4 ms·

I would love to move to Spain one day but their current tax structure seems crazy for a self employed techie. Is there a 'hack' I am missing?

by herbst 2y ago

diggan 2y ago
I'm a self employed techie from Sweden living in Spain since a decade, what exactly is supposed to be crazy? I've felt like most things been pretty straightforward.
- redrove 2y ago
  Of course it would feel normal for a Swede. The taxes are outrageous. LE: Your income tax is ~47% over 60k/yr just so everyone knows what we’re talking about.
  - diggan 2y ago
    Ah, the complaint is merely about the taxes being high? Meh, I like to have infrastructure that doesn't fall apart + healthcare available for everyone, so hard to complain about it. It's just money after all. (For what it's worth, I barely worked professionally in Sweden so I wasn't really used to anything tax related before I moved to Spain, but it probably colored my perspective, yeah)
    - herbst 2y ago
      To be fair I compare Spain to Switzerland where I currently live and other than the weather and maybe the mentality everything my tax money would be used for is argueable worse than here but costs 3-4 times as much. (I didn't really earn money before I lived in Switzerland either. It's hard to imagine switching from maybe 13% tax on my income to 50% plus wealth tax)
  - toomuchtodo 2y ago
    As an American, I find this very reasonable for the value per sibling comment.
    - redrove 2y ago
      Have you ever lived in Spain so you can accurately assess said value?
      - toomuchtodo 2y ago
        Yes, I have, as I have young children and need to raise them somewhere more humane than the US. Portugal and Spain were the options, and Spain was what we preferred after living in both.
        redrove 2y ago
        Fair enough, I’ve lived in Spain as well, no children though.
        toomuchtodo 2y ago
        I am not ignorant of the cost you surface wrt taxes, but taking into account my total US tax burden when you add in insurance and medical expenses for a family of four, cross jurisdiction tax credits for taxes I would pay in Spain, as well as the improved quality of life around work life balance, life pace, safety of living a car free life (walking or riding bicycles primary for transportation), and so on, it is a net positive for our situation. I admit others must perform their own assessment to understand if a potentially favorable outcome awaits them. If you want to grind and become wealthy, it’s not the place to be; it’s a place to live. As always, be mindful what you’re optimizing for.
mikhailfranco 2y ago
Other comments relate the high income tax, but Spain also has a "impuesto de patrimonio" wealth tax, which forces you to declare all worldwide assets. Even if the current rates are low, they may (will) rise. It is surveillance masquerading as taxation, until the rates go up and then your are trapped, gutted and left for dead. https://www.spainmadesimple.com/finance/wealth-tax-in-spain/#What_is_Wealth_Tax_in_Spain https://www.spainmadesimple.com/finance/wealth-tax-in-spain/...

I would love to move to Spain one day but their current tax structure seems crazy for a self employed techie. Is there a 'hack' I am missing?

by herbst 2y ago

I would love to move to Spain one day but their current tax structure seems crazy for a self employed techie. Is there a 'hack' I am missing?

diggan 2y ago

I'm a self employed techie from Sweden living in Spain since a decade, what exactly is supposed to be crazy? I've felt like most things been pretty straightforward.

redrove 2y ago
Of course it would feel normal for a Swede. The taxes are outrageous. LE: Your income tax is ~47% over 60k/yr just so everyone knows what we’re talking about.
- diggan 2y ago
  Ah, the complaint is merely about the taxes being high? Meh, I like to have infrastructure that doesn't fall apart + healthcare available for everyone, so hard to complain about it. It's just money after all. (For what it's worth, I barely worked professionally in Sweden so I wasn't really used to anything tax related before I moved to Spain, but it probably colored my perspective, yeah)
  - herbst 2y ago
    To be fair I compare Spain to Switzerland where I currently live and other than the weather and maybe the mentality everything my tax money would be used for is argueable worse than here but costs 3-4 times as much. (I didn't really earn money before I lived in Switzerland either. It's hard to imagine switching from maybe 13% tax on my income to 50% plus wealth tax)
- toomuchtodo 2y ago
  As an American, I find this very reasonable for the value per sibling comment.
  - redrove 2y ago
    Have you ever lived in Spain so you can accurately assess said value?
    - toomuchtodo 2y ago
      Yes, I have, as I have young children and need to raise them somewhere more humane than the US. Portugal and Spain were the options, and Spain was what we preferred after living in both.
      - redrove 2y ago
        Fair enough, I’ve lived in Spain as well, no children though.
        toomuchtodo 2y ago
        I am not ignorant of the cost you surface wrt taxes, but taking into account my total US tax burden when you add in insurance and medical expenses for a family of four, cross jurisdiction tax credits for taxes I would pay in Spain, as well as the improved quality of life around work life balance, life pace, safety of living a car free life (walking or riding bicycles primary for transportation), and so on, it is a net positive for our situation. I admit others must perform their own assessment to understand if a potentially favorable outcome awaits them. If you want to grind and become wealthy, it’s not the place to be; it’s a place to live. As always, be mindful what you’re optimizing for.

mikhailfranco 2y ago

Other comments relate the high income tax, but Spain also has a "impuesto de patrimonio" wealth tax, which forces you to declare all worldwide assets. Even if the current rates are low, they may (will) rise. It is surveillance masquerading as taxation, until the rates go up and then your are trapped, gutted and left for dead. https://www.spainmadesimple.com/finance/wealth-tax-in-spain/#What_is_Wealth_Tax_in_Spain https://www.spainmadesimple.com/finance/wealth-tax-in-spain/...