Hacker News Reader

Yeah that's true, expect around 50-55% of any pay (contracting or salary) to go to the tax man. As an employee, you get 6 weeks paid holiday, 5-8% of your salary in pension and you also get paid when you are ill. When you are contracting you get none of those things. A good rule of thumb is to deduct 20-25% of the contractor pay to reach comparable employee salary.

Still, 25% off 16K is 12K before tax. As a full-time frontender in Stockholm, you'd generally be around 5-6K before tax.

Agreed. Freelancers and small business although backbone of the economy, the are not receiving much love from the Government... It's a shame.

Ouchy! That's a sting. That's where the UK seems a bit friendlier. It's possible to take pretty much 80% of your daily rate home if you plan it well..