Contracting in Germany

[Fred Bloggs]

75 euros per hour against 30 quid at home says different.

£48 an hour, about 15 minutes from home versus a virtual full working day per week traveling unpaid says not. Of course, YMMV.

[expat]

£48 an hour, about 15 minutes from home versus a virtual full working day per week traveling unpaid says not. Of course, YMMV.

My mileage does vary. Unusually, I recently had a chance of one in London at as much as half my current continental rate. Had it been 15 minutes from home I might have taken it. Most of London is a worse commute from Bedfordshire than Amsterdam, Frankfurt, or Zurich.

[The Lone Gunman]

£48 an hour, about 15 minutes from home

If I could get those rates at home I would stay at home, but you may notice I included the local rates offered in my original post.
Have you looked at the going rate for what you do abroad? It may be worth the trip.

full working day per week traveling unpaid says not

It is usualy more than a working day. As I said above I have NEVER worked where I live. I have always traveled and it is as easy to travel to mainland Europe as it is to get darn sarf. Often cheaper too.

If I am not going to work at home I may as well work somewhere I would like to be.
The costs of flights and accomadation are easily absorbed by the higher rate and lower cost of living locally.

[Fred Bloggs]

Thanks for those thoughts. I have been asked fairly regularly about gigs in Paris and Munich usually at about 800 to 850 Euros a day. When I look at the uncertainty and conflicting thoughts about Euro working and see a retention rate in the "50 something" per cent area I am instantly put off. The £350 quid flights from Manchester also are a factor.

Back when I was a dewy eyed permatazoa I worked a lot in Europe (West and East) commuting weekly. It was always hassle but at all times the UK employer apparently had no issues at all with employment taxes. I was always a UK employee coming home each weekend even though asignments could last months. I'm disppoinmted at the lack of freedom to use my Ltd co in the same way as my ex employer used theirs.

[dang65]

I'm disppointed at the lack of freedom to use my Ltd co in the same way as my ex employer used theirs.

Yeah, but you can see the reason for that. Contractors would all be setting up companies in the Isle of Man and then working in Sweden or something. In the case of major employers, the vast majority of their operations and staff are in their home country, with a few employees being seconded abroad.

I've worked in France via an umbrella in the UK, and that never caused any issues, because the umbrella's main business operations obviously remained in the UK. With a one-man Ltd Co, the whole operation goes with the director.

[dang65]

The reason it is so confusing is because there is no central source for advice. We are all reliant on what our chosen advisors tell us and they usually have some agenda of their own.

Yeah, I guess that's true, though it is quite worrying. Thanks for summing it all up in your post anyway. I'll see what I can get in the way of local advice.

[expat]

Thanks for those thoughts. I have been asked fairly regularly about gigs in Paris and Munich usually at about 800 to 850 Euros a day. When I look at the uncertainty and conflicting thoughts about Euro working and see a retention rate in the "50 something" per cent area I am instantly put off. The £350 quid flights from Manchester also are a factor.

Paris and Munich about the same rate? Are you sure? But I admit that Manchester seems to be expensive to fly from. Heathrow is unbeatable (in this one respect), but even Birmingham is only 200 to Frankfurt with 3 weeks advance.

You could use your Ltd Co if (I'm sorry to say this) it were a "real" business: that is, if it were more than just you on a contract. I.e. if its real seat of activity were in the UK, and you really were just part of the workforce on a business trip, rather than you being the entire economic activity of the Ltd.

Retention rates should be hiher than 50%, though of course if you are planning to escape the social taxes on your income in the UK, but do not have a scheme for escaping the social taxes in other countries, then you are bound to see a difference.


Anyway, as you said YMMV, and I accept that. In my case I can find little in the way of contracts in the UK; my skills are valued in Europe; I can fly from Heathrow; and I accept being in IR35 when in the UK. So for me, the NL-Germany-Switzerland axis is vastly superior to the UK as a work location.

[Fred Bloggs]

Thanks for the perspective.

[The Lone Gunman]

Retention rate has always been above 75% in Germany. Worst I had been quoted was with and AUG company and they said about 65%.

[chef]

I gave HMRC VAT department a call and explained my situation..

"I am a uk based ltd co. , i will be providing IT Consultancy services for a uk based agency where the end client is a german based company for a period of 60 working days spread over 3 months, do i charge the uk company VAT as it is a business to business uk based relationship?"

the response was

"no, as you are supplying your services in germany to the uk based agent then the rule of supply applies and no VAT is chargeable, however, VAT or the equivalent may be chargeable in germany along with any other tax rules that may apply but i'm not able to advise you on this"

from the HMRC VAT website ..

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/int-serv-abroad.htm

"If you are in the UK and the place of supply is in the UK, you charge and account for VAT according to UK VAT rules.

If you are in the UK and the place of supply is in another EU country, you can zero rate the supply if the customer is a business. However, you must charge and account for UK VAT if the customer is not a business, and you may need to register for VAT in the country of supply."