if so) then you should probably be declaring the income in Australia.

The whole key is getting the payment offshore in a domain where they don't want to tax overseas income, such as Hong Kong, Channel Islands, BVI, Cayman Islands etc. My understanding is that if you can open a bank account and get the British company to pay to one of those jurisdictions you won't be breaking any laws.

I guess the big question is are you trying to comply with the law, or trying to find a way to get around it?