jimbo_d

I've only been gone 5 years but has it gone up that much? NI is paying for pensioners and scroungers, when I come to retire there'll be no state pension, which is why I ignore all the HRMC letters asking me to top up my pension each year or risk losing it.

So UK top tax is in fact 61%!!!!!!! that's bloody mental and a hark back to the 70's.

@ Amazulu, you're only paying more tax because you're earning far far more ;-)

ABCDiamond

And some others disagree

Amazulu

And as a contractor in the UK you can really take the piss with your taxes!

ABCDiamond

I did some tax comparisons in 2009 with Tax & NI -v- Tax and Medicare

Average EarnersHigh paidThings may have changed slightly with the Australian rates dropping slightly.

bcworld

I don't think so....5 years ago I think it was 10%, maybe 9, but definitely not 7. If you contract out of the state pension there is a 1.6% discount.

papilon

As a contractor here i pay far less tax than i did in the UK, my accountant must be good at taking the piss

freebo

Also as a contractor I'm finding it fairly similar, maybe I should speak to your accountant

Amazulu

Maybe I need a new accountant. I used to get away with murder in the UK.......

freebo

Not quite murder for me, just paying me + wife minimum wage, the rest up to just below the top tax threshold for both of us in dividends and the remainder saved in the company account then dispersed under special taper relief 10% CGT when we wound up the company. All legal, above board and recently signed off by the Inland revenue - oh, and flat rate VAT too.

Any Aus tax hints you'd care to share Papilon?

Bermudashorts

It was easy for contractors to take advantage until just a few years ago, but GB closed some of the loopholes.

Bermudashorts

I have had some of those letters and always ignore them too for similar reasons.

NI is only 11% to a certain level, then it is 1%. So UK top tax on earnings is effectively 51% not 61%. Unless it has changed since I left anyway.

freebo

Actually Bermuda they tried with IR35 and S660 but it was pretty toothless - we operated like this until earlier this year, I even had insurance against IR35, but our accounts have now all been signed off and the remaining company assets have been distributed to the shareholders.

Amazulu

Yeah, IR35 was a clusterf**k. If you want to see a way of not implementing effective tax legislation - take a look at IR35.

Gordon Brown's finest hour!

Bermudashorts

Oh really? I was never a contractor but I do know plenty of people who were caught by it, mainly IT contractors in London. Sounds like it could have gone further then.

freebo

I was an IT contractor in London among other places, lots of people thought they would be caught so stopped paying themselves min wage, employing their wives etc, but in reality the govt couldn't enforce it. I kept operating as before and never had any issues.