well, I guess Mexico sounds great if you have some kind of higher tolerance for risk, or maybe are unlikely to ever be targeted by any tax authority due to low income and cash flows. But when is an income low enough to not be of interest to a large tax authority that might think they have some rights to collect your taxes, no matter where you spend time? These days its best to put the good old days into the history basket and be tax savvy and be aware of the taxes you could be paying in your home country, in any country where you have ties of substance, and in Mexico... and be ready to explain yourself if any one of them comes knocking on your door.
The modern international trend is: If you cannot show tax residency and taxes paid in your country of staying then hey we will tax you in our country where you do have some ties. Because by some measure it seems not paying taxes in the country you live in means you are declaring you never made the tax shift from your previous country (or from a ties perspective). Maybe less of a problem for very low income earners... but a risk to watch and manage for higher earners and companies. Seems some people in Mexico still enjoy the good old days of nobody chases them... but the trends are clear and the international exchange of data and the increasing ability to track everything everyone does will start to affect foreigners in Mexico like it is has in other countries. Initially maybe you wouldn't be so concerned about what the Mexican government does... but maybe care more about what your home country or wherever your income flows from country/ies might do. Maybe they have big tax gathering armies and lots of fine tech to help them. Under this harder international taxation trend... assuming you will be safe into the future in a "nobody knows nobody cares" country model is a pure gamble unless you have a tax strategy that stands up to scrutiny. If in doubt, then it could be wise to set aside all the taxes you should be paying in Mexico into some safe nest egg in case the worst case happens... and safer still to be putting aside the amount of taxes your home country (or countries with ties to) might put their hand out for once they know you are not paying taxes somewhere. Do those countries have laws that permit collecting back taxes with penalties? How harsh are those penalties? Do they have statutes of limitation on tax gathering?
There are other angles to consider too. Many visa programs these days specifically exclude anyone with a criminal record and such like... offences can be very minor really. Just saying... the good old days are no longer the same in a growing list of countries now... and tripping up in one country can have impacts on your future options in other countries. Expect doors to close and rules to get tighter over time... it's the clear international trend as governments spend more than they 'earn' and go looking for anybody who can help balance their deficits. Have your tax story ready. Some old timers might actually die before the trends catch them
. ... but younger folk must be more tax savvy.
The modern international trend is: If you cannot show tax residency and taxes paid in your country of staying then hey we will tax you in our country where you do have some ties. Because by some measure it seems not paying taxes in the country you live in means you are declaring you never made the tax shift from your previous country (or from a ties perspective). Maybe less of a problem for very low income earners... but a risk to watch and manage for higher earners and companies. Seems some people in Mexico still enjoy the good old days of nobody chases them... but the trends are clear and the international exchange of data and the increasing ability to track everything everyone does will start to affect foreigners in Mexico like it is has in other countries. Initially maybe you wouldn't be so concerned about what the Mexican government does... but maybe care more about what your home country or wherever your income flows from country/ies might do. Maybe they have big tax gathering armies and lots of fine tech to help them. Under this harder international taxation trend... assuming you will be safe into the future in a "nobody knows nobody cares" country model is a pure gamble unless you have a tax strategy that stands up to scrutiny. If in doubt, then it could be wise to set aside all the taxes you should be paying in Mexico into some safe nest egg in case the worst case happens... and safer still to be putting aside the amount of taxes your home country (or countries with ties to) might put their hand out for once they know you are not paying taxes somewhere. Do those countries have laws that permit collecting back taxes with penalties? How harsh are those penalties? Do they have statutes of limitation on tax gathering?
There are other angles to consider too. Many visa programs these days specifically exclude anyone with a criminal record and such like... offences can be very minor really. Just saying... the good old days are no longer the same in a growing list of countries now... and tripping up in one country can have impacts on your future options in other countries. Expect doors to close and rules to get tighter over time... it's the clear international trend as governments spend more than they 'earn' and go looking for anybody who can help balance their deficits. Have your tax story ready. Some old timers might actually die before the trends catch them
. ... but younger folk must be more tax savvy.
