Tax question..
Discussion
Might be a quick question, or it might be complicated, but here goes..
We have a chap in my firm that we could well loose to a firm in the UK as he's keen to get an official qualification, (Chartership), and the new rules in our governing body means that you have to start within 5 years of graduating from an MSc or you will not ever be eligible and will never be granted the qualification. Other complication is it has to be a UK based firm or one that has a UK branch/office or the like and both candidate and supervisor, (me) need to be employed on a UK contract.
Seems utterly stupid to me as I am both qualified and experienced to supervise and I know of people in a similar position here who work for large firms with a UK office who frankly are utter muppets, but will soon be qualified muppets.
The governing body in question won't budge on any of this. Chap in question doesn't want to leave and we don't want to loose him, but its going to happen within 2 years and we won't be able to replace him with a new grad for the same reason.
So, governing body has suggested we simply open up a ltd co in London, employ the pair of us on a salary of £1 a year and second us both to Dubai. Leaving aside any thoughts I may have about how legitimate this may be, it strikes me that HMRC are going to take huge pleasure in bending me over and will no doubt charge me for the vaseline at the same time. Any thoughts?
We have a chap in my firm that we could well loose to a firm in the UK as he's keen to get an official qualification, (Chartership), and the new rules in our governing body means that you have to start within 5 years of graduating from an MSc or you will not ever be eligible and will never be granted the qualification. Other complication is it has to be a UK based firm or one that has a UK branch/office or the like and both candidate and supervisor, (me) need to be employed on a UK contract.
Seems utterly stupid to me as I am both qualified and experienced to supervise and I know of people in a similar position here who work for large firms with a UK office who frankly are utter muppets, but will soon be qualified muppets.
The governing body in question won't budge on any of this. Chap in question doesn't want to leave and we don't want to loose him, but its going to happen within 2 years and we won't be able to replace him with a new grad for the same reason.
So, governing body has suggested we simply open up a ltd co in London, employ the pair of us on a salary of £1 a year and second us both to Dubai. Leaving aside any thoughts I may have about how legitimate this may be, it strikes me that HMRC are going to take huge pleasure in bending me over and will no doubt charge me for the vaseline at the same time. Any thoughts?
No problem as an employee having a UK contract and working overseas, provided you meet the usual non-resident rules.
The only thing I think may be different is related to N.I. - as you are liable for full Class 1 NI contributions for 1 year from leaving the UK. Not sure if this will affect you, but worth getting the proposal checked over by a specialist.
The only thing I think may be different is related to N.I. - as you are liable for full Class 1 NI contributions for 1 year from leaving the UK. Not sure if this will affect you, but worth getting the proposal checked over by a specialist.
i very much doubt it, HMRC do not take kindly:
http://www.contractorcalculator.co.uk/company_tax_...
i suppose you could do some fancy footwork given your OH has the same kind of business back in the UK, but it seems like a lot of f
king about with no gain for anyone other than your colleague. if i were you i would not be going anywhere near a set-up where there's even an outside chance of you having to pay tax.
http://www.contractorcalculator.co.uk/company_tax_...
i suppose you could do some fancy footwork given your OH has the same kind of business back in the UK, but it seems like a lot of f
king about with no gain for anyone other than your colleague. if i were you i would not be going anywhere near a set-up where there's even an outside chance of you having to pay tax.
so its worth exploring options. Firstly, I'm no tax expert.
In my first year here (2006-2007) I was employed by a british based company and paid in sterling into my account in the uk. I was still tax exempt as I still met the non-residency criteria. I think if you are living overseas for enough days then you are considered non-resident for tax purposes.
The inland revenue are very helpful so the best thing would be to call them, explain the situation and get definitive guidance.
In my first year here (2006-2007) I was employed by a british based company and paid in sterling into my account in the uk. I was still tax exempt as I still met the non-residency criteria. I think if you are living overseas for enough days then you are considered non-resident for tax purposes.
The inland revenue are very helpful so the best thing would be to call them, explain the situation and get definitive guidance.
A mate of mine does exactly the same. He has a bid ad agency which is based in London. He puts some invoices through London so pays a little tax, but pays himself a tiny salary...prob something like £1. However, he registered the same company over here in Dubai Media City and lives here...and doesnt pay any tax on invoices he routes through here...or indeed his salary.
As everyone says..as long as you fulill the Non UK resident criteria you are fine. I would check, but I think you cant spend more than 2 or 3 months in the UK. This has changed a lot though over the past year so I would double check the amount of time your chap is allowed into the UK. One thing I do remember is that he has to fill out a "Leaving the UK" form/...so the govt can still tax you on rental properties etc. In answer to the question..."What will you be doing on weekends" which is in the form...I do remember putting "Sitting in the sun drinking Pimms in a tax free environment": ) If only one UK govt worker saw this then I am happy.
As everyone says..as long as you fulill the Non UK resident criteria you are fine. I would check, but I think you cant spend more than 2 or 3 months in the UK. This has changed a lot though over the past year so I would double check the amount of time your chap is allowed into the UK. One thing I do remember is that he has to fill out a "Leaving the UK" form/...so the govt can still tax you on rental properties etc. In answer to the question..."What will you be doing on weekends" which is in the form...I do remember putting "Sitting in the sun drinking Pimms in a tax free environment": ) If only one UK govt worker saw this then I am happy.
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