Contracting in Australia

[max]

Hi, ok I know questions about working in Oz have been asked before, but my situation is a bit different.

I am Australian. I've been living & working in London for 2.5 years (so no longer a resident for tax purposes in Oz). I've been offered a 6 month contract in Sydney through an agent here. I will most likely return to the UK once I've finished the contract, and may do some or most of the work from the UK.

What's the best way to get paid?
1. Get paid into my Oz account - therefore pay tax in Oz, but not in the UK?
2. Get paid into my UK umbrella or ltd - avoid tax in Oz but pay tax here?

Has anyone had experience in going back to their home country to contract for a while before returning to the UK?

Thanks!

The govt. in Australia has systematically reduced tax since they came to power.

In a bid to get relected again, they have promised to continue this.

Check out this calculator

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/...300760183.html

[Devlin]

The govt. in Australia has systematically reduced tax since they came to power.

In a bid to get relected again, they have promised to continue this.

Check out this calculator

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/...300760183.html

Yeah, excepy by 2010 when they actually come in inflation will have wiped out any real gains. Very cunning!

[max]

Yeah, excepy by 2010 when they actually come in inflation will have wiped out any real gains. Very cunning!

Surely, better than no tax cut? In the UK we also have inflation, on top of tax rises!

Not to mention inflation is irrelevant. Inflation is offset/balanced by wage increases.

You do the maths.

[Devlin]

Surely, better than no tax cut? In the UK we also have inflation, on top of tax rises!

Not to mention inflation is irrelevant. Inflation is offset/balanced by wage increases.

You do the maths.

Higher contracting rates and being able to operate through a limited company still makes the maths look much more attractive in the UK vs. Oz.

[beaker]

Higher contracting rates and being able to operate through a limited company still makes the maths look much more attractive in the UK vs. Oz.

I tend to agree (supported by the fact I'm living here!) but if you earn the same in Sydney as in London, I don't think there's much in it.

For argument's sake lets say you earn £80K gross here, you keep 70% so that's £56K net.

If you earn $200K in Sydney, that's $130K net (£52K) if you go PAYE before you do anything clever.

So you're £4K better off in London, but that would get eaten up pretty quickly by much higher accomodation costs. You can rent a flat in, say Paddington for $300p/w, whereas in Notting Hill it's more like £300 p/w.

Let me know if I'm talking out of my ar$e here.

At the end of the day it's more about being happy with where you live. I've loved living in London but I'm itching to go to Sydney for the lifestyle while still being able to do the same kind of work. I think the pay is enough to justify it.

[Devlin]

I tend to agree (supported by the fact I'm living here!) but if you earn the same in Sydney as in London, I don't think there's much in it.

For argument's sake lets say you earn £80K gross here, you keep 70% so that's £56K net.

If you earn $200K in Sydney, that's $130K net (£52K) if you go PAYE before you do anything clever.

So you're £4K better off in London, but that would get eaten up pretty quickly by much higher accomodation costs. You can rent a flat in, say Paddington for $300p/w, whereas in Notting Hill it's more like £300 p/w.

Let me know if I'm talking out of my ar$e here.

At the end of the day it's more about being happy with where you live. I've loved living in London but I'm itching to go to Sydney for the lifestyle while still being able to do the same kind of work. I think the pay is enough to justify it.

In my opinion you are not likely to earn $200k in Sydney if you earn £80k in London. From what I can see with mates the ratio is often 2 to 1 or less, i.e. if you could earn £80k in London you'd be lucky to get $160k in Sydney. Often Sydney costs of living can be almost as high as London these days too!

[Captain Kangaroo]

In my opinion you are not likely to earn $200k in Sydney if you earn £80k in London. From what I can see with mates the ratio is often 2 to 1 or less, i.e. if you could earn £80k in London you'd be lucky to get $160k in Sydney. Often Sydney costs of living can be almost as high as London these days too!

I agree - $600/day == $140k - getting $200K would be hard unless you were a super-dude in someting relatively rare. And I reckon the cost of living in Sydney is maybe 20% less than London - but only that.

In my situation I estimate due to being an ltd and getting paid as a UK contractor + the exchange rate means I have double the (leftover) dosh I would have in Sydney. Plus all the usual travel things...

[rootsnall]

In my opinion you are not likely to earn $200k in Sydney if you earn £80k in London. From what I can see with mates the ratio is often 2 to 1 or less, i.e. if you could earn £80k in London you'd be lucky to get $160k in Sydney. Often Sydney costs of living can be almost as high as London these days too!

In my game rates in Sydney would be only two thirds of the UK rate, if you are lucky ! When I used to work over there I just looked at breaking even and then coming back to the UK if I wanted to save some cash. The good thing about Sydney was the good and cheap flat rental market but I think that is getting a lot pricier for good locations.

[beaker]

I would have thought it wouldn't be too hard to get $100 p/hour in Sydney? I have mates in Adelaide who make that...

[Devlin]

I would have thought it wouldn't be too hard to get $100 p/hour in Sydney? I have mates in Adelaide who make that...

What is their skillset? That is a huge rate for Adelaide!!