[Nextgrid]

> you pay tax as everyone else

> whether it is dividends or salary

Dividends won't incur NI thus significantly reducing the tax impact.

[youngtaff]

Dividends incur dividend tax which means between corporation tax, and income tax the contractor will pay roughly the same as someone on PAYE + NI

What dividends escape is Employers NI and that's where contractors make a gain

Coupled with the ability to have a spouse as a director or shareholder and so income split with them

[Lio]

That might be true but they still attract capital gains tax and corporation tax.

Then there's all the other expenses of running a business such as accountancy fees, public liability and on going indemnity insurance premiums and business banking fees that an employee won't have to pay on their salary.