For Rent

As part of the global economy, Taiwan does not escape the world economic crisis. And people begin to be worried. Exports have plummeted, unemployment grows, factories close down or must merge, there are rumours about the reliability of some banks. That is what newspapers print. But I realized the other day that some things are changing around me. For instance, the office that opened in my building in November has been closed for more than two weeks. Or here, at the crossing of Roosevelt Rd and Keelung rd, where there was a car dealer, it is completely empty now and on the outside is the character

zū: for rent. Maybe they are really related to the crisis.

Taxes

I think that just today, a day more or less, I have been in Taiwan 183 days. I am not really sure how to count the arriving and departing days, but it does not matter, I am not leaving tomorrow. What does that mean?. Not much right now, but I guess it could be said that I become some kind of tax resident. That implies that for next tax returns, the percentage applied to my salary won't be the present 20%, but something between 6 and 13%. I should get at least a 7% of the taxes taken from my salary. I won't be rich, but it will help me to have a healthier economy —not that I am having any trouble now, since I am not spending much, particularly because everything is here cheaper than in Europe. But that will happen next May, at the earliest. For the time beign, everything remains the same.