Here are a few photos from the Tweak Town Computex party. Tweak Town is a TTZ Media affiliate and is owned by my friend Cam Wilmont. Cam moved to Taipei about a year and half ago and has been living here ever since.
Originally from Australia, Cam wanted a change of pace and decided to run Tweak Town from Taipei to be closer to his hardware sponsors. As an Australian citizen, Cam is able to enter Taipei Visa exempt for 30 days. How has he managed to stay in Taipei for 1.5 years? Every 30 days Cam would fly to the nearest Visa exempt city, which is Hong Kong, spends a day there, and then fly back to Taipei for another 30 days of Visa free stay. He has since found other ways to stay longer.
The tax situation is extremely interesting. Like Canada, Australia taxes its citizens based on residency – if you don’t live in the country, you are not subject to income tax. As far as Taiwan is concern, Cam is just a visitor and therefore not subject to income tax either.
Cam is not the only person I know who is using the power of the Internet to stick it to the tax man. My friend Carl runs his sites from Hong Kong. He has a little better deal than Cam when it comes to Visa entry. Hong Kong allows Canadians to stay 90 days without a Visa and the nearest Visa exempt city is Macau, which is a short hydrofoil ride away.
Here’s a few photos from the party. I bet you’re wondering how I get any work done?
