Keeping what you earn

Okay, so true success in consulting is part professional skill, part business acumen, and part Financial I.Q. (As Robert Kiyosaki calls it). The last one is the area where a lot of us end up coming unstuck.

Consultants come in many different forms; they are employees, freelancers, sub-contractors, business owners, and some times a shade of grey cutting across several of these.

Regardless of which one you are in, the advice of good Chartered Accountants is invaluable. For example, the freelancer role is one that I have been in many times. And I learned a lot from it, in fact – after one extended stint out of my home country of Australia I found out that I was liable for a heap of money that I had made while on the other side of the planet.

It almost killed me financially.

Today I have an accountant in the country where I work, and one where I live. (Australia in my case)

If I work in a freelance capacity (which I presently do not) I make sure I am well aware of the taxation laws and potential company structures that apply to each country where I work. I also make find out exactly what structures will work best for me, and how to go about using them to maximum effect.

How could you keep more of what you earn? Are you fully aware of the taxation implications of this step out into the international scene? Is there an adequate structure in place to limit your liabilities and to put what you have already earned to good use?

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