John JonasOwner, OnlineJobs.ph · Scale Your Business with Filipino VAs

Is your OFS an employee #ytshorts

16 Sept 2024 · 1 min

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0:47

A short YouTube clip (by John Jonas) advising that, under Philippine rules, a remote worker based in the Philippines must be treated as an independent contractor and cannot be classified as an employee by a foreign employer that lacks physical presence in the Philippines. Jonas reports having verified this with a Philippine accountant and tax attorney and states that foreign employers cannot withhold/pay Philippine taxes, SSS, or PhilHealth unless they have a physical presence there.

Chapters

So with the Philippines, there's no way for you to consider this person an employee. They're an independent contractor, period. We recently verified this with an accountant and a tax attorney, and they're in the Philippines. They said the Philippines government does not allow you to withhold taxes for them. They do not allow you to pay any of their taxes or their SSS or their FillHealth. You may not have an account with the Philippines government unless you have a physical presence in the Philippines. So we do not have that. We do not have a physical presence in the Philippines. We don't have a business in the Philippines. We don't have an office in the Philippines. So there is no way for us to have any sort of relationship with this person that would consider them an employee. They are an independent contractor, period. End of story.