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Workers seeking out the lowest tax rates in the world should head to Dubai, Russia or Hong Kong, according to a league table of the world’s most attractive personal tax hot spots.

Residents in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) receive the highest net income at 95 per cent of their gross salary, while expatriates in Russia and Hong Kong pay 13 per cent and 14.2 per cent in tax respectively, according to Mercer, the business consultancy behind the survey.

The UK ranks fourteenth out of 32 in the world for workers alongside Australia and the United States, based on an average salary of £44,366 ($91,000). Single employees in the UK pay 29.4 per cent in tax, with married workers paying 29.4 per cent and employees with families pay 26.2 per cent. Workers in Belgium fare the worst, giving away more than half their income in tax, closely followed by those in Denmark and Hungary.

Asian countries including Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and China top the league table of most attractive tax destinations, while European countries including France, Italy and Germany, are in the bottom third, ranking 22nd, 28th and 29th respectively.
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Employees of multinational companies are increasingly choosing roles in countries with low tax rates to get a foot on the property ladder when they return home.

Markus Wiesner, head of operations in Dubai for Mercer, said: “We often find that the UAE’s zero taxation is a strong draw for expatriates on short-term assignments. For three to five years, young professionals can fast-track their savings to afford a mortgage when they return home, while senior executives can maximise their savings potential ahead of retirement.”

Married people with children almost universally pay the least tax, followed by married people with no children. Single workers foot the biggest tax bills across the world, the figures showed. The only countries where it does not necessarily pay to be married are Brazil, India and Turkey, where singles and couples pay roughly the same amount of tax.

Mercer said that other factors that global companies take into account when moving staff abroad are housing, private schooling and the cost of a pension plan.

Brian Waite, a senior consultant at Mercer, said: “[Local taxation] has an obvious impact on take-home pay, and in some countries with low or zero tax rates it is an important incentive for employees to work abroad.”

The UAE ranks highly because it does not apply any income tax at all and only levies a charge of 5 per cent in social security contributions on local citizens. Russia applies a flat income tax of 13 per cent, while Hong Kong applies a rate of 14.2 per cent in tax and social security contributions.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/money/tax/article2899499.ece

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