Already touched on by David, but do spend time considering the tax benefits of such a move.
As a contracter, you will be able to claim expenses such as commuting to work, laptops, PC's and internet connection at home, as well as rent/mortgage and home office expenses if you do work from home. Not to mention that you will pay tax at the buisiness rate (30%) rather than the personal rate based on income (probably 33-39%). There's a minefield of things that you can and cannot get these benefits from, and it all depends on your individual situation. This is something that only your accountant should give you advice on. Yes they aren't cheap, but you often get a return on their advice in the long term. I reccommend this book if you want a basic grasp of some of the benefits available to you, and different entity structures. Short and proper english. You'll get through it in less than a week and it has helped me understand things I would otherwise have to bounce of my accountant, keeping my costs down. http://www.goodreturns.co.nz/books/product_info.php?products_id=200. One word of advice for accountants - keep your discussions with them to the point and on track. Mine often likes to discuss our mutual interest in cars while the clock is ticking. And they should be paying you in a way that covers their savings in not covering your holiday pay, sickness leave, PAYE, ACC and student loan. Because you will basically be covering these costs yourself without direct cost to your employer at the time of issue. Your in-hand pay will increase alot, so a bit of forward planning and self control is required so you are not short in covering these costs. Not too sure about Kiwisaver but worth noting. Take a look at this article and research that site. http://www.business.govt.nz/Employing-staff/Employment-agreements/What-is-the-difference-between-an-employee-and-an-independent-contractor.aspx All worth considering, alongside the potential pitfalls involved on the employment side of things that Jochen, Paul and Michael have rasied. Don't jump into it. I would tell your employer you need time to investigate what the situation would mean to you before giving them an answer. Also think about the possible reasons for why they are proposing this. Cheers Aaron ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: "NZ PHP Users Group" <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, April 16, 2009 12:11 PM Subject: [phpug] Full time employee to fixed contractor > > Hi all, > > My employer proposes me change to change my position from full time > employee to fixed contractor. He says > >> While nothing will change in terms of the relationships we have, it's >> simply a change in terminology and the way you earn money. > > Meaning nothing will change except they won't take away PAYE but I > have to register for GST and file for GST every 2 months. > > In summary, I can take home more money since I don't have to pay PAYE, > but I have to hire an accountant to do my financial stuff or do it > myself. > > What do you think? > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ NZ PHP Users Group: http://groups.google.com/group/nzphpug To post, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe, send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
