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To be fair, having grown up in Belgium, they take their red tape and bureaucracy to a whole new level. I considered moving back there and freelancing after uni
by philjohn 13y ago
To be fair, having grown up in Belgium, they take their red tape and bureaucracy to a whole new level.
I considered moving back there and freelancing after university, but the hoops you have to jump through (and tax you have to pay) scared me off that idea pretty quickly.
- stdbrouw 13y agoHoops to jump through: set up a business bank account, fill out some forms, about 30 minutes tops. Pay taxes once a year for federal, provincial and city and VAT four times a year through a free online system. Sounds like a lot but it takes hardly any time. As a freelancer you can keep simplified accounts, double bookkeeping is optional. Pay an accountant if that's too much to deal with. Admittedly it's more of a hassle in Belgium than it is in the UK (they treat sole traders really well) but it's still a walk in the park. Level of taxation: sure, it's a lot, but always less than what an employee would pay. And you get health insurance and are saving for retirement as a part of that bargain – even as a freelancer!