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Which European countries have the best salaries after taxes?

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Re: Which European countries have the best salaries after taxes?

#41

Post by thfuran »

jghn wrote: post #13
briandear wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could look at disposable income. That’s a more objective measure.

I think that depends on one's definition of disposable income. I think technically it's more or less what I was calling "net". But many people use it to mean "after I pay my mortgage, and my utilities, and my other thing". The further we go in that second direction the more it captures what I'm getting at. As an example, if I have kids who need daycare and one country provides free daycare and another does not, then…

The further you go in that direction, the more you have to include personal circumstances and values and the less useful it is for general comparison. Of course, the whole premise of looking at just average net income is a bit odd, so looking at expected quality of life makes more sense anyways.

Re: Which European countries have the best salaries after taxes?

#42

Post by atoav »

xiphias2 wrote: post #21
simianwords wrote: post #2

why is switzerland not there but norway and iceland are

Because it wouldn't look good for the EU

Ah yes you choose Switzerland. The country that is famously so affordable to live in.

Last time I have been there food has costed literally double than in my home country which is also in the Alps, also has that standard of living, etc.

But hey, you moderately save on taxes if you finally manage to settle there, which csn be a bit of a challenge since switzerland isn't the most easy country to get permanent residence in.

As a European who has traveled to nearly all European countries and lived in 6 different ones, the idea to only look at the taxrate when chosing your future home country sounds so ridiculously simplistic and money-focused that it could only have come from an American author.

The point of having more money is to lead a happy live. In some countries you need more money to do that than in others. And depending on your character, hobbies and goals in life some countries will make it much more expensive than others.

For example if you like enjoying a beer in the sun and you start living in Island because of the tax rate, your first winter depression will make you question how smart that really was. Or you will just travel to southern Europe on a regular basis, but then why not live there in the first place.

Re: Which European countries have the best salaries after taxes?

#43

Post by dgb23 »

NalNezumi wrote: post #14

Looking at salaries after tax is completely meaningless, what is even this article trying to infer. You have to take in to account the cost of living and also quality of services you get for it. France & Sweden is close in the numbers but France is notably cheaper to eat out and Healthcare quality can't even be compared (to French favor). But if you're wealthy you'd probably prefer Sweden still because of the low tax…

Taxes in Switzerland are generally quite a bit lower than in other European countries. However mandatory health insurance is not included as a tax in Switzerland and is one of the highest expenditures for regular folks and yes, cost of living is also generally very high. Specifically in urban areas (Geneva, Zürich etc.) but also in tax haven cantons (Zug, Schwyz etc.), because you pay a premium for housing/rent there.

Child tax credits are varied as well and generally too low (IMO), maternity/paternity leave and especially child support are much weaker than in Nordic countries.

From my perspective the strongest case for Switzerland is the decentralized and half-direct democratic process, political stability due to consensus. But you only get that as a citizen, which is not easy to achieve (takes a decade and you have to jump through a whole bunch of hoops). But the Swiss are very happy with their governmental structure in comparison and cherish direct democracy especially.

Re: Which European countries have the best salaries after taxes?

#44

Post by flakeoil »

lifestyleguru wrote: post #27
NalNezumi wrote: post #14

Looking at salaries after tax is completely meaningless, what is even this article trying to infer. You have to take in to account the cost of living and also quality of services you get for it. France & Sweden is close in the numbers but France is notably cheaper to eat out and Healthcare quality can't even be compared (to French favor). But if you're wealthy you'd probably prefer Sweden still because of the low tax…

What exactly are the tax privileges for rich in Sweden? Because indeed in wealth inequality rankings they are next to Russia and USA.

There are no special privilieges for the rich, as everyone has the same rules. It's actually better for the poorer in a sense as everyone is exempt to pay tax on profits on stock and dividends below a certain amount, 300000 SEK.

In Sweden you can invest your money in a special investment account which charges a certain fixed percentage each year on the amount you have in this account (cash and stocks). The percentage is based on the central bank interest rates (a special formula based on that) so it changes each year. In the past 10 years it has been around between 0.5-1% of the total amount you have in this account. Then all the profits you make are tax free as well as no tax on dividends and interest. You can't deduct losses though.

In Sweden there is no wealth tax and no inheritance tax.

EDIT: And for completeness, if you invest outside of the above mentioned type of account you have to pay 30% on profits and 30% on dividends and interests.

Re: Which European countries have the best salaries after taxes?

#45

Post by lifestyleguru »

ACS_Solver wrote: post #33
NalNezumi wrote: post #14

Looking at salaries after tax is completely meaningless, what is even this article trying to infer. You have to take in to account the cost of living and also quality of services you get for it. France & Sweden is close in the numbers but France is notably cheaper to eat out and Healthcare quality can't even be compared (to French favor). But if you're wealthy you'd probably prefer Sweden still because of the low tax…

In addition (I'm European), I object to the use of per-hour wages instead of monthly salaries. It's less informative in Europe. Most jobs are full-time, salaries are typically advertised and talked about in monthly terms, and the length of the work week varies as well. Per month is just more useful as a comparison point. Oh and Sweden is slightly ahead of France on the latest EHCI. Sweden scores near the bottom on ac…

> EHCI

I live in a country from the bottom of this ranking and can confirm from personal experience. Nothing works, people die, and still it's very expensive.

Re: Which European countries have the best salaries after taxes?

#46

Post by ACS_Solver »

lifestyleguru wrote: post #27
NalNezumi wrote: post #14

Looking at salaries after tax is completely meaningless, what is even this article trying to infer. You have to take in to account the cost of living and also quality of services you get for it. France & Sweden is close in the numbers but France is notably cheaper to eat out and Healthcare quality can't even be compared (to French favor). But if you're wealthy you'd probably prefer Sweden still because of the low tax…

What exactly are the tax privileges for rich in Sweden? Because indeed in wealth inequality rankings they are next to Russia and USA.

We have no wealth tax, no inheritance tax. If most of your income is a salary, the tax burden is high, but if you're living off investments, properties or generational funds, it's quite advantageous.

Re: Which European countries have the best salaries after taxes?

#47

Post by lifestyleguru »

flakeoil wrote: post #44
lifestyleguru wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What exactly are the tax privileges for rich in Sweden? Because indeed in wealth inequality rankings they are next to Russia and USA.

There are no special privilieges for the rich, as everyone has the same rules. It's actually better for the poorer in a sense as everyone is exempt to pay tax on profits on stock and dividends below a certain amount, 300000 SEK. In Sweden you can invest your money in a special investment account which charges a certain fixed percentage each year on the amount you have in this account (cash and stocks). The percentage…

So a path to wealth for a normal person is being invested in capital markets but only through a "special" account and assuming that real estate rental or purchase will not eat every leftover from highly taxed monthly salary. This "special" account gives access to all major capital markets?

Re: Which European countries have the best salaries after taxes?

#48

Post by Betelbuddy »

lifestyleguru wrote: post #27
NalNezumi wrote: post #14

Looking at salaries after tax is completely meaningless, what is even this article trying to infer. You have to take in to account the cost of living and also quality of services you get for it. France & Sweden is close in the numbers but France is notably cheaper to eat out and Healthcare quality can't even be compared (to French favor). But if you're wealthy you'd probably prefer Sweden still because of the low tax…

What exactly are the tax privileges for rich in Sweden? Because indeed in wealth inequality rankings they are next to Russia and USA.

Foundations and Family Offices. Only available to the rich.

You think they pay 56% tax on income like the idiotic peasants?

"You don't have to move out of Sweden if you're a billionaire today. And actually, some billionaires are moving here" - https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68927238

Re: Which European countries have the best salaries after taxes?

#49

Post by boxed »

flakeoil wrote: post #44
lifestyleguru wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What exactly are the tax privileges for rich in Sweden? Because indeed in wealth inequality rankings they are next to Russia and USA.

There are no special privilieges for the rich, as everyone has the same rules. It's actually better for the poorer in a sense as everyone is exempt to pay tax on profits on stock and dividends below a certain amount, 300000 SEK. In Sweden you can invest your money in a special investment account which charges a certain fixed percentage each year on the amount you have in this account (cash and stocks). The percentage…

"everyone has the same rules" and "no special privileges" seems disingenuous to say. In both directions! Progressive tax codes are "the same" for "everyone", but obviously will mean the rich pay more. Now you can argue that's unfair or that it's extremely fair, but it's at least different!

Re: Which European countries have the best salaries after taxes?

#50

Post by darekkay »

NalNezumi wrote: post #14

Looking at salaries after tax is completely meaningless, what is even this article trying to infer. You have to take in to account the cost of living and also quality of services you get for it. France & Sweden is close in the numbers but France is notably cheaper to eat out and Healthcare quality can't even be compared (to French favor). But if you're wealthy you'd probably prefer Sweden still because of the low tax…

Vacation is also never mentioned in those discussions or comparisons. 10 days in the US vs. 20-30 (+ 8-14 public holidays, depending on the state) in Germany is much more important for _me_ than the net income.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_annual_leave_b...

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