Can anybody help me evade tax in the UK? ;)

I don't know what it's like in the UK, but in the US your tax status would be self-employed, since you said you work online...I'm sure some UK'ers here on the forum can give you more details.
_____
Bruce

Not quite sure how it works in the UK - but in the US the federal government actually acknowledges Internet Marketing as a legit business - don't forget to reduce the amount of tax to pay to offset expenses like, internet connection, any WSO's you purchased, computers, cell phones plans etc etc

Move to The Bahamas. They have no income tax there.

Create an offshore company with a company bank account... and have them send you an invoice for services provided in the year. If by chance it was similar to your uk profit... then you would have been working for nothing all year... and the offshore company would be RICH. However you can post £2000 in cash back to yourself fully insured through the post office... as often as you like... for the price of a stamp.

It works

I hate taxes there where no income taxes in America for the first 150 years and the founders where against it, now the entire planet is racing to tax us more and more and that is why only a few % are productive. good luck.

That is incredibly bad and irresponsible advice.

Get an accountant and take advice on how best
to structure your business to suit your specific
circumstances.

My accountant costs about £800 a year and has
saved me thousands!

John

I'm pretty sure you'd be classified as 'self-employed' but always best to ring HMRC to double check!

I'm actually from Swansea originally...saw your location and thought 'how weird' lol hopefully you live in the one of the nicer parts...near the Gower maybe

Seek the advice of a qualified-competent tax/legal professional. Their guidance is priceless and will save you untold money, time and hassle.

Brucerby - Thanks man, yes you're right... someone did mention that I would be classed as self-employed. In fact when I was looking for a little 'financial assistance' a little ways back, they made it quite clear that my tax status would need adjusting... gotta make that phone call

Susanrh - Thanks to you too Susan, and for the link as well! I'll keep the 'evade tax' thing quiet, if you promise to too

Chris Kent - Thanks Chris, I'm actually venturing into product creation... so I'm not sure where I stand with that... probably best just to ask them... I mean it couldn't hurt right? (unless they decide to nail me and I find out once again that honesty can kick you in the arse :p)

MacS09 - That's great Max, cheers! Great advice... not great about your bush lawyer... that's not cool at all. I'm all about amassing a fortune before the grave certainly so I'm happy to give the pension a bump.

Aussie_Al - That's the kind of stuff I'm looking for I never paid attention when people talked about 'tax deductables'... I guess I deserve this confusion for my ignorance I suppose. Ah well, time to play catch up!

M Thompson - I've been thinking about weighing up the pros and cons of going self-employed / sole trader / private company. The limited liability aspect isn't a huge issue of course, since I'm unlikely to be leveraging credit any time soon (past my credit cards and a cheeky loan from my sister (and nana) of course))... so it would all come down to tax.

Joe Mobley - Wow... that's some pretty interesting stuff... I've never heard of Kathleen before but just reading that first excerpt got me pumped! Also, I like that Occam thing. Nice one!

Timpears - Man I don't know if that was a joke or not but I've had that in the back of my mind for about a month now... I'm gonna get over there at some point, no reason not to make it a home base if everything ties together!

Ollarbank - Interesting... very interesting. 'Almost' sounds like it's bordering on fraud but I'm open to suggestions! In all seriousness though, all things being equal (and legit) it's something I'd consider.

Chris Kent - Yeah that is something I'd be wanting to avoid. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind paying 'some' tax and NI because in fairness this country has been good to me. I just want to save as much as I can so that I get to choose who I give / donate it to.

HelpingYouBeAnExpert - I appreciate the luck, thanks! As I said just now, I don't mind contributing, I'd just like more of a say about how I contribute.

John Taylor - Hey John, thanks for that man. Obviously in my ignorance I can't comment on what's good and what's bad advice but I appreciate where you're coming from. I've thought about getting an Accountant, or at least consulting with one... but I don't know prices, or what makes a good accountant vs. a bush accountant (see Max's post )... but £800 a year sounds fine.

SpikeS - Used to work in Mumbles as a Waiter for a bit... now about half way between that and the steel works. You know, the bit that looks like the opening to Blade Runner at night? I'll be getting in touch with HMRC, no doubt, cheers!

Scott Skinner - I think that might need to be another phone call I make too... thanks Scott!

Marcus C - That has helped Marcus, cheers... nicely summarised. I think I have a plan


As for the rest, I want to say thanks for all your opinions and advice. As long as it comes from the best of your knowledge, I appreciate the sentiment.

So I'm feeling a quick call to HMRC and take a look around for a decent accountant. My friend from back home is qualified now I think but she'd just be all smug about it... and I don't want her live-in boyfriend to find out what I'm earning either... my best mate or not :p

Cheers guys, any more advice is welcome.

Adam,

You are known as a "sole trader".

Remember also you need to register as a sole trader with HMRC within (3 months I think?) of starting earning.

Best to get an accountant to advise you - not expensive and definitely worth it.

HTH!

Joe Mobley - That's taken on board Joe, cheers. I can see myself ending up with an accountant so I'll definitely speak to them about this Also... I LOVE the sound of an international empire

Richard Tunnah - I really appreciate that Rich, thanks. It's a daunting thing to consider, going private and getting an accountant... but if I'm planning on moving up through the ranks, then it's something that'll have to be done. You've made it seem less daunting, so cheers

Chickenlittle - In theory, it's been about 3 months now... jesus, I'm gonna have to jump on this sooner than I thought! Best make that call to HMRC :p

I would set up a company as it does legitimise all expenses. Do not, under any circumstance, evade your tax obligations as it will come back to bite you!

The best FREE advice you will get is from HM Revenue and Customs.

For example: HM Revenue & Customs:Selling items online, through classified advertisements and at car boot sales - Customs Charges

If you have ever paid taxes in your life - you have already paid for these people to help you. Phone them up and ask questions, they are there to help you and they will.

If you're a full time internet marketer now then you are a self-employed internet marketer. You can fill your tax return in online and it's all pretty easy step-by-step stuff.

THanks for posting question i had same questions

Well, I just posted this:

http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post4190721

So we're taking a step in the right direction (didn't think it warranted being posted in this thread).

Blackjack - Thanks Jack... I think offshore might be mostly unnecessary for me at the moment, but I'll get in touch with a decent accountant hopefully with the recommendations from the other thread) and see what they can do for me Thanks again.

The Wizard - Agreed... An ass-biting is something I'd like to avoid in most cases. MOST cases :p ..... sorry

Kierkegaard - I like your attitude Seems pretty simple actually... I'm gaining confidence each time I read this thread!

SpeedylikesKJ - Glad to do it friend, hope it helped

Go offshore Adam. Jersey, Guernsey - take your pick of any of a number of offshore locations around the world.

More info...

Google

Adam,

If you are interested in offshore planning, make sure you see a good accountant. If you get the wrong advice, you are still the one liable and due for fines/prison.

If you set up an offshore company to pay no tax, while running your internet business from and living in the UK, this is tax evasion. The "central management and control" of the company is in the UK, even if you set up a nominee director to try and hide it. This applies for any offshore company, whether Guernsey, Jersey, Bahamas, or wherever.

Chris is right. You can setup your NI on direct debit every month so you do not really have to worry about that.

You can file your tax return yearly online. Its the easy way to do it and if you are not great with numbers and you feel comfortable you can always have a accountant look over everything for you.

For me it depends on how much you earn. If you earn a lot then your may decide to get a accountant and handle your taxes monthly (I know I would ). If you earn a little then do it yourself yearly.

Also make sure you keep records of everything. Then you can prove what you have earned.

OH MY GOD!!!!

Ok, the first thing you need to do is this:

DO NOT LISTEN TO ANY ADVICE UNLESS IT IS FROM AN ACCOUNTANT OR HMRC!!!!

There is so much bad advice on this thread, it's NOT FUNNY. Some people think they're helping by giving what they think is advice, please STOP!

Tax evasion is ILLEGAL, tax avoidance is LEGAL. Yes, I'm an Accountant so I know what I'm talking about.

Things like residency and tax can be very complicated, so if you were thinking of going down that route, get an Accountant. Whilst you may not be taxed on earnings in the Bahamas, if you 'remit' it the UK and are of a certain domicilary / residency then you will still pay UK tax on that income.

So, BE CAREFUL and SEEK ADVICE.

If you need some help, feel free to shoot me a PM.

Chris

I would say to speak with an accountant / CPA as soon as physically possible. IN my first year of business taxes absolutely screwed me over due to not being set up properly. a very costly mistake I hope no one has to go through.

Hi Pete,

Careful mate, that's a rather sweeping statement! I think we're slightly talking at cross purposes as to what an "expense" actually is, also.

You might not have incurred the kind of expenses which are not tax deductible in your 30 years of doing business.

Chris

There is some decent advice here, but there is so much really bad advice that it makes me cringe.

As a UK qualified accountant, it is fascinating to read.

Unfortunately it does make me wonder about the advice dished out in other areas such as SEO etc...

What is plain to see is that you have to have your wits about you, and only by experience and action can you develop the skills to suss out when someone is talking b*llocks.

you are not unemployed at all. Self employed and laible for taxes on all profts over (what is now? £7k or £10k?)

but that my friend is tax evasion......you cannot simply move money offshore and claim no taxable earnings....ask an accountant about this.

Congrats on successfulyl evading tax so far..a crime no less..I am sure one you will be caught.

another piont should you ever go for a mortgage/loan etc..and you have no earnings to show you will not get dime from a bank ever. If you claim you make minscule profits but drive around in a flasdh £20k+ car, etc..you will be on the radar. You look like a drugs dealer by doing things like this .

Michael Oksa - Thanks man... I'm starting to realise that tax might actually be a grey area... who'd have thought?! :p I'm going to look into this further... maybe get a few opinions.

Pete Walker - This is how I'd like it to be. As I said, the plan is to reduce my business overheads (tax included) as much as possible so I can gift my money where I feel it better belongs. Good for you with the shoelaces Pete... that's the kind of moxy I'm lookin' for

Huh.... apparently moxy isn't a word anymore according to Microsoft. Madness.

Chris McDonald - I love posts that start with 'OH MY GOD'... always, no exception I can probably take 'off-shoring' off of the table for now, since I just want to get myself 'basically' established and not put away. I am trying to avoid tax though :p I'm gonna shoot you that PM now Chris, thanks buddy!

MarcHorne - Marc you aren't alone... one of the heavy hitters I speak to now and again (offline business with an online component, seven figures and all that) said that his tax wasn't calculated or handled properly in the beginning either... He lost a ton.

Kim Standerline - Thanks for your input Kim, sounds like you're talking from experience

Steadyon - That's a really good point as well. I know nothing about tax, simple as that. So in cases like these, I'll ask. The forum's a good place to start because you get a lot of different opinions and a lot of possibilities to follow up on / look into. Yes, some of it will be bollocks, some of it misguided, but some of it pretty good and the solution to the problem

But ultimately, yes... you're well served by either going to the source (HMRC), or the experts (Who clearly make a living giving out this advice).

Chris McDonald - I read everything

Chriswick - I didn't even think about talking to a bank about this... makes sense. Of course I used to sell Unenforceable Credit Agreements and PPI claims so... I'm kinda hardwired to hate banks now :p

Sloanjim - I figured I was self-employed... just not making any money right now... well, not much. Jesus, there's a 'kick his arse' statement if I've ever heard one :p You're right though, pretty self-explanatory. What I'm looking for is to incorporate or not, and pay as little tax as possible. And the drug dealer thing made me laugh, so all in all, good advice, cheers