Sorry, no it's not 20% - 30% before tax. It's 30% including tax. Iglu pays all of your personal income tax, so around ~20% goes to the Thai Revenue Department for tax and social welfare.
The bottom line is that staying in Thailand for over 6 months per year is illegal if you are working and not paying any income tax. Anyone who stays in Thailand for over 6 months is officially a tax resident (even if you're on a tourist visa.)
So you will get deported or possibly sent to prison if you are ever caught (and you never want to end up in a Thai prison.) A lot of people have been getting away with it for now, but I don't think this will last forever, and it's probably not a smart idea if you plan to stay here long term.
I think the "working on a tourist visa" issue is a grey area, and they don't have any problem with tourists who do some work on a laptop. It just gets tricky as soon as you become a tax resident.
You should be OK for 1-2 years if you stay under the radar. But this is very important to sort out if you're going to stay for 3-5 years.
The bottom line is that staying in Thailand for over 6 months per year is illegal if you are working and not paying any income tax. Anyone who stays in Thailand for over 6 months is officially a tax resident (even if you're on a tourist visa.)
So you will get deported or possibly sent to prison if you are ever caught (and you never want to end up in a Thai prison.) A lot of people have been getting away with it for now, but I don't think this will last forever, and it's probably not a smart idea if you plan to stay here long term.
I think the "working on a tourist visa" issue is a grey area, and they don't have any problem with tourists who do some work on a laptop. It just gets tricky as soon as you become a tax resident.
You should be OK for 1-2 years if you stay under the radar. But this is very important to sort out if you're going to stay for 3-5 years.