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dynow · Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 1080

sparks wrote:

Silver305 · Joined: 04 Nov 2011 Posts: 5

lundjstuart · Joined: 01 Jul 2008 Posts: 211 Location: Warsaw, Poland

maniak · Joined: 06 Feb 2008 Posts: 194

Silver, that statute is well known to all English teachers in Poland and it ONLY applies to individuals hired to work in PUBLIC (state) schools or universities. If you have a bonafide contract which has the stamp of the director of a public school (liceum, gimnazjum, anything) or the Ministry of Education, then I guess your ok.

But, Im gonna go ahead and guess that your lack of a simple answer such as "Yes, I have a work permit." means you DO NOT have a work permit?
Please answer if you have a NIP number or are enrolled in the national health care system (do you have any health care???)

Holy shit. I am not saying this to be meanspirited, this is the bare faced truth right here.

You are working illegally in Poland.

I'll even go one step further, do you even have a Schengen visa? I hope to god you do.

*I also noticed one thing, you mentioned you dont have to pay any taxes. I hope you mean Polish taxes by that, and not US, as you are fully required to declare your income to the IRS.

Holy shit.

Did IH seriously tell you this was how they wanted to do things? Or was this your idea?

sparks · Joined: 20 Feb 2008 Posts: 632

Just to be picky... You don't actually have to PAY U.S. taxes, unless the dollar becomes, like, three to one on the zloty. The limit for last year was 91,000 dollars or so. You do have to file and claim your overseas income. Or, wait, that's only if you pay in the foreign country. Nevermind. Yeah, you should think about your taxes.

maniak · Joined: 06 Feb 2008 Posts: 194

US contract = US taxes

Though I think thats the least of her problems right now...

dynow · Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 1080

sparks wrote:

greggie · Joined: 07 Sep 2010 Posts: 31

Any of the IH North Schools or HI World employ you on an American Contract and dont pay tax or health insurance for you. Then when you go back to the UK,you eyes are opened when the Taxman asks where have you been for the last 3 years and gives you a tax-bill. Polish tax law is so figgety and hard to follow, but if you arent paying it here or anywhere else,its illegal i guess.

maniak · Joined: 06 Feb 2008 Posts: 194

She is not earning any foreign income if she is hired under a US contract.

In fact I dont she is earning any declared income per se, it's probably all in cash with the contract stipulating some minimum and the rest as a "bonus".

However, I am quite interested how the contract works on the US side of things, i.e., state and federal taxes, medicare, if she actually gets paid the federally mandated minimum wage, and if its even legal to be paid in a foreign wage. I know that some countries forbid this. How the hell someone could believe they dont have to pay any taxes is right now beyond me, I mean if it were that simple wouldnt everybody on the planet be doing it? All Id have to do is open up an LLC in the states, sign a contract with anybody in PL, get paid in cash, and not declare anything to anybody. Youd probably get away with it for a few years.

dynow · Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 1080

maniak wrote:

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

Master Shake · Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Posts: 1202 Location: Colorado, USA

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

Master, good for you. I'm not trying to say that it's enforced 100% everywhere. We all know it's not.

However, I DO know of a few Americans who HAVE been caught - and deported/banned. I expect Ukraine might be a bit safer than, say, Germany or Austria.

It's really got a lot to do with luck and where you go/don't go.

The point is that, if you're TECHNICALLY ILLEGAL, there are risks. I don't think anyone can logically argue that there aren't.

If people choose to take the risks, fine of course - we are all adults here. But in this thread, it's very unclear if Silver has any idea that she may well be illegal and possibly subject to penalties if caught.

It's unfair for people to be misled into thinking that they are not breaking the law and therefore are not at risk, whether the info comes from an unscrupulous school or optimistic personal anecdotes.

If the school in question is recruiting thus: "hey, come on over - you'll be technically illegal on both the tax front and in terms of a visa, but you probably won't get caught" and people go for it, fair enough. But if the school are implying that it's all OK and then putting people at risk without their knowing it, it's NOT OK>
We don't know that this is what is happening in this case, but it does sound that way.

I've got legal work/residence permits for the EU, in a separate document to my passport. I never volunteer to show the permit document - I always wait until I'm asked (I give over only my passport automatically). I can assure you that I'm often asked for the documents that attest to my legal status - and I promise I don't look shady in the least:-)

And yes, I've been asked on bus, train, and at multiple airports. As have other people I know/know of.

(middle of the night, too many edits - hope I'm saying it clearly now!!)

dynow · Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 1080

spiral78 wrote:

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

Thanks, dynow. That's what I was trying to say in the middle of the night:-)

I work for both a European university and a US company (abroad). I must report both my Euro income AND my US income to the IRS. Heck, I even have to declare my foreign bank accounts, which have absolutely nothing to do with the US and are jointly owned by my European spouse. This annoys me!!

Whilst I do not pay taxes on my foregn income (somehow have never quite made it to the magic 80-90,000 mark Embarassed

) it is illegal to not report it.

Here on Dave's for a while we had a US IRS agent (ex) who was moving into teaching. He famously noted that taxes must be filed even by the likes of us, and I recall his famous warning that the IRS regularly fries small fish for infractions such as failure to file.