I Hate Paying Income Tax!!!!

[zazwaldo]

Hi all,

I'm sure this a subject dear to many of your hearts! Been browsing through this forum to see if anyone else is in my situation and could offer some advice or perhaps looking to speak to someone who can advise further by phone.

I work as a field engineer, travelling Europe as a Technical Advisor for a large American company, single, employed, PAYE, paid in £'s via the office in the UK. I make a good annual wage (not obscene like some of my compadres in the oil and gas sector! Ha ha) and pay the higher band of tax.

I spend on average 6-8 months of the year working outwith the UK and have averaged this for the past 3 years at least, alas, never having managed to amass a whole year out of the country working.

Now the arse bit, I am paying council tax for a flat I rarely stay in, I am paying income tax to a country I am barely in. Are there any legal ways I can go about reducing or, given my days out the country, stop paying income tax, i.e. tax code N/R? Being a higher earner, single and not actually working in the country it feels I am getting shafted from all fronts (boo hoo I hear many of you say) and it is really starting to get frustrate me....

I am considering a move abroad (I can live anywhere within my 'pole' (Europe) without complaint from my company), realising due to tax sharing I would have to pay the tax of the country I move to. But after 1 year out of the country can I claim back the tax for the previous 3 years I was in the UK for only 6-8 months a year?

Any thoughts/ advice/ dialogue on the subject would be much appreciated.

Zaz

[Glassman]

Re: Council Tax. AFAIK, you pay a reduced rate for single occupancy. This reduction is further discounted if the house is unfurnished.

Tax. They'll get you somehow. Sooner or later.

[zazwaldo]

Yeah,

I'm not eligible for the single occupancy as my mate stays there and I've no other address when I am in the UK hence the in-ellegibillity (that just looks wrong).

If the property is unfurnished then there is indeed NO council tax to pay. You also incidentally get a discount on a second property......

Zaz

[dcb]

zazwaldo said:

Any thoughts/ advice/ dialogue on the subject would be much appreciated.

Zaz

You have to have residence somewhere and pay tax somewhere.

UK seems to have some of the lowest tax rates in Europe,
certainly compared to the relatively socialist states of
Western Europe.

Maybe suggest a residency in Eastern Europe due to lower
tax rates.

If you are based in the UK, make sure you put
a lot of money into a pension.

That's all tax deductable, so you get the double bonus of reducing
the amount that Gordon Brown gets to waste on anything he can
think of AND you get to put away something for a rainy day.

Most folks I know in the upper tax bracket tuck away
enough each month to keep their tax bills well into the lower
bracket.

[Eric Mc]

Wouldn't it be a surprise to come across a PHer who states that he LOVES to pay tax.

[dcb]

Eric Mc said:

Wouldn't it be a surprise to come across a PHer who states that he LOVES to pay tax.

Some do, indirectly. Most owners
of fast cars, I would have thought.

Think of the 80-85 % tax on petrol and some
of the mpg figures for some of the cars
mentioned on this forum.

170 mph chariot in 15 mpg shocker.
How much tax is that per year for let's say
10,000 miles.

I make it about £2300.00 a year

[Eric Mc]

How many would have said that was why they bought such a car?

[Wacky Racer]

Things were no better in 1966, in fact worse.......


Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
Cos I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

Should five per cent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
Cos I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman

If you drive a car, I'll tax the street
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat
If you get too cold I'll tax the heat
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet

Taxman!
Cos I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman

Don't ask me what I want it for (Aahh Mr. Wilson)
If you don't want to pay some more (Aahh Mr. Heath)
Cos I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes
Cos I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

And you're working for no one but me
Taxman!






(The Beatles)

[ATG]

As said, if it was a choice between paying annual UK income tax, or paying income tax pro rata in every european state in which you work during the year, you'd almost certainly be best off paying UK tax on the lot. Not too sure why you feel cheesed off with your current arrangement, other than no one ever willingly signs up to pay more tax than they need to.

[Don]

Wacky Racer said:

Things were no better in 1966, in fact worse.......


Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
Cos I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

Should five per cent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
Cos I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman

If you drive a car, I'll tax the street
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat
If you get too cold I'll tax the heat
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet

Taxman!
Cos I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman

Don't ask me what I want it for (Aahh Mr. Wilson)
If you don't want to pay some more (Aahh Mr. Heath)
Cos I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes
Cos I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

And you're working for no one but me
Taxman!






(The Beatles)

To be fair this was in the "super-tax" era..when anyone earning real money (like the Beatles) left because the upper tax rate was 93% IIRC. (Is that the right number?) It was also the period when the the phrase "brain drain" was coined...as professionals left in droves for the US.

Britain tried some fairly communist policies in the post war years. The good bits of (like the NHS) we've kept. 93% tax rates we didn't.

[Eric Mc]

Did any of The Beatles leave the UK in this period as tax exiles? I don't think they did.

A number of other well known people did however -

Sean Connery
Michael Caine
Jim Clark
Jackie Stewart
Vanessa Redgrave
Robert Shaw
Mick Jagger

[POORCARDEALER]

Eric Mc said:

Did any of The Beatles leave the UK in this period as tax exiles? I don't think they did.

A number of other well known people did however -

Sean Connery
Michael Caine
Jim Clark
Jackie Stewart
Vanessa Redgrave
Robert Shaw
Mick Jagger

i DONT BLAME THEM I WOULD HAVE TOO

[Eric Mc]

That wasn't my point.

My point was that The Beatles never did (although I think that Ringo Starr eventually moved to Spain in the 1970s).

[dcb]

Eric Mc said:

That wasn't my point.

My point was that The Beatles never did (although I think that Ringo Starr eventually moved to Spain in the 1970s).

IIRC John Lennon lived in New York from about 1970 onwards.

[Eric Mc]

That's true, I forgot - although I think it was from 1971 rather than 1970. He had a lot of trouble getting immigration rights due to previous drug related misdemeanours (and the US establishment didn't particularly like him).

I never felt that his move to America was a "tax avoidance" measure.

[Seany88]

dcb said:

If you are based in the UK, make sure you put
a lot of money into a pension.

That's all tax deductable, so you get the double bonus of reducing
the amount that Gordon Brown gets to waste on anything he can
think of AND you get to put away something for a rainy day.

Most folks I know in the upper tax bracket tuck away
enough each month to keep their tax bills well into the lower
bracket.

I've just opted out of the NHS pension scheme as i will not be working for them after this year, was this wise? I now realise I could have transferred the money to an independent pension scheme, but any advice on who's good and if there's a way of reversing what i've done?

Does anyone know if I can increase the repayments to my student loan pre-tax? At the moment 9% comes out pre-tax. It seems if i want to overpay then it'll have to be on after-tax money? Any way around it? And if not, is it worthwhile? Supposed to be the cheapest loan i'll ever get!

Edited by Seany88 on Saturday 23 June 21:01

[srebbe64]

I wouldn't object to paying obscene levels of Tax if public services reflected my payments, however:

I have to have a private pension (the Government have "done a Maxwell" with all our money);

I have to have private healthcare (hospitals around here are a complete joke);

I have to get my kids privately educated (schools around here a complete joke);

Personally, I think I should get a rebate for reducing the pressure on hospitals, schooling and social services. However, I won't hold my breath!!!

[dcb]

srebbe64 said:

I wouldn't object to paying obscene levels of Tax if public services reflected my payments, however:

I would.

In my experience, if you want something truly, horribly messed up
beyond repair, give it to your Government.

They never go out of business. A speciality is to waste billions.

As the legendary P J O'Rourke said "Giving money to governments is
like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys".

srebbe64 said:

I have to have a private pension (the Government have "done a Maxwell" with all our money);

I have to have private healthcare (hospitals around here are a complete joke);

I have to get my kids privately educated (schools around here a complete joke);

Personally, I think I should get a rebate for reducing the pressure on hospitals, schooling and social services. However, I won't hold my breath!!!

Other countries try to encourage people to pay for things
like this themselves by offering tax rebates.

Not in the UK - the view is taken that these are middle class
tax rebates.

Compare and contrast the health care systems of countries
like NL and Australia.

Shame really - I like the idea of having a tax rebate and
then spending it how I want, not how some Whitehall mandarin
wants it to be spent.

More choice not available in the UK, it seems.

[JustinP1]

dcb said:

srebbe64 said:

I wouldn't object to paying obscene levels of Tax if public services reflected my payments, however:

I would.

In my experience, if you want something truly, horribly messed up
beyond repair, give it to your Government.

They never go out of business. A speciality is to waste billions.

As the legendary P J O'Rourke said "Giving money to governments is
like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys".

srebbe64 said:

I have to have a private pension (the Government have "done a Maxwell" with all our money);

I have to have private healthcare (hospitals around here are a complete joke);

I have to get my kids privately educated (schools around here a complete joke);

Personally, I think I should get a rebate for reducing the pressure on hospitals, schooling and social services. However, I won't hold my breath!!!

Other countries try to encourage people to pay for things
like this themselves by offering tax rebates.

Not in the UK - the view is taken that these are middle class
tax rebates.

Compare and contrast the health care systems of countries
like NL and Australia.

Shame really - I like the idea of having a tax rebate and
then spending it how I want, not how some Whitehall mandarin
wants it to be spent.

More choice not available in the UK, it seems.

Exactly,

Except it is worse than that.

Should your employer feel the need to provide you with private healthcare mainly due to the cost to their business and the economy should you be waiting months for a routine operation, then not only do you not get a rebate, YOU get taxed on the 'benefit' at your highest rate of tax!

[BoRED S2upid]

How many times has this topic been covered on PH's.

You get a good education, you work hard and sooner or later are paying 50% to the Government, not only that but when you are earning more you will probably have private health care and private schooling for your children so aren't a drain on society, your also not claiming any benefits so aren't draining money out of the system. Rich paying for the poor thats the way it goes, it seems in the UK today you are better off with 7 kids in a 5 bedroom council house claiming £30,000 of benefits and not paying any tax out of your salary because you don't have a job, you still get the NHS even though your not contributing a bean towards it!.