[muffa]

In Sweden it's pretty easy as an developer:

1. Start a business

2. Start contracting anything north of 80$ will give you a really solid income

3. Through your business give yourself a ~45k SEK a month salary

4. Pay yourself dividends from the business profit. You pay very low taxes on dividends

This is a model many many SW engineers in Sweden follow, also running your own business it super simple and for finding clients you can use bigger contracting firms(AFRY) which will take a % of your hourly salary.

[iExploder]

does sweden charge social deductions or health insurance on those dividends? this is pretty much the case in austria and germany if you are managing director of 1 person llc as far as I was told...

[danieka]

There are two taxes that apply to dividends in Sweden. First the company has to pay a corporate tax of 20.7% on profits. After that tax the person receiving the dividend has to pay a capital gains tax of 20%[1]. So the effective tax rate is 36% [2] which is about half (?) of the tax on labor.

Also, companies do not have to pay VAT on services and goods, so it's very common to by work tools and such through the company. Then you're able to buy stuff for untaxed money and without paying VAT. You're not allowed to pay for private living expenses through the company, but I know people that do that, which effectively makes the tax rate 0%. Until you get audited that is. Buying a computer, headset and paying for your phone service through the company is just fine.

[1] note that there is a cap on how large dividends you only pay 20% on, over that cap the tax rate is higher [2] if I know how to do math

[muffa]

I don't think so, I think the tax is only 20% on the dividends