| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | Italian translator moving to the UK: taxes Thread poster: Alessandra Vanni
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JaneD 
Sweden
Local time: 17:41
Member (2009)
Swedish to English
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| One big variable... | Feb 26, 2012 |
...is the cost of housing in the UK. If you want to buy a house practically anywhere it will cost you a fortune.
As Lisa says, in the end it has to come down to where you feel happiest. I wouldn't move back to the UK for a big clock (as my grandmother used to say), but I know that there are many translators on ProZ who seem to have done so happily.
| | | | | tax regimes comparisons | Feb 26, 2012 |
I lived in Seville for many years, and have recently moved to a small village in the south-east of England. I can do all my tax paperwork myself (needed an accountant in Spain) and most importantly, it is a once a year thing. Spain expected me to file VAT returns every 3 months on my crappy earnings! Huge pain in the posterior. I didn't move back to the UK for these reasons, but I have found how they treat freelancers here to be a massive bonus and it has improved the quality of my working life.... See more I lived in Seville for many years, and have recently moved to a small village in the south-east of England. I can do all my tax paperwork myself (needed an accountant in Spain) and most importantly, it is a once a year thing. Spain expected me to file VAT returns every 3 months on my crappy earnings! Huge pain in the posterior. I didn't move back to the UK for these reasons, but I have found how they treat freelancers here to be a massive bonus and it has improved the quality of my working life.
With regard to living expenses, as one poster mentioned, my experience was similar in Spain, and I found living expenses to be way out of step with the abysmal wages. Rent for 1 bed substandard apartment in Seville was €600 min a month, (maybe cheaper now since crisis) Electricity was also prohibitive, (I ended up arguing with my flat-mate, who suggested I was boiling the kettle too often); as was internet, mobile phone and land-line bills; food was also too expensive. Add to the mix there is no second-hand items culture, Freecycle, or charity shops, and if you’re on a budget, life really is tough. (As a note of interest, the Public Health System in Spain is wonderful, and England's may get worse as plans are afoot to privatise the NHS).
As people have said, London is laughably expensive rent-wise, and probably unrealistic for a jobbing translator, but as a translator you have the luxury of being able to live a in sleepy rural town, with the relatively cheap rent and all the quality of life such towns can offer. Personally I don’t miss the big city AT ALL! However, as someone said, we have council tax in the UK, which is extortionate. I haven’t done the sums to work out whether it negates the other benefits.
But to return to topic, I agree that some countries seem to make life so hard for freelancers, to what end? It’s so counter-productive for the country in question in every way.
[Edited at 2012-02-26 14:57 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | LuciaC
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:41
English to Italian
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| Nothing back? | Feb 26, 2012 |
Alessandra Vanni wrote:
in order to avoid paying so much money to receive nothing back in terms of public services.
Are you sure you receive nothing back from the Italian State? Primary and secondary schools (licei) are generally excellent in Italy. Hospital care, and health care in general, might be patchy but in many regions is fantastic. Trains, roads, nothing back?
If you are looking for good public services, then the UK is not the place... Do read the newspapers to get an idea of what's going on. You can save a lot on taxes, but then you will pay a lot for services.
Of course I understand your frustration with the high tax burden and idiotic burocracy. Burocracy is a dream around here. In Italy, surely you will get nothing back in terms of pensions, but neither will we. You have to have a private pension plan here, with a private company who might invest in subprime securities and go bust with your savings...
Also, I see that you come from Arezzo/Cortona, one of the most beautiful areas of Italy. The combination of art and architecture, food and weather that you enjoy every day is very difficult to beat!
I agree with Lisa that there are many variables to consider, not just taxes.
Good luck and keep us posted
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:41
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| Not a burden | Feb 26, 2012 |
Paul Stevens wrote:
This will obviously add to your direct tax burden
This isn't a tax burden. It's your contribution to your own future state pension.
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:41
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| Important to get it right | Feb 26, 2012 |
happylandyes wrote:
I can do all my tax paperwork myself (needed an accountant in Spain) and most importantly, it is a once a year thing.
Yes - that's a very important consideration. When I lived in Italy I couldn't even do my monthly book-keeping without an accountant and my tax return form was completely incomprehensible. And my accountant was not only expensive; he also required me to pay him on a percentage basis so the more I earned, the more he took. And about twice a week he'd call me about something stupid (but urgent) that required me to drive across town to discuss it with him in person. This took hours and hours of my time.
In the UK, once you've got yourself correctly set up and have learned how to keep your books in order, a few hours one day per month is enough to do your own book-keeping and a few hours once a year to do your own tax return (but with a friendly accountant to fall back on, should you have any queries).
What's more there's a very useful tax helpline you can call and a tax inspector will explain anything you don't understand. In general, in the UK and very unlike Italy, public servants are polite and even friendly; they do answer the phone and they do help.
And yes - most importantly of all, there's no obligation to register for VAT if your turnover is less than GBP 73K !
[Edited at 2012-02-26 17:57 GMT]
| | | | | What's in a name? | Feb 26, 2012 |
That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet
Tom in London wrote: Paul Stevens wrote:
This will obviously add to your direct tax burden This isn't a tax burden. It's your contribution to your own future state pension.
In some (many?) countries these social fees, as well as what we in the UK call council tax, are included in income tax.
If we are to be able compare the total level of direct tax, these other fees/tax that we in the UK pay on top of "income tax" have to be included. Then there's indirect tax...
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:41
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Helping to fund your own pension and to pay for the NHS is not tax. It's insurance. Hence the name: National Insurance.
[Edited at 2012-02-26 19:24 GMT]
| | | | Paul Stevens
Local time: 16:41
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
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Russell Jones wrote: Paul Stevens wrote:
Russell's post headed "Percentage" seems to sum up the situation nicely except that he did not mention Class 4 National Insurance contributions which a self-employed translator also has to pay. Well spotted Paul; I don't pay these now as I'm over State Pension age.
I'm looking forward to that time as well, Russell!
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Paul Stevens
Local time: 16:41
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Tom in London wrote: Paul Stevens wrote:
This will obviously add to your direct tax burden This isn't a tax burden. It's your contribution to your own future state pension.
Fair comment, Tom. It's not strictly speaking a tax as such but it is a direct deduction from your profits so it is important for Alessandra to know this.
[Edited at 2012-02-26 19:42 GMT]
| | | | | In some (many?) other countries | Feb 26, 2012 |
This pension/benefit is included in the amount of tax you pay.
Tom in London wrote:
Helping to fund your own pension and to pay for the NHS is not tax. It's insurance. Hence the name: National Insurance.
[Edited at 2012-02-26 19:24 GMT]
Do you really think that X amount of NI entitles you to Y amount of pension? That's why a real insurance does.
Tomorrow the government could decide that you need 50 qualifying years of NI payments in order to receive a full basic pension rather than the current 30. Oops they already did something similar by changing the baseline for receiving pension from age 60/65 to 67/68 I think. How would you feel if any real insurance you have contributed to did the same?
What's in a name... NI might be termed an insurance, but in reality it's a tax. Same as other tax, it pays for valuable benefits which we may or may not need at some time in our life.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:41
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| Not a deduction | Feb 26, 2012 |
Paul Stevens wrote:
it is a direct deduction from your profits
you get it all back (and then some) when you reach retirement age and/or if you fall ill. It isn't tax. But yes, you do have to pay it.
[Edited at 2012-02-26 19:51 GMT]
| | | | XXXphxxx (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:41
Portuguese to English
+ ...
| Oddly enough they reduced it | Feb 26, 2012 |
Madeleine MacRae Klintebo wrote:
Tomorrow the government could decide that you need 50 qualifying years of NI payments in order to receive a full basic pension rather than the current 30. Oops they already did something similar by changing the baseline for receiving pension from age 60/65 to 67/68 I think. How would you feel if any real insurance you have contributed to did the same?
What's in a name... NI might be termed an insurance, but in reality it's a tax. Same as other tax, it pays for valuable benefits which we may or may not need at some time in our life.
They reduced the number of qualifying years a few years ago - don't ask me why. You're right though, it IS a tax, they thought the name up as a way of clawing in more tax but not using the dirty word, people don't mind coughing up if they think they're paying into an NHS/pension pot. It was a clever marketing ploy. I'm philosophical about tax per se, to lose sleep over it is a recipe to an early grave. However, I do mind pointless and mindless bureaucracy and as other people here have posted it is astonishing how many countries throttle the self-employed rather than seeing it is an opportunity to wipe a few zeros of their unemployment figure.
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:41
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Lisa Simpson, MCIL wrote: Madeleine MacRae Klintebo wrote:
Tomorrow the government could decide that you need 50 qualifying years of NI payments in order to receive a full basic pension rather than the current 30. Oops they already did something similar by changing the baseline for receiving pension from age 60/65 to 67/68 I think. How would you feel if any real insurance you have contributed to did the same?
What's in a name... NI might be termed an insurance, but in reality it's a tax. Same as other tax, it pays for valuable benefits which we may or may not need at some time in our life. They reduced the number of qualifying years a few years ago - don't ask me why. You're right though, it IS a tax, they thought the name up as a way of clawing in more tax but not using the dirty word, people don't mind coughing up if they think they're paying into an NHS/pension pot. It was a clever marketing ploy. I'm philosophical about tax per se, to lose sleep over it is a recipe to an early grave. However, I do mind pointless and mindless bureaucracy and as other people here have posted it is astonishing how many countries throttle the self-employed rather than seeing it is an opportunity to wipe a few zeros of their unemployment figure.
I give up. But I'm glad to see that Russell is receiving his State Pension. That's because he paid his National Insurance contributions.
If you don't know the difference between income tax and National Insurance.....
Over and out.
| | | | XXXphxxx (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:41
Portuguese to English
+ ...
| Absolutely know the perceived 'difference' | Feb 26, 2012 |
Tom in London wrote:
If you don't know the difference between income tax and National Insurance.....
Over and out.
I know the difference they would like us to think there is. The fact is it all goes into same pot. I wish I could find the Nick Robinson interview with Alistair Darling who confirms it.
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Lisa Simpson, MCIL wrote: Tom in London wrote:
If you don't know the difference between income tax and National Insurance.....
Over and out. I know the difference they would like us to think there is. The fact is it all goes into same pot. I wish I could find the Nick Robinson interview with Alistair Darling who confirms it.
Can't find the actual interview, but an interesting short clip from the programme can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00lxytv
And a Radio Times article about the programme (no longer available on the net) states: "And did you think your National Insurance revenue went to health care and pensions? Wrong!" http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/nth9r/your-money-and-how-they-spend-it--episode-2
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