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I am surprised that “trying to get paid by any USian corporate entity for freelance work without arranging for the pertinent amount of tax to be collected (or exempted, depending on circumstances) at source is pretty much impossible”.

Over the years I have worked for a raft of different organisations in the USA, ranging from commercial publishers to the publishing arms of “learned societies”. The issue of withholding tax has never reared its head.

To me this says that it depends on the work you are doing and who you work for. I am just churning out words. I don’t do stand-up comedy.

Demands for “taxation at source” used to be a regular theme on the ABSW list. It has never happened to me, despite numerous contracts over the years, but universities are the usual source of these complaints. This is because they don't have clue – now there’s a surprise – and have this funny idea that everyone is on PAYE. Mostly, they go away when you tell them to get stuffed and provide a bit of evidence.

So, back to my earlier advice, talk to a consultant, or just tell them to send you the money.

I would go with Francis’s first advice, but that also works on the basis that this is journalism. Not sure that the NUJ can do much for people who are, say, running workshops on how to explain science with plasticine, to pluck a possibly plausible example out of the sky.

But Francis is spot on in the follow up: “challenge clients who insist on deducting tax at source, explaining to said clients that you are fully aware of the regulations”.

From: psci-com: on public engagement with science [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Paul G Raven
Sent: 2014-May-29 14:38
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [PSCI-COM] Question about tax on overseas income

While the law may be clear, the interpretation of it is less so; this is why lawyers make such a lot of money.

From personal experience, while UK law may well state that my tax affairs are my own concern and not those of my client, trying to get paid by any USian corporate entity for freelance work without arranging for the pertinent amount of tax to be collected (or exempted, depending on circumstances) at source is pretty much impossible; because of the way *their* laws are interpreted, no company will take the risk of being audited and then having to prove that some foreign freelancer paid their tax properly in their domicile nation. They literally just will not authorise a payment to you until you've registered as a supplier and stated which tax treaties (if any) are pertinent. You can try telling them it's your problem not theirs until you're blue in the face; all you'll achieve is delaying the expedition of whatever payment you're due.

And I'm informed (by colleagues who've done a deal more of the same sort of work than I have) that HMRC tend to tax you the full whack on any and all overseas payments to self-assessors, whether you pre-emptively demonstrate tax was paid (or exempted) at source or not, and that it's up to you to argue it back out of them -- which is probably a job for an accountant, because the laughably named "explanatory notes" for the US taxation forms are Byzantine in the extreme, and our own self-assessment system (while notably less hideous than that of our Stateside friends, thank Jeebus) is no model of simplicity, either.

The rule of thumb I was offered goes something like "if clawing back the tax isn't going to gain you enough rebate to make it possible to pay an accountant and have some left over, you might as well just suck it up, accept the losses, and thereby avoid weeks of frustrating bureaucratic bullsh*t".

That said, maybe NUJ membership would achieve the same thing at a lower price; the big caveat here is that I've never earned enough as a freelancer to make it worth me joining the union or hiring an accountant! If you're in that space, time and money are equally precious and scarce; if you have to spend the best part of a week faffing around to recover less than you could have earned in that time, it's very hard to justify making the effort. *shrug*

PGR

On 29 May 2014 13:45, Francis Sedgemore <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Sarah

You should resist your client’s plan to tax at source, as it could cause all sorts of problems for you down the line. If you are a self-employed person, your tax affairs are your and no-one else’s responsibility.

If you are a UK resident, you are liable to pay UK income tax and National Insurance, wherever the work is carried out. Double taxation should not be an issue within the EU/EEA, but if if are taxed at source abroad, HMRC could give you grief later. The law is clear, but bureaucracy is as ever messy.

I would advise you to consult the NUJ’s Freelance Organiser John Toner. If you are not already a member of the union, it would be in your interests to join. I do not see John refusing to help if you are not an NUJ member, but he would lean on you to join the union. The NUJ is there to help journalists with professional and legal support, and for that we require financial resources.

email: [log in to unmask]

telephone: +44 20 7843 3735

John Toner knows his business, and one does well to heed his professional advice.

Francis

On 29 May 14, at 12:24, Dr Sara Santos <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Dear All

Until recently I never faced problems with being paid for work done abroad.

I am now making arrangements for a gig and my client want to tax me at the source (I am sole-trader) in the foreign country. I am trying to get a certificate of residency in the UK to sort out double taxing but it is not clear what will happen (HMRC have been pretty useless so far).

Does any of you have any experience with this? I am looking for advice on what to do in the least time consuming way and without spending money on an accountant.

Look forward to hearing from you

Sara

Dr Sara Santos, Director

www.mathsbusking.com

Maths through street performance, since 2010
NOW RECRUITING ENGINEERS for Ingenious Busking

Email: [log in to unmask]

—

Dr Francis Sedgemore

journalist, writer and editor

telephone: +44 7840 191336

website: sedgemore.com

twitter: @hesgen

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