Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Wow, I just wrote a detailed report on Danish taxes for my employer. The Danish system could work in the US, but the barrier would not be the rich as most people like to think. The Danish system is brilliant in that EVERY citizen pays for it, there are no protected classes like in the US. Even people on government assistance still pay part of it back in taxes, so all citizens are vested in government.
I can tell you one thing, the welfare class in the US would burn our cities to the ground if we implemented the Danish system. Here is a breakdown for you.
U.S.-Our taxes allow all kinds of deductions, credits, and special deals to certain industries. You have the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Mortgage Interest Deduction, it goes on and on.
Denmark-All income is first taxed at an 8% flat rate. This is their federal tax. No matter if you only earned a dollar. The only deduction is a mileage deduction for traveling to work at 31 cents per Kilometer, and the first 7,590 in interest is tax free.
After you have paid your 8% flat tax, if your income is below 7,600 you do not owe any other tax.
Now comes the state tax.
Income from 7,601 to 63,895 is then taxed at 5.83%
Income from 63,896 to infinity is taxed at 20.83%
Once that tax has been paid then you figure your Municipal Tax.
Income from 7,601 to 63,895 is then taxed at 23%
Income from 63,896 to infinity is taxed at 28%
And finally after paying these taxes, you then figure your nationalized health tax, which is currently 6%.
On top of all of this you pay a 25% sales tax on ALL GOODS.
Business pays 24%.
You also have property tax.
What do you get for all of these taxes? The taxes pay for the following.
1. All health and dental care.
2. There is a national pension.
3. College.
4. Unemployment, workers compensation.
5. Generous disability, housing, and walfare benefits.
Scale creates a lot of problems 5mm people vs 318mm
16,630 sq miles vs 3.8mm sq miles
it really is a stretch to compare the two
Yes it creates political problems. A small cabal of people can siphon off the national wealth very easily in the US and the "economic system" will be facade on the same thing.
So why are we not shifting power back to the states again?
Yes it creates political problems. A small cabal of people can siphon off the national wealth very easily in the US and the "economic system" will be facade on the same thing.
So why are we not shifting power back to the states again?
Well some states certainly benefit from the larger group so consistency and resources across states would be impacted
Maybe they have a higher median wealth but we still have average wealth 2.5 times higher. I know I make multiple times more than the average Dane, pay much less in taxes than I would if I were Danish, have a much larger wealth than the average Dane (to the tune of double digit multiple), have 10 weeks paid vacation versus 5 if I were Danish, and can retire before 60 and have an income more than double the average Dane for the rest of my life in retirement. So if you like it, join up. For me, no thanks.
This hits the nail on the head, people complain about how much the US sucks and other countries are great, but not enough to do something about it. If you have so much to complain about here, then go to the Netherlands. Just like Michael Moore, he hates everything about the US but not enough to move somewhere else.
Yes, and the pay and benefits for average people are a lot higher as well. Don't think anyone is arguing that taxes are lower in Denmark. The argument is that their system results in a better overall economy and a better quality of life for the majority.
So then you must be busy getting your passport and packing?
What will the US do when the oil runs out? Denmark is much farther along with alternative energy than the US is.
You are totally missing the boat on this. The United States has an enormous and diversified economy. The country will use whatever energy source is cheapest and it's plenty wealthy enough to fairly quickly change to other energy sources. Denmark has essentially no economy beyond that state owned oil company that lays the golden eggs. This isn't about energy sources. It's what the citizens do to create the income that generates enough tax base to fund all that spending. Denmark already has the weakest economy of the Scandinavian countries. It's not competitive against Germany or the UK let alone North America or Asia.
Being someone who lives in Iceland, our economic model is different from the rest of the nordic nations. Rather than fallowing the nordic model fully we have a sort of a dumbed down version of it. A balance between free market capitalism and the nordic model if you will.
I have relatives from Denmark and also some Icelandic ones that work there, and one of them works as a doctor in Sweden. The stories I have heard from them...
Don't listen to this garbage about the nordic nations being utopias. They do some things well but there are also massive flaws. I hear that in Denmark many people can't even afford to buy cars because of high cost and insane taxes, while I was able to buy one in-spite of being in a minimum wage job. That is because we don't have insane car taxes like Denmark does.
And my relative who works as a doctor in Sweden says that where he works because of fiscal limitations it wasn't uncommon for him to just spends weeks on mandatory vacations because the state could not afford to keep everyone fully employed on full wages resulting in bad health service.
Don't get me wrong, the nordic model does do some things well. But this "THESE PEOPLE ARE LIVING IN A PARADISE!!!!" hype coming from some people is total ****e. Don't believe the hype.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
