Jump to content
Chapala.com Webboard

mudgirl

Members
  • Posts

    4,269
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    99

Everything posted by mudgirl

  1. I'm not having any trouble sleeping. And I'm not in any "situation of possible rule changes". I can assure you that the Mexican tax dept. lets taxpayers know when the rules have changed. There were many changes in the tax reporting system starting in January, and that information was readily available on the website. As they were, and which taxpayers were advised of, when they made changes back in 2008. In fact, it's so complicated now that I used to easily file my taxes myself, but recently employed an accountant, who explained all of the tax changes this year, and would let me know of any further changes. There is no need for a "very good tax attorney".
  2. ??? You, the newbie, are advising me to make sure I am compliant with the law here, and consult a tax lawyer? That's hilarious. I'm a permanent resident, have been for years, have never been retired, have every right to work here, am fully tax compliant, I file and pay business taxes monthly. You applied for permanente status as a retiree at a consulate. My situation is totally different from yours. It is perfectly evident to the Mexican tax dept that I have no employees- if I did, I would have facturas and deductions for their salaries. Go lecture to some other newbies, not people who've lived here and run businesses for 18 years.
  3. It is a myth that I have heard many times over the years that in order to open a business as a foreigner, you had to employ Mexicans. I applied for a working temporary visa back in 2004 (the first resident visa I had), saying I wanted to open an upholstery business, and I was never asked if I was planning to employ Mexicans. In fact, I said it was a self-employed business for myself. I have never had any employees. I wonder if under the new regs, you can apply to change your visa to working status at INM in Mexico. When I had my temporary, with permission to work, it was not a regular temporary- it cost about double.
  4. You don't, actually. I think you have to renew after one year, but then you can renew for the full 3 years after that. I've been here for 18 years, startingbout with temporary for about 10 years, which yes, had to be renewed yearly back then. And then segued into permanente, for which I had to provide no financials. And I've worked under both those visas, legally, all those years. Things have definitely changed- it used to be a lot easier.
  5. It does not say that a permanente visa is only for retirees who won't work in Mexico. The heading is "Who needs this visa". That means if you apply as a retiree, you need a permanente visa and it appears that you have to say you won't work here. So maybe that is the only way you can get permanente status through a consulate now, but if you had applied for temporal status, and then switched after the required years on that visa to permanente, from within Mexico, you would have a normal permanente visa that you could certainly have lucrative activities under.
  6. Ah, I see what you mean. I once had an American woman in her 30's book my private room Airbnb. Then she messaged me to say that her mom had read about some cartel shootout in Mexico and was totally freaked out about her coming here. I had to point out that the shootout she had read about had happened about 2500 kms from here. The vast majority of Americans, unless they have travelled in Mexico before, know zero about it. They think it''s hot all the time everywhere, that palm trees grow everywhere, that there's a good chance you'll get gunned down walking down the sidewalk pretty much anywhere, that everyone gets sick when they come here. As they know zero about pretty much anywhere outside the US. When I used to rent a little casita here, the homeowners, who were from the US, said their friends up north thought they were insane,or alternately, "so brave" to have a place in Mexico and come down here on holiday. They would tell them, "We pray for you every day you are gone."
  7. Of course it is- the US state dept. doesn't concern itself with anything in its advisories that doesn't concern US citizens.
  8. As I said upthread, the OP will likely get wildly different opinions. So you and I and Jillin have had no complaints about our Mabe products, while others claim they are trash.
  9. No, as you say, it is a federal entity. Doesn't matter which office you attend.
  10. Except that even with international big name brands, the appliances you buy in Mexico are usually manufactured or assembled here or somewhere in Latin America. So the quality control might not be up to par.
  11. Exactly the same thing happened with my Samsung washing machine- motherboard fried. The technician said he could order a new one, but it would take a month to get it, so yeah, I was hauling my laundry to the laundromat. When I didn't hear from him for a month and called, he told me the motherboard wasn't available anywhere in Mexico. But I got the idea to look on Mercado Libre, and lo and behold, there was a guy in Mazatlan selling new ones, with a list of all the models it fit, and a photo of it, which was identical to mine. I ordered it, it arrived by Estafeta in 2 days, I popped it in myself (just a matter of taking a photo of where all the color-coded connections attach so I didn't screw that up) and voila, a working machine again, still going strong 5 years later. Sometimes you just have to source things yourself, not take someone's word (even if that someone is an "expert") that it "isn't available". That Samsung repairman could have found it as easily as I did on Mercado Libre, but he never bothered to look- probably just checked with wherever he normally gets his Samsung parts.
  12. The problem with getting an appointment likely has nothing to do with the new requirements. It has been impossible to get an appointment, at least at the PV office I deal with, for over two years. When the pandemic hit, they started only opening the booking calendar 2 weeks ahead, and no matter what time of the day or night I tried, all the slots were taken. I know you don't have to attend in person, though, to get the new constancia, because my accountant did that for me, and she did it all online. So if you don't have an accountant, maybe pay one to do it for you.
  13. It sounds odd- I can see part of the application process having to state why you want to move to Mexico, but that one can't work? If I were you, I would go to INM here and check whether the conditions of your permanente status are different from any other permanente status. That is, if you care.
  14. That second link is exactly what I have- they are standard clothesline pulleys, probably exactly what the OP is looking for.
  15. Of course you can create a clothesline with regular rope, attaching the ends to something, that's a no-brainer, and I'm not sure what it has to do with clothes blowing off the line. A pulley line is very convenient. I brought all the parts from Canada years ago. The pulleys, the piece that holds the two ends of the line together, that has a ratchet you can tighten up, and the piece that rides out on the line that keeps the line from sagging. And yes, mine is high above the ground, twice my height- I can just stand on my patio, which is a meter above ground level, and reel it out. When I bought it, I saw lots of cheapo versions with plastic parts, but mine are all metal. Bought at Canadian Tire. You can definitely get the type of cable that is normally used- metal core with plastic outer, in Mexico, and you can also buy pulleys, so I would think one could fashion something similar on their own. Here's my set-up.
  16. I never heard of anyone who applied for permanente status having to sign such a letter. Perhaps there is some new rule if you apply as "retired", but if the landlady has been here for 20 years, she was likely not retired anyway when she got her residency. And I also never heard of a "retirement visa"- only temporal or permanente resident status. One of the perks of having permanente is that you can work in Mexico, you don't need special permission, although you do need to inform INM of any lucrative activities.
  17. One thing I've found is that a lot of expats, unless they have been here a long time or are comparison shoppers, just assume that they will get a better deal from a big box store, because that's how it is up north. But that isn't necessarily how it is in Mexico. A lot of small mom and pop businesses here own the building where their store is, they may live upstairs or in the back, or another dwelling on the property. All the people who work in the store may be family. So they don't have the overhead that the big stores do, and often they have better deals on the same item that you saw in a big box store. They may also quote lower delivery prices. As well, whether you are shopping at, for instance, Tio Sams or some independent little appliance store, shopping locally not only supports the people who live in your community, once they get to know you, because you are a loyal customer, they will often offer you a discount, or free delivery. A friend once turned me on to a fairly local appliance store, about a half hour's drive from where I live. I had never noticed their store before, as it doesn't have any noticeable signage or window display. But when I was in the market for a new fridge, and had looked a lot of places, writing down models and prices, I found one I had seen at Home Depot, an hour away, that they told me they would charge 700 pesos delivery for, for not only less money, but when I asked them what their delivery charge was, they said, oh, we don't charge for delivery- just tip the driver. Now I always check them out when I am in the market for something, and while they don't always have what I want, I have bought a lot of stuff from them, they know me, and always give me good deals. Plus they are really nice people, who always remember my name, greet me warmly, and I am happy to support them. Shopping locally does pay off, even if you might not think so to start with.
  18. They have some, yes. But they also had the exact same Mabe stove I bought at La Comer for 1000 pesos less than what Tio Sam's had it priced at. It really does pay to shop around unless money is no object or it's something no one else carries.
  19. It's possible that if a person ignores this new requirement, it might not catch up with them for a long time, depending on what things they do and what paperwork they needed to fill out for various things. But it's like people who continue to drive an illegal car around. It's all good until you happen to get stopped for some or no reason- the vehicle can be confiscated. And I guarantee you that a SAT official won't be accepting a 200 peso mordida to let you off the hook, like a transito might. When I first started my business many years ago I hired an accountant, as I had no idea how to report my earnings and file my declarations. After about 8 months, I realized that what she was doing and charging me 400 pesos a month for (this was back in 2004) was something I could easily do online myself in about half an hour, so I told her I didn't need her services anymore. About another 8 months later, a SAT official showed up at my shop, saying I had a missing tax payment from January. As I had been diligent about submitting my paperwork and paying the required taxes, I realized that January was the last month I had been using the accountant- she had not submitted the last tax payment I had given her. The amount was 200 pesos. At that point, the nearest SAT office to me was in PV, an hour's drive. I said to the guy, "They sent you all the way here for a missing 200 pesos? It cost that much in gas and whatever you earn per hour for you to come here." He laughed and said I was right, it didn't make much sense. But I did have to go to the bank and pay that 200 pesos.
  20. Then unless a facilitator got an official RFC number for you, you don't have one.
  21. What are you talking about? SAT has everything to do with you having one. It is the agency that issues them and makes the rules about who needs one. And also makes the rules about which businesses will be required to ask you for your RFC number and enter it on any paperwork they give you.
  22. ??? But you do need it. It is now required of everyone except tourists. And you might be surprised at what entities will now start asking for it, because it will be required for them to put it on any paperwork that is issued to you. Yes, I remember that well. It was so absurd. Nothing like killing trees for no reason. As for SAT being the worst govt. agency to deal with, my experience has been the exact opposite. They have always been really helpful, the people who work in their offices seemed well-informed, and totally polite. They explained things patiently and thoroughly and when I had, for instance, missed a payment I owed because my bank website was down and I couldn't make a payment on time, they said no problem, and quickly generated a new form with a new due date. They had a room full of computers for clients like me who filed their own taxes, with agents who would sit with you and walk you through how to fill out all the required declarations. I also used to be able to make an appointment, no problem. It's only since Covid that getting an appointment appears to be impossible and things aren't working well on their website. I suspect so many people are trying to get info, generate RFCs, etc. now, that their website is getting jammed up.
  23. Yes, Mexico loves paperwork, the more the better. I always thought it was funny that even as more and more of their govt. entities become computerized, they seem to still love to have voluminous stacks of paper on their desks - it's like a security blanket or they think it makes them look important. Not specific to Mexico, though. Many non-first world countries do this. Lot of petty potentates exercising their tiny bit of power.
  24. SAT changed a lot of their regieme at the beginning of this year. As someone who has run a business in Mexico for 16 years, and had an RFC all that time, the income reporting I have done all these years has changed in the way one does it, when it is reported and which taxes are paid when, my tax category has changed, etc. One thing I had to do was generate a new Constancia (which my accountant did on my behalf), and the businesses I deal with for my supplies required me to submit my new Constancia. These new regs are not just for residents who don't earn money in Mexico- SAT has made sweeping changes to the whole system.
  25. Costco and Coppel are not exclusive to your area, nor do the products they carry vary from area to area. Of course I wouldn't suggest to check out the mom and pop appliance store I like to patronize, as it would not apply to Lakeside.
×
×
  • Create New...