AAIGUY, thanks very much for your input, I mean that. I'm trying to get a feel for how well off/poor I'd be if I accepted a position in KA and all you guys replying are the ones living out there so I want to hear what you've got to say.

Your last rent at 65000 must have been a hell of a place or in the city centre? I've seen tons of adverts for small flats on Lantau for sub 25000 a month. Or is there some big hidden catch?

Even though I find your estimates hard to believe (£100 a month for internet), lets assume they are accurate. So you're saying when I leave the flat I'll have HKD26500 to spend. That's about £2100. Ok, the whole setup might make an A scaler laugh, but £2,100 isn't much less than I earn right now after tax, and I certainly can't save even £900 a month. But I guess a lot depends of where you come from and what your outlook on life is.

Again, I don't necessarily think I can do it, I want to find out if I can do it.

My place was in Tung Chung.. If you want a awesome pad in the city its 80K+.
My dragon boat buddies who working in finance/law all pay over a 100K for what you'd consider in UK as a normal home.

The amount for 1200 HKD was cable (TV) and internet.

Good luck.

If you do try it, I recommend you flat share with a mate on a 30-40K thing in DB and have some sort of social life. Getting rent down to 20, and splitting utilities and internet/cable will make it more manageable.

Actually you can get 1,200 feet or more in Tung Chung for HK$20,000.

Buy Property in Hong Kong | Hong Kong Homes for Sales and Rent | GoHome

Mungo Man, it's tight but you'll survive.
The CX guys are out of touch with reality having been cosseted for decades.
The real world is now arriving on their doorstep.
If they want to retain their privileged salary and terms they'll have to fight. But I see no stomach for it. Watch the Basing issue unfold. The Big Ben Dover is underway.

If you need a job, or a change - suck it up. Better than wallowing on the dole in euro land.

Mine was an actual 1200 sq.. 1800 listed.. 70% efficiency.. high floor, newer..

What Algol said :E

Come enjoy and leave if its all too hard. :ok:

That whole thing about having to pay tax twice for the first tax bill...yea thats not accurate. You are required to pay tax once a year on any income that is taxable from the previous year. You are not required to pay tax for the following year as you do not know how much you have earned. Hk tax is much like any other country. The rate is around 15%.

It would be absurd for them to tax you on income that you haven't already earned. If you join in July, you will have to pay around 6months of tax. Thats it!

Er, actually it is accurate. It's called Provisional Tax and is calculated on your expected earnings for the next 12 months. Your first tax bill will include tax on the previous 12 months' earnings plus the Provisional Tax on your expected earnings for the next 12 months.

In subsequent years you will be assessed on the previous 12 months' earnings, and the Provisional Tax you have already paid will be credited against that amount. You will then have to pay the difference plus the Provisional Tax on the expected earnings for the next 12 months, and so on.

Confused??

Karam
As my dear old dad said to me, "if you don't know what you're talking about, never miss an opportunity to keep your mouth shut"
In plain terms, and very well explained may I add, buzzbox is completely correct, whereas you appear to be smoking something that shouldn't be within 50feet of a keyboard.
The guy wants info on tax, not some hallucinatory imaginations from someone who's head appears well inserted in a dark place.
Get a grip man!

Rents in Hong Kong
 

Etrang, nice link to the Tung Chung property. Note, for $19000 its unfurnished, so Mungo, that's what you can expect for unfurnished, and you can bet there'll be a premium of about $5000 for a furniture fitted place. So your special allowance will all but disappear whilst the market prices remain so high. You'll blow a bit setting up if you want to be comfortable - so that's a factor to consider here.

Property prices are at all time high now, so that is also something to consider, if and when there's a correction then you maybe able to get into the market, but the correction will need to be about 30%+, so it ain't easy, with no kids, its doable, if wifey or gf has quails then you will be ok and they get a job - ok. If you're on your pat malone its a struggle, but you might round up a nice catch when you're here.

Moving slightly off topic now, as I delve further into the Kong Kong job I'm looking into, I have been made aware of a potential snag regarding UK income tax.

If I get the job, I was hoping to visit the UK a fair bit during my leave but someone told me the UK Tax Residency rules might change and I may find myself liable to pay UK income tax on my Hong Kong income if I spend as 6 weeks in the UK each year. Can anyone shed any light on this potental change? At the moment I could spend up to 90 days in the UK and not pay UK income tax but the propsed changes could be much more restrictive.

Mungo man,

Ignore them. Just ignore them. Algol has it spot on, the CX guys of old had it good, I mean really really good but reality has set in. No matter how many times you say you can live simply, you don't drink, you don't eat steak, some blinkered sour-puss will always come here telling you about 500HKD steaks or 70HKD beers in LKF.

Tell them about 40pc tax in the UK or 44pc tax in Australia compared to 15pc in HK and they will still make it out that you won't have a pot to p!ss in. You are on a good deal mate. :ok:

And while you're at it betpump, you could mention that 44% is the top tax rate in Australia, that there are good public schools and medicare, and that above all else the air won't put your loved ones into constant medical care or worse a wooden box.
But hey, never let the truth get in the way of a good dose of BS.

"your on a good deal mate"..... Holy cow. I am not an "old timer", still young. Tell yourself whatever you need to sleep tonight, but please don't sucker other guys into your fantasy.

If you care about your mates, tell them the TRUTH.

OK, so you never have a 500HKD steak. Great life.

Noodles tonight boys....great deal.

Especially when I am 35 and grow up, and actually want a family.

This package is destined to fail those who have put their future financial hopes in it.

Sad. Go ahead and throw the sambos in your flight case, we get it. :(

I should just straighten this thread out a bit:

Things may have changed but with Dragonair the arrangement with the tax office was that you would pay an extra 10% on the 15% tax you pay on your salary for the housing allowance. That works out as an annual tax amount of 16.5% of your gross salary (10% of 15% = 1.5%). It didn't matter how much you actually received as housing allowance. Things may have changed though ...

Correct, although new joiners get a fully taxable allowance, not under the rental system...... Great deal.