US vs UK taxes etc

I work for a legal services firm now, but used to work for a multi-billion dollar etailer (not as big as amazon LOL). The skillsets are 100% more in demand here. It is hard to NOT find work here tbh in this field. My accent definitely helps lol.

I'm a little tied to this area I'm in so can't go to NYC or Silicon Valley to get the big bucks. I need to set my goals a bit higher and become team lead. Then my wife won't need to work so she can focus on schooling herself and doing things she loves :)


Don't forget you have to pay a 6% personal tax in NYC on top of the other taxes.

I think PA's personal tax is about 3%

Florida has no personal tax :)
 
Well...I am definitely not getting over $200k lol. That would be nice for sure though lol.

Never say never. There is lots of money to be made as a software developer ($150K+ starting) if you join a company that has a half-decent compensation policy. If they don't, you need to work for a company that does. They're out there and still hiring. :)
 
I think as someone pointed out, for the UK you can essentially include employers NI on top of your pay at approximately 14% from memory. That makes my net take home in the range of 55-56% (excluding my pension).
 
I think as someone pointed out, for the UK you can essentially include employers NI on top of your pay at approximately 14% from memory. That makes my net take home in the range of 55-56% (excluding my pension).

That's crazy low percentage for net.
Never say never. There is lots of money to be made as a software developer ($150K+ starting) if you join a company that has a half-decent compensation policy. If they don't, you need to work for a company that does. They're out there and still hiring. :)

Starting?

North East Tri State area and my first three jobs offers here 8 years ago where just shy of 80k plus benefits/bonus. I got offered all three jobs I interviewed for that week and picked the big etailer for security as my first job here. Then soent 5 years there, and was going nowhere due to silo work, so moved company. A lot happier and more creative now.

Looking around at payscales on websites, 150k is extreme high end. Not sure where you are working exactly, but I would like to know lol. That would be high for a senior around here.
 
Just looking at tax rates isn’t all that useful, you need to look at all taxes (direct and indirect) in detail because what’s deductible also changes. You also need to consider government spending like the health care and funding for higher education in the round.

Generally speaking the US taxes less than the U.K. (who tax a lot less than most of Europe) but they also spend less in return.
 
I was looking at it as 'what I take home' (NET) rather than just 'tax', because that is what counts. Indirect comes into it to, such as ... common tax rates for housing in my area ranges from $8k to $20k per year. (school, police, land taxes etc). My town home is sub $3k for that at present but I'll go to $8k to $10k range later this year when I move.

When you factor in having to pay massively for health insurance and other little pieces, it actually seems to level out pay percentage wise.

I don't really have a choice but to own a car. Going anywhere the bus system SSUUUUUCCCKKKKKKKKSSSSSSSsssssss so bad. Comedy US only moment, I went to an interview (aced it btw), and on the way out my recruiter asked to walk me to my car (she was chatting me up), but I mentioned I took the bus.. and she dropped me like a hot rock. LMAO.
 
What’s false again?

Your claim that they also spend less in return, they don't, they're simply more productive!

You also need to consider government spending like the health care and funding for higher education in the round.

Generally speaking the US taxes less than the U.K. (who tax a lot less than most of Europe) but they also spend less in return.

Look at the budget per capita:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_government_budget_per_capita

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US salaries are higher, the US workers have fewer holidays and the US is way more productive than the UK. The % of tax taken might be (relatively) lower but that doesn't translate to lower spending per person and certainly not lower as a total! The federal government of the US has enormous spending power.

You mention healthcare and education. The US government spends more on healthcare per person than the UK despite it not being free for everyone - many have to use insurance, medicare etc.. exists for some (poor, elderly etc..):

AhV52Hp.jpg


Likewise, you mentioned education - look at secondary education, the US spends at UK private school rates - something like 12k USD per pupil, the UK spends around 6k GBP per pupil.

https://educationdata.org/public-education-spending-statistics
Schools in the United States spend an average of $12,612 per pupil, which is the fifth-highest amount per pupil among the 37 other developed nations in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
 
Their government spending is 38% of GDP, the U.K. is 41%, countries like France that tax very highly is over 55%.

https://data.oecd.org/gga/general-government-spending.htm

Hence, they tax less, they spend less using the same measure. Yes they are more productive but that isn’t what I said.

I specifically mentioned higher education, e.g. universities. Their government spending on healthcare is incredibly inefficient, sure they spend more but they get far less for their $.
 
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I guess it was a bit ambiguous - in terms of actual spending per person they don't spend less overall at all, they've got a less equal society for sure but their spending per person is higher thanks to having a more efficient, more productive economy.

Healthcare workers get much better pay over there, not just doctors, being a nurse in the US is a well-paid job too. If you're a middle-class professional over there with good health insurance and live in a good area then there is a rather high quality of life available.
 
Just looking at tax rates isn’t all that useful, you need to look at all taxes (direct and indirect) in detail because what’s deductible also changes. You also need to consider government spending like the health care and funding for higher education in the round.

Generally speaking the US taxes less than the U.K. (who tax a lot less than most of Europe) but they also spend less in return.

Gross pay is also relevant, e.g. paying £10K tax on £40K gross is the same income as paying £20K tax on £50K gross. The latter is, essentially, taxing businesses more.

Cost of living is also relevant, especially in terms of necessary costs.

Tax is only one factor in the question of how well off people are. In theory, people could have a higher standard of living in a country with 90% tax than in a country with 10% tax even if the gross pay is the same.
 
I was looking at it as 'what I take home' (NET) rather than just 'tax', because that is what counts. Indirect comes into it to, such as ... common tax rates for housing in my area ranges from $8k to $20k per year. (school, police, land taxes etc). My town home is sub $3k for that at present but I'll go to $8k to $10k range later this year when I move.

When you factor in having to pay massively for health insurance and other little pieces, it actually seems to level out pay percentage wise.

I don't really have a choice but to own a car. Going anywhere the bus system SSUUUUUCCCKKKKKKKKSSSSSSSsssssss so bad. Comedy US only moment, I went to an interview (aced it btw), and on the way out my recruiter asked to walk me to my car (she was chatting me up), but I mentioned I took the bus.. and she dropped me like a hot rock. LMAO.
That sounds like the equivalent of council tax for us, don't think it ever goes that high though, I think £3000 is about the top amount anyone in this country pays.
 
I am foolish for not doing this. Other 'smart' people keep log books of such things, and any redeeming work to bring up in reviews as evidence.
Excess hours can be frowned upon sometimes. I remember in my first IT role I was told by my manager if can't do the job in 40 hours there's one of two things wrong. 1. You can't do your job. 2. You're overloaded with work and that needs to be reduced. NUmber of hours worked shouldn't really be a factor at reviews. I know American companies can think a little differently however.

Tbh, tax concerns aside I don't understand why someone would come to the UK from the USA. Where as USA might be a "failing nation" as some are now calling it, UK must be already a failed nation in that case. In fact, the USA's involvement in WW2 helped that along (wasn't done for free) - UK has paid since :). NHS free healthcare is great and the USA should have it too as supposedly the best country in the world. But regarding opportunities, those are found in the USA. I know a few people who struggled to find the opportunities they wanted in the UK but found them in the USA and have done very well over there.

UK was good for IT contracting(freelancing) in the past which I believe is not so lucrative in the USA but the government has even put a stop to that, it's hardly worthwhile today - they'd prefer everyone to be a minion in a large org :p.
 
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This is pretty misleading though, as US healthcare costs an absolute fortune?

Pretty much this! I suspect US hospitals have decent buying power but that only goes so far against general items like insulin (probably not the best example but an easy one to Google) that are charged close to 10 times what the NHS pay.

So only spending ~1% more per capita is quite surprising.

And just to add US healthcare insurance is tied to your employment, loose your job and your up the proverbial creek
 
Or retire ;)

It should be noted that the graph above is only government spending, there is an order of magnitude more private spending in the US compared to the U.K. as you’d expect with the insurance system.
 
Your claim that they also spend less in return, they don't, they're simply more productive!


US salaries are higher, the US workers have fewer holidays and the US is way more productive than the UK. The % of tax taken might be (relatively) lower but that doesn't translate to lower spending per person and certainly not lower as a total! The federal government of the US has enormous spending power.

I don`t not what industry you are in, but America being down to being more productive is they need 4 people to do the job of one professional UK worker, your post made me chuckle lots though.
 
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