Further, tax laws are usually separate from travel laws. Most countries claim world-wide income for tax purposes if you are a resident there (with other laws defining what it means to be a tax-resident) and it doesn’t matter what visa you are on. In the US, even if you work illegally as an illegal immigrant you are required to pay taxes (which isn’t reported to immigration authorities, according to the IRS website).

This is where people seem to get confused. A tourist visa might get you in the country, but there are plenty of other (tax) laws you have to abide by. For example, if you move to an EU country and work remotely for a US country that doesn’t have an EU presence, and get caught. It’s extremely likely the country could claim you are hired illegally in their country and force the company to retroactively hire you, pay employment tax, and be on the hook for VAT as well. Meanwhile, you sit in jail until they figure all that out (probably without bail since you could easily leave the country).

I remember reading an article about this not too long ago, I’ll see if I can find it. But regardless, if you want to be a nomad, being familiar with local tax laws and tax-residency laws is a must-do.