Do you pay social security?

[Jade33]

Most of you being so diverse and somehow genius in planning here...
I am curious if you guys pay social security as company owner or whatever set up and to which amount?
Which country has the best/most benefits for self employed people in regards to the social contributions they pay (usually a lot if high income )

 

[acidman]

Haven't done so in years (legally).
Soon enough I'll hopefully get a convenience tax residency with territorial taxation, so effectively 0% taxes and no social security obligations.
However, I also don't have any physical permanent residency (or even temporary for that matter).

If you're self employed in the EU - tough luck, most of it is similar and you'll still get nearly nothing at the end of the day when you actually need it. Your wellbeing will depend on your ability and desire to pay for premiums. My guess is that Germany and Benelux/Scandinavian countries would probably be "the best" (if you can afford it). If you work remotely and feel like marrying a suitcase for a while - well, the world is your oyster and the possibilities are numerous.

 

[TheCryptoAnt]

lol no

Best you can do is claim you are poor in western Europe and have tons of kids. The state will take care of you.
Bonus points if you are Romani.

 

[GPT]

I am not able to avoid it all but I limit it to the absolute minimum. For the EU I agree with @acud. Benelux and Germany are your best options. The kids thing however is not always working anymore as in most countries the gov has access to the children's medical files and that crosscheck would immediately show if kids show up for regular checks etc in their first years.

 

[Jade33]

I believe in BE its 21% of your income with a fix min of 3000e/y (even if you make peanuts)
I remember paying a lot over 10 years and was never sick, never taking benefits so it only gives you "access" to the pool in case you need it.
on top of all the other taxes they collect....

 

[JohnLocke]

I am curious if you guys pay social security as company owner or whatever set up and to which amount?

yes, we do and have done so for the last 5 years. It's not to avoid if you run a legitimated company and want to stay out of troubles.

 

[Jade33]

yes, we do and have done so for the last 5 years. It's not to avoid if you run a legitimated company and want to stay out of troubles.

I thought there was a different set up when it comes to offshore companies?!

Offshore entity to avoid Social Security Tax (and a US one)

Learn 2 ways how to avoid paying Social Security Tax by being employed by a foreign entity and still have a US bank account.

1040abroad.com

Even EU made a big report a few years ago on this (perhaps loopholes are fixed by now )