Fed Up With The Uk? Try Denmark

[TheCandyman]

It isn't that bad, I have a better standard of living than what I did in London.

A PhD student in engineering would earn about 32000DKK a month. Of that 17.1% is paid into a pension. So taxable amount is around 27200.

Of that your take home pay will be about 17200.

******** about having to pay 60% in tax is exactly that, ********.

Their welfare state is too high though, and seeing as the first thing the new government did was remove the restrictions on immigration that breached 'human rights' I really do expect to follow the same path as the UK

[Guest_GradualCringe_*]

The opinions on this thread are not backed by the evidence, effective marginal tax rates in the UK are among the highest in the world:

Marginal Tax Rates

On page 41 of the report it can be seen that effective marginal tax rates for families in the UK are 70%, and only 40% for Denmark.

The UK in comparison to Denmark in terms of tax redistribution is practically Marxist (*EDIT* actually that's not fair, the report suggests that tax burden for low and middle income earners is too much).

Further, public spending as a percentage of GDP in both Denmark and the UK is very similar.

- In 2011, UK estimated public expenditure was $1.19 trillion and estimated GDP PPP was $2.29 trillion, approx. 52%.

- In 2011, Denmark estimated public expenditure was $0.128 trillion and estimated GDP PPP was $0.21 trillion, approx. 61%

(figures taken from www.indexmundi.com)

I would also note, that the richest nations, i.e. those that top the GDP per capita, etc. rankings, are by and large the smaller nations i.e. where the distance between government and governed is much smaller.

Edited December 15, 2012 by GradualCringe

[EvilEdna]

Curse those Scandanavians with their high quality of life and attempts at social equality. Curse them!

I know - why people think this is a bad idea is beyond me.

[Patfig]

So this all sounds wonderful.

How much would a typical family need to earn to have a "decent" standard of living. Could one make ends meet on their NMW if indeed they have such a thing

[oracle]

Oh to be in Denmark, now that April's here.... well, okay it isn't... but you get the point, right?

I do so wish that the labour government had been a truly socialist one rather than that blueish kind of purple monstrosity.

How much a better place this country would have been now if truly Socialist ideals had guided our policy making for the last few administrations.

Can you imagine it?

A country where people are happy to pay their taxes because they get so much back from them, and all earn a liveable wage without the need for state top ups and none earn outrageous sums of money for doing, lets face it... a job.

I think that is basically the difference between our politicians and the scandinavians.

ours are out for themselves and sod the rest of you.

and yes,the nordic countries,particularly denmark and sweden are fantastic places to work(I think the swedish women edge it on sexiness,but the danes have a great sense of humour).

[oracle]

Oh to be in Denmark, now that April's here.... well, okay it isn't... but you get the point, right?

I do so wish that the labour government had been a truly socialist one rather than that blueish kind of purple monstrosity.

How much a better place this country would have been now if truly Socialist ideals had guided our policy making for the last few administrations.

Can you imagine it?

A country where people are happy to pay their taxes because they get so much back from them, and all earn a liveable wage without the need for state top ups and none earn outrageous sums of money for doing, lets face it... a job.

I think that is basically the difference between our politicians and the scandinavians.

ours are out for themselves and sod the rest of you.

and yes,the nordic countries,particularly denmark and sweden are fantastic places to work(I think the swedish women edge it on sexiness,but the danes have a great sense of humour).

ps I think the report is basically b0ll0cks.

they have omitted all of the indirect taxation.if that were included then an average tax take from joe public in an average house driving to work each day(and eating!) would be more like 65-70%.

Mean wage.according to their stats is about £650 gross pw...........say £1850 NET pcm for male average wage of £34k...WHICH I THINK IS OPTIMISTIC.

basic taxation alone for income tax/NI is around 30%

then there is average council tax(say average £100PCM......about 5% of NET wages...equates to around 8%gross)

VAT @20% on most goods(food..lets say £200pcm..probably quite conservative)

fuel duty.....that's 70%, on average monthly fill-up of £50P.W...or £200 pcm.

gas/electricity/water.....average £150PCM

mortgage...£400 or so per pcm(or rent ...lets say £600pcm for average letting)

house insurances...£100PCM

I make that £1150-1350 pcm even before counting in incidentals like road tax, clothes and car MOT/maintainance/insurance

too f*****g high .

Edited December 16, 2012 by oracle

[the_duke_of_hazzard]

Denmark - went there on business recently. 50 quid for a 15 minute cab from the airport.

[TheCandyman]

Denmark - went there on business recently. 50 quid for a 15 minute cab from the airport.

I know people will bring up anecdotes like this to try to keep up the image/propaganda that everything here is outrageously expensive, but it really isn't. My cost of living is ALOT less than when I lived in the UK

People will say the cars have 200% tax or some rubbish - yes but you don't need a car, everyone cycles, the cycle paths are about 1.5m wide and on their own raised platform from the road and you even get rebates if you cycle to work.

People will say the price of a pint of beer is outrageous - yes it is 46kr (not really more expensive than London) but you aren't buying Tuborg or Carlsberg, pubs are open until 3am (or whenever they feel like closing), there are no bouncers at the door, and as everyone cycles and public transport runs all night there is no stumping up cash for a taxi ride home from an illegal immigrant, which is generally what happened in the UK

[davidg]

Pity this got bounced out of the main forum as I think it is quite relevant to house prices and living costs, as opposed to 3 threads talking about Gerard Depardieu. There has been some interesting information. Still I suppose Living Overseas makes more sense. I didn't think of it when posting.

Sweden doesn't appeal to much after the Assange affair and my wife has a friend who is in jail there on what appears to be a miscarriage of justice Swedish style. My Swedish friends hate it too.

Edited December 17, 2012 by davidg

[Democorruptcy]

Denmark's too flat for me.

Unless you count Greenland, and I may be getting a bit long in the tooth for that

We should have stuck a flag on Greenland.

Denmark and Greenland agreed to divide future oil proceeds from the Arctic Island, which may hold reserves equivalent to those of the North Sea.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Denmark's prime minister, and Hans Enoksen, the premier of Greenland, which is a semi-autonomous Danish territory, today signed an oil income agreement, which also included steps toward increased independence for Greenland.

``This agreement recognizes us as a people, it makes Greenlandic our official language and it gives us our right to our underground resources,'' Enoksen said at a Copenhagen press conference after talks with Rasmussen.

Oil companies have begun looking for crude oil deposits off Greenland's west coast. The island's government hasn't made an exact estimate of the amount of oil in the region other than to say it's ``equal to North Sea reserves.'' The North Sea's past production and future reserves totals more than 50 billion barrels of crude oil.

Under today's agreement, Greenland will receive the first 75 million kroner ($15 million) generated from oil production, while the two governments will split additional proceeds until Denmark has received an equivalent of the 3.2 billion kroner it pays in annual subsidies to the Arctic Island. Greenland will receive all additional proceeds after that.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aSLH_49iTTJE

[stormymonday_2011]

Pity this got bounced out of the main forum as I think it is quite relevant to house prices and living costs, as opposed to 3 threads talking about Gerard Depardieu. There has been some interesting information. Still I suppose Living Overseas makes more sense. I didn't think of it when posting.

Sweden doesn't appeal to much after the Assange affair and my wife has a friend who is in jail there on what appears to be a miscarriage of justice Swedish style. My Swedish friends hate it too.

Most of these European countries have the same demographic issues as the UK just more so. Some such as Germany are very keen to get their hands on young British people with suitable skills who they can train to fill the gaps in the Labour force looming in their society. This is why German Universities are actively touting for talent in the UK. The demographic surplus of young skilled people that has been such a boon to the elites in recent years is about to reverse.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/9790250/Why-British-students-are-heading-to-Germany.html

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/germany/120622/germany-economy-labor

http://www.automotiveit.com/eus-kroes-it-skills-shortage-looming-in-europe/news/id-006851

Needless to say the morons that govern us in the UK will only cotton on to what is about to happen when everyone has legged it and all they are left with is dole bludgers, pensioners and third world immigrants

Edited March 2, 2013 by stormymonday_2011

[winkie]

Denmark's too flat for me.

Unless you count Greenland, and I may be getting a bit long in the tooth for that

[Bob8]

 

I live in Denmark and quite frankly - you can shove the UK up your ****. Every time I come back to Britain I'm shocked by what a dump it is and how much nicer a place Denmark is to live in.

That has become far more stark in the last eight years.