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Comment by sn_master | Hacker News Reader

How would that work in terms of taxes? The UK doesn't have taxes based on location like the US?

Just like taxation regimes have scrambled to keep up with the fact that you can order something from abroad and have ambiguity of where the sales tax will be applied - this is the next big thing about to happen:

High skilled, (comparatively) rich, healthy knowledge workers will leave the place they reside, move somewhere like Dubai (no tax, few free public services - doesn't matter they're not going to need them) to work for a company based - on paper, somewhere similarly - meanwhile the sick, aging and destitute back in the old country depend on tax-funded public services that have lost their tax base.

I don't know what the solution is - but it's something I think needs to be considered. Conversely, people might want to move the other way (say to the nordics), but, I'd wager it being heavily skewed in the first direction.

I think only a fraction of people would move away from their home country just to gain some tax benefits. Doesn't seem like most people I talk to are interested in that.

I would actually say the opposite: many people I know (in the 20-28 years old age group) who work in IT and earn good salaries in their countries have said they'd move if they can make much more elsewhere. I think its not just about tax benefits but also the actual potential salary.

It's not really the tax benefits. I'm using Dubai as an example because I can't think of anywhere else, but plenty of people move there because it has: Better weather, better housing, better roads, lower crime etc than a lot of, say Europe.

Of course, it also has a dark side such as no real social support net or anything (criminals, the sick and unemployed can just be deported), but the people moving there don't need that.

Yes of course, society, solidarity, etc etc - but in the past that model kind of worked because people didn't really have the ability to just pack up and go - whereas now they can just bring a laptop and their credit card and have a plane ticket, airbnb, leased car and new, and to them better, life with barely any effort.

You raise great points. I think what countries would need to do is to lower taxes (potentially considered to be controversial by some) to attract talent from other countries and keep existing talent.

I think a lot of ageing countries would have a hard time with that. Germany for example, is constantly looking at new ways to generate tax income. For them, lowering taxes, especially middle-class income taxes, is completely out of the question.

That would/might push away many young highly skilled workers as well as push away any potential immigrants. Its hard decision no doubt

By anywhere, I expect it means anywhere in the UK. The UK doesn’t have “state” taxes like the US, so it won’t matter where they are

This isn't quite true - Scotland's income tax rates are slightly different from the rest of the UK's, so residence inside or outside Scotland is relevant.

But that’s the same now. Work in Carlisle and live in Dumfries and you get a Scottish tax code. Work in Dumfries and live in Carlisle and you get an English one.

I don't think they're saying work anywhere in the world. They're saying work anywhere within the UK, including HQ, local high street branches, at home, or a mixture of the above.

The other advantage of the UK being small and everyone working in country is you can therefore still meet up easily say every couple of weeks, or for smaller groups to work together for a short time.

I guess in the US people can fly for this too. Does anyone do "work anywhere but must be in the same state"?

No, Europe tends to have the same tax rates and rules per country. But in a way you can compare the EU and US here, moving countries within the EU also has tax consequences. But due to language barriers, that happens less often than people moving states in the US. And the UK isn't part of the EU anyway.

I doubt it's anywhere as in 'you can work from the beach in Thailand'. Going abroad means complying with the local tax regime and if spent enough time outside the UK, no taxes need to be paid there.

It's usually the 180 day rule. So unless you move abroad that shouldn't be an issue. But moving abroad has more issues here. Nationwide is a bank and customer data leaving the UK could cause regulatory headaches for them. So I'd be surprised if they let people work from anywhere in the world.

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