Expats who want to move to a high-paying job need to consider more than just the headline salary rate as tax and social security can take a big bite out of even the best pay cheque.
To help expats and multinational companies make the best decisions about salaries, a new report outlines the rates and tax takes of senior jobs in 79 countries.
The research, International Geographic Salary Differentials by expat benefits firm Mercer, compares gross and net pay for each country for expats in six roles including upper-middle management and senior professional posts.
The data helps expats draw real pay comparisons when weighing up job offers in different countries.
The research found Angola has the best gross pay for upper-middle management roles with Switzerland second, while Switzerland is number one for senior professionals with Angola third.
Best and worst paying countries
However, while Angola is among the countries with the lowest amounts deducted for tax and social security, Switzerland and other European countries have a much higher tax take.
For expats, this means they take home more of their salary for doing the same job in Angola than in Switzerland.
Here are the leading places for paying gross salaries:
Upper-middle management – top placings
- Angola
- Switzerland
- Chile
- United Arab Emirates
- Uruguay
Senior professionals – top placings
- Switzerland
- Norway
- Angola
- Denmark
- Australia
The survey also shows Europe has more than half the top placings for well-paying jobs, but the Asia Pacific takes the bottom places.
Upper-middle management – bottom placings
- Tunisia
- India
- Pakistan
- Sri Lanka
Senior professionals – bottom placings
- Vietnam
- Indonesia
- India
- Sri Lanka
- Pakistan
The tax take has a big impact on expat spending power.
Vital information for expats
Belgium ranks eighth as the best payer for upper management jobs and seventh for senior professionals, but with a tax take of 48.5% that high gross salary shrinks significantly when paid into the bank after deductions.
“Employers in different locations are often competing for the same talent, but both they and expats need to know how net pay compares,” said Niklaus Kobel, a senior researcher at Mercer. “Without specialist knowledge of payroll tax and social security deductions, it’s not always easy to see how the salary rates in one country with another.
“The report equips both sides with this vital information so they can quickly spot whether the post is under or over paid, which can seriously affect cash in the bank for both of them.”
