Comments on Cactus Kate: Why Australia??

All is not lost though.Those of us who are tax acc...

2006-06-07T13:31:00.000+12:00

All is not lost though.Those of us who are tax accountants or lawyers and who have returned from overseas to live and work out the remainder of our lives can and have structured our affairs so we pay the NZ government what we believe is a fair impost whilst enjoying the life style.I guess its having the best of both worlds.I have just returned from 2 weeks in Canada and the USA for business and holiday and NZ still gets my vote and the overwhelming unsoliciated vote from those I met as a great place to live.The trick is to organise yourself in your early working life to have the where with all to enjoy the middle and later part.And believe me we baby boomers are going to have long and disgraceful middle and later lives.
gd

StefI am sure you are not a Socialist.They would r...

2006-05-29T23:11:41.246+12:00

Stef

I am sure you are not a Socialist.

They would revoke your card for such good individual negotiation skill.

I have always hated how the commentators on this i...

2006-05-23T07:38:00.000+12:00

I have always hated how the commentators on this issue always point to the munters that have stayed in New Zealand and say "see it's good enough for them".
The little backwards hick town was good enough for the hillbilly too - it doesn't mean that it is actaully a more desirable place: it just means it has managed to retain those too afraid of risk and improvement. New Zealand is rapidly becoming that hick village that can only retain those too afraid to move outside their comfort zone; or are too attached to the space and greenery.

Nice article. I would add the same general comment...

2006-05-23T00:36:00.000+12:00

Nice article. I would add the same general comments about the UK in that the effective tax rate for the average person is lower than the same figure for NZ. The problem is that NZ is over time being left with the Rachel Wilke types. The rest of us are using our kiwi attitude and trying to fix the problem by moving to countries where tax is more morally acceptable to us.

That's one thing I like about living in Korea: dis...

2006-05-22T17:52:00.000+12:00

That's one thing I like about living in Korea: disposable income.

Basically I worked a deal with my employer where the gurantee that my salary will be X dollars every month in my bank account (with a completition bonus of a month's salary at the end of a year), while they cover the rest: rent, gas, electricity, taxes (5%), health insurance, and pension contributions (both mine and their's which I get to take with me when I leave) and an airfare.

So basically my biggest monthy outgoings are internet and food. I can live very comfortably and bank over half my salary without even really missing it. I don't know of anywhere in 'the west' where you could do that.