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Health insurance is not even close to what an American would spend. We also have universal health care.
If you have employer-sponsored healthcare in the US then it's actually remarkably affordable. I pay about the same with Medicare + private in Australia as I did in the US. Of course if you lose your job your out of the employer pool and you need to find your own insurance and I believe that means any conditions you have would be considered "pre-existing" by your new insurer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by waneroo
Australian and New Zealand GST tax is much higher than all US sales taxes for one thing and their income taxes don't allow all the extensive generous personal deductions and investment schemes that US income taxes allow for.
US sales tax is not value added though, so the actual % paid in tax along the supply chain to the consumer is higher than the actual % tax rate (tax avoidance under a sales tax is piece of cake too compared to a VAT/GST). Under a GST or VAT the actual % rate is the actual % amount paid in tax.
Not sure what generous deductions you're referring to in the US but NZ has franking credits on dividends and no capital gains tax, Austraila has subsidised property investment (through negative gearing) a 50% CGT deduction if an asset is held for more than 12 months and fully franked dividends. On top of that Superannuation funds have very low rates of tax and are not capped.
Dunno, I pay around $180 a month for reasonable coverage at a great health system. Previously it was around $110 a month until Obamacare jacked up the cost of my private insurance(Thanks Obama!, idiot). As a self employed person I also deduct the cost of my insurance from my income taxes, reducing my tax burden.
Be interesting to see after I paid the medicare levy and for private insurance what my cost would be in Australia.
I hold the highest possible level of private Hospital and Extas cover, that and the medicare levy combined costs me around $220 a month.
Of course im more the exception rather than the rule, most aussies dont hold any private insurance at all, and use the public system.
Wanneroo - as well as the deductions BCC mentioned above, if you were to continue with self-employment in Australia you would have fairly generous deductions for work-related expenses which are actually personal as well. eg your car, phone, computer etc.... items you'd most likely have even if you were flipping burgers.
danielsa - yup, my medicare and top private hospital and extras cover amounts to about the same. No deductible at all on hospital treatments and accommodation, and I have never gone over the extras limits, even though I need glasses, have dental issues, and need regular physio treatments.
Australias overall Tax to GDP Ratio is slighly more than the USA's, however the old notion that we are the hightest taxing country in the world makes me laugh every time.
Of course the soverign debt % of the australian government is only a fraction of what is in the US, The US government tends to prop up it self by borrowing money, rather than levying additional taxes.
Last edited by danielsa1775; 10-27-2011 at 12:27 AM..
Location: Central Bay Area, CA as of Jan 2010...but still a proud Texan from Houston!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BCC_1
Of course if you lose your job your out of the employer pool and you need to find your own insurance and I believe that means any conditions you have would be considered "pre-existing" by your new insurer.
It is not considered pre existing when you elect to use COBRA after separating from your job in the US. It is very very expensive to carry COBRA but at least you have the same health plan provider as you did when you were employed. All the same benefits but the premium costs are usually 4 to 5 times greater then what you were paying while employed with the company.
COBRA is a law in the US FAQs For Employees About COBRA Continuation Health Coverage (http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq-consumer-cobra.html - broken link)
If you have employer-sponsored healthcare in the US then it's actually remarkably affordable. I pay about the same with Medicare + private in Australia as I did in the US. Of course if you lose your job your out of the employer pool and you need to find your own insurance and I believe that means any conditions you have would be considered "pre-existing" by your new insurer.
US sales tax is not value added though, so the actual % paid in tax along the supply chain to the consumer is higher than the actual % tax rate (tax avoidance under a sales tax is piece of cake too compared to a VAT/GST). Under a GST or VAT the actual % rate is the actual % amount paid in tax.
Not sure what generous deductions you're referring to in the US but NZ has franking credits on dividends and no capital gains tax, Austraila has subsidised property investment (through negative gearing) a 50% CGT deduction if an asset is held for more than 12 months and fully franked dividends. On top of that Superannuation funds have very low rates of tax and are not capped.
Thanks for sharing your insight here...that was a very good assessment.
If you have employer-sponsored healthcare in the US then it's actually remarkably affordable. I pay about the same with Medicare + private in Australia as I did in the US.
^^ Ditto to this. Health insurance for my family is free. My employer pays for everything.
It is not considered pre existing when you elect to use COBRA after separating from your job in the US. It is very very expensive to carry COBRA but at least you have the same health plan provider as you did when you were employed. All the same benefits but the premium costs are usually 4 to 5 times greater then what you were paying while employed with the company.
It depends on how you "separate" from your job. If you are unemployed, then under the current administration's health care plan, you can get COBRA for $100 a month for an individual (not speaking from personal experience, but rather from the perspective of a friend who was unemployed last year.)
An international airline pilot with a working (teacher) spouse will not have any financial problem living in a nice house in a pleasant Sydney suburb within easy distance of the airport. Scooter has already said he's looking for a simple life, not the high life.
Bingo! Kobber is spot on here. It is a more simple life that we seek, and would hope to achieve with such a dramatic move.
It depends on how you "separate" from your job. If you are unemployed, then under the current administration's health care plan, you can get COBRA for $100 a month for an individual (not speaking from personal experience, but rather from the perspective of a friend who was unemployed last year.)
Cobra right now depends on your employer. When I left UPS in 2006 it was 356/month to maintain my plan. With my current employer its 460/month -- a good plan though. No deductible and you can see any doctor anywhere. It is higher as the company isn't subsidizing part of your health are. Employees generally pay for part of their health cover, deducted from their pay cheque.
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