Should You Move to Singapore to Save Tax?

Every second call at the moment ends the same way. The budget has tightened the screws, the pay rise didn't move the needle, so what if we just moved to Singapore? Or Dubai. Or Hong Kong.

Ben and Siobhan ran the numbers, and the first thing they found is that Australia is a lower tax country than the UK, Canada, New Zealand and most of Europe. The catch is where we collect it. Almost 43% of every tax dollar in Australia comes from personal income, one of the heaviest reliances on personal income tax in the developed world, and that is exactly why it feels the way it does.

From there it gets practical. What you take home on $100k, $250k, $500k and $1 million in Sydney versus Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai. What those countries charge you instead, from a 60% stamp duty on foreigners to private everything. How you actually get in.

The tax bill Australia hands you on the way out. And the two residency tests the ATO uses to decide whether you really left, because the people getting caught aren't the ones who moved, they're the ones who pretended to.

WHAT YOU'LL GET OUT OF IT

Why Australia's total tax take is below the OECD average, and why it feels worse than that

Take-home pay on $100k, $250k, $500k and $1m across Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai

Zero capital gains, zero on dividends and zero on interest, and what these countries charge instead

The employment pass, the top talent pass and the golden visa, and what each one costs to qualify for

Monaco, the Caribbean, Vanuatu and the other places that make the list

The deemed disposal tax bill you pay when you leave, without selling anything

Source tax versus residency tax, and why your Australian property still gets taxed