Taxation and Package

[freeier]

what kind of annual income wld it make sense to actually get a tax accountant ? i'd think even for 1.5m hkd p/a it doesn't really make sense because you won't save that much rite ? how much can one actually reduce from a tax bill of 250k hkd ?

at 1.5m hkd, assuming you getting even like 70% of that in your previous job, you are probably in tax bracket of >20% most part of the world. Even in Singapore supposedly tax friendly country you are paying close to 20%. Anyplaces around deductible are good for moderate income ppl but not really that significant for 1.5m HKD.

and for accomodation deduction. assuming 1.5m hkd is the basic annual package and you are getting another ~50% in bonus, e.g. 2.4m hkd in total. you'd have to rent a place that is more than 240hkd annually to get the marginal benefit of accomodation tax deduction, i.e. anything above the 20k per month you pay will be deductible, below the 20k you are better off not declaring.

[coolgirl]

freeier, good point.

[WhereisHKG]

Pls read my clarification before shooting me down. I am more than willing to take your sarcasm as i am not an expert in this area. I will wait for the wind of change when i can kick you back in areas i am an expert in. Hahaha.

I agree with the rest. How is 16% alarming? Which part of the world are you living in? Dubai? Middle East is the only area where tax is 0%. Otherwise, HK, SIngapore are tax havens at 15-16%

The absolute amount of tax that you will pay is not alarming too. A lot of people do pay taxes more than you.

It's true that accommodation is tax deductible. How it is done I don't know. The company I'll be working for will explain when I get on board.

[WhereisHKG]

Good pt and thanks for your help, I will read your pts again to insure i fully understands it later today. The part that i find more intriguing is not your response but your date of birth, which is similar to mine even to the year. I am not sure about your time of birth but if it is similar, our "destiny" will be the same from a fengshui context.

Thanks again

what kind of annual income wld it make sense to actually get a tax accountant ? i'd think even for 1.5m hkd p/a it doesn't really make sense because you won't save that much rite ? how much can one actually reduce from a tax bill of 250k hkd ?

at 1.5m hkd, assuming you getting even like 70% of that in your previous job, you are probably in tax bracket of >20% most part of the world. Even in Singapore supposedly tax friendly country you are paying close to 20%. Anyplaces around deductible are good for moderate income ppl but not really that significant for 1.5m HKD.

and for accomodation deduction. assuming 1.5m hkd is the basic annual package and you are getting another ~50% in bonus, e.g. 2.4m hkd in total. you'd have to rent a place that is more than 240hkd annually to get the marginal benefit of accomodation tax deduction, i.e. anything above the 20k per month you pay will be deductible, below the 20k you are better off not declaring.

[coolgirl]

Pls read my clarification before shooting me down. I am more than willing to take your sarcasm as i am not an expert in this area. I will wait for the wind of change when i can kick you back in areas i am an expert in. Hahaha.

Don't worry I'll be humble enough to stand corrected when the situation calls for it

It's not sarcasm by the way, I just call a spade a spade. That's why I was wondering where you came from, because in Europe, the US, Asia, 16% is very small. And though you will have a high absolute tax, it shouldn't burn a whole in the pocket because you will have a high take home pay anyway. I work in that sort of environment and I don't see anyone complaining

[freeier]

Good pt and thanks for your help, I will read your pts again to insure i fully understands it later today. The part that i find more intriguing is not your response but your date of birth, which is similar to mine even to the year. I am not sure about your time of birth but if it is similar, our "destiny" will be the same from a fengshui context.

Thanks again

i am putting too much details ? haha. time to cut them.
10.45pm i think. if i din remember wrongly.

[nation]

I think i need to provide some clarification here, it's not the 16% but more on the amount of tax that i have to pay per annum with almost zero in terms of deductables. Practically, the amt you make becomes taxable!!.

I'm sure there's a bucket load of emu farming investments you can get involved in for tax write offs . As mentioned by someone above there are a few basic deductions but at HK$1.5m pa they hardly make a dent in reducing your assessable income to taxable income.

I haven't been here long enough to know what personal investments are out there in market, to trail through the legislation to look at tax opportunities or to know any decent personal tax lawyers. Maybe some else here can advise?? I know you mentioned you are here on a local package but if your company is foreign and they have done a few employee transfers they may be able to hook you up with someone at the Big 4s who deals with expat taxes.

[WhereisHKG]

of all the billion of people, millions of forum, thousands of questions, you picking mine to answer, this is priceless.

I guest our "eight characters" will be different from the time of birth, but we are a "metal" person in general.

i am putting too much details ? haha. time to cut them.
10.45pm i think. if i din remember wrongly.