Comparing Tax Rates Across Countries: The Impact on Income and Deductions

[Anttech]

Nope, such a tax does not exist here. If I drove my car to the US and decided to hang around for a while, the US tax man won't come to my door demanding I pay them taxes on a car I already own.

But if you were resident in the US and drove to Canada, bought a car then drove back, you would have to 'import' it back and pay tax for the privaledge.

We can do the same as you are suggesting here. On my street here there are cars licensed in France, Netherlands, UK, Poland, and Germany. This is normal.

 

[arildno]

Really? I have another friend, ex-colleague that works in Denmark, but lives in sweden, for the exact reason that taxes in Sweden are less. I guess what he is doing tho is working a % of time in both countries (On the books) so you can reduce your taxes...

Well, Denmark is also a lot cheaper than Norway, so quite a few Norwegians take the ferry over there to buy inexpensive quality food there as well.

 

[Anttech]

Last time I was in Oslo, I spent 25E on 2 Big mac meals. Any economist here can do a comparison using the 'Big Mac' Scale and see exactly how expensive Norway is..

 

[arildno]

Electricity is cheap, though. It has been at less than half the average European price for a number of years.

 

[ShawnD]

Wow! I knew taxes were high there, but had no idea how high. We don't pay any sales tax on food. Some states also don't have sales tax on clothing.

Canada is a bit like that too but I'm not exactly sure how it works. For example, bread, milk, and whole chickens are tax free. Packaged hotdogs do have taxes. Deli meat does not have tax. It seems almost random how they pick what has taxes and what doesn't.

 

[Anttech]

Electricity is cheap, though. It has been at less than half the average European price for a number of years.

Probably because you have all the oil. Denmark must be kicking themselfs :)

 

[arildno]

Probably because you have all the oil. Denmark must be kicking themselfs :)

Nope. Mainly, it is due to our waterfalls.
Of course, Sweden and Denmark haven't got any waterfalls either.

 

[Anttech]

Anyway, in europe typically Taxes are higher than in the US. But we have a far better 'social' well fair infrastructure. In Europe the rule, 'more money u have the less tax you pay' as a percentage holds true, regardless.

Plus we have many tax havens here, and MASSIVE VAT loopholes, due to the EC attempting to converge the tax system, but the indivual countries not wanting to give Budgeting powers to Brussels.

 

[Monique]

I might be missing something though. What kind of services does your government provide? You probably get free health care, but then so do I. Do parents get free child care? Is university free? Are roads and public transportation of very high quality? Are police and fire services absolutely top notch?

Everyone is obligued to insure themselves, I pay about 115 euros a month for my insurance, which I think is too much (that comes on top of the 29.7% tax), the prices will probably be increased next year. But it means that everyone has a basic insurance for hospitalization etc.
Child care is not free, but parents receive government money for every child to buy clothes, help pay for school etc. University is also subsidized, students receive money to pay for tuition and living expenses and tuition is low: 1500 euros a year. Roads are very good quality, public transportation is good too. Police and firemen are also good (although the police never has time when you need them).
When you become unemployed out of your own fault or by some kind of injury (like a bad back) you will receive income by the government.

 

[Anttech]

Nope. Mainly, it is due to our waterfalls.
Of course, Sweden and Denmark haven't got any waterfalls either.

And fish

 

[ShawnD]

If you register the car in the US, you most certainly will pay a tax based on the value of the car at the time you register it. The states I've lived in have all closed that loophole that allowed you to buy a car out of state and drive it home and avoid paying taxes. It's a state tax, not a federal tax, but tax nonetheless.

That's so weird because Canada has nothing like that, and Canada's system seems very backwards of what you would expect. First you buy a car, and you get a bill of sale. You don't take this bill of sale to the government, you take it to an insurance company. You buy insurance and they give you a pink card. You take your pink card and your bill of sale to the government and they will give you a registration card and a license plate if you ask for one. I did this whole process about 4 weeks ago so I can tell you how much it all cost.
Car = price of car, sales tax, tire tax, AC tax, delivery fee ($24,000 for a $20,000 car)
Insurance = price of the insurance (no extra fees here)
Registration = $56, not including license plate since I already owned one (making the plate invalid for the previous car)

The government will not register the car to your name unless you have it insured.

 

[Anttech]

Everyone is obligued to insure themselves, I pay about 115 euros a month for my insurance, which I think is too much (that comes on top of the 29.7% tax deduction), the prices will probably be increased next year. But it means that everyone has a basic insurance for hospitalization etc.
Child care is not free, but parents receive government money for every child to buy clothes, help pay for school etc. University is also subsidized, students receive money to pay for tuition and living expenses and tuition is low: 1500 euros a year. Roads are very good quality, public transportation is good too. Police and firemen are also good (although the police never has time when you need them).
When you become unemployed out of your own fault or by some kind of injury (like a bad back) you will receive income by the government.

Yeap, in the netherlands, you can *actually* see where the tax money goes, in Belgium you can't ;) The Transport infrastructure in NL is great, very good engineers.

 

[arildno]

And fish

And the Danes haven't got any extensive woodlands either.
(For the record, the municipality of Oslo consists of about 60% lake&woodlands regions open for the public. That beats Brasilia, I think. )

 

[Anttech]

And the Danes haven't got any extensive woodlands either.
(For the record, the municipality of Oslo consists of about 60% lake&woodlands regions. That beats Brasilia, I think. )

And 100% is covered with snow for 6 months :) hehe.

I like Norway its a nice country, been there a few times. Oslo airport looks like it was carved from one massive tree...

 

[arildno]

And 100% is covered with snow for 6 months :) hehe.

You had to bring that up, didn't you?
Still, even though we "hate" the winter when it is upon us, we panick when the snow melts in the lowlands around Easter time.
So, what do the fool Norwegians do?
They flee spring and run up in the mountains to ski some more..

 

[Anttech]

I know in Lapland in Finland they have ski resorts at 300m. I thought that was cool, you could almost ski to the 'beach' :)

Do you have anything like that in Norway?

 

[arildno]

There aren't any beaches in Norway*. Just rocks.





*Poetic license

 

[TuviaDaCat]

I can't understand how a country can have 19% sales tax without the economy completely crashing. Buying a new car would actually be cheaper if you bought it in another country and drove it back.

From the looks of it, Canada's taxes aren't too bad. Most of you guys are paying way more than me, and Chi is paying less simply because he has kids and I don't.

well actully they would just make a tax for buying things in high sums from foreien counties...

here its 17% for sales, and 50% for cars, they say its for roads funding, but i yet find traffics every day in the morning and in the evening... so god knows who gets the money...
though if the viechle is used for work, it costs no tax i thing...
its crazy i know... think of it.. a doubled price for a car, and ordinary car here would cost 20000 to 30000 dollars...

btw, i have a question, universities here costs 2200 dollars a year, it that considered to be a good price for a social democraic country?

 

[brewnog]

Think I pay something like 32% for tax and national insurance, with more compulsory student loan deductions.

 

[ShawnD]

btw, i have a question, universities here costs 2200 dollars a year, it that considered to be a good price for a social democraic country?

I paid $3,200 Canadian for last year's tuition; not including books. It's way more expensive in the US. 2200 seems reasonable as long as foreigners don't get that same discount rate.

 

[Evo]

My house tax is over $4,000 per year and I live in a rural unincorporated area with no sewer system, we're on septic, no street lights, no sidewalks.

Car license tax is about 15% of retail value of the car annually.

State IncomeTax 6.54%

Federal 28% after itemizing deductions.

sales tax 5.3%

Gasoline tax is .25 cents per gallon

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Our rate on a typical year: You don't even want to know. Due to the way that I have the business/property set up, our deductions for the home, office, and property, are incredible. For starters, the first 30-40K of income is basically tax free. Nearly 30% of everything spent on the home and property is a deduction. From there it depends on how many additional perks can be applied. But, on a really good year and when few large purchases are made for the property, there is a breaking point where the taxes go sky high. Between Fed, State, and the Self Employment tax, I can pay as much as ~50% on the income made beyond a certain amount.

Btw, I never cheat. I tangled with the IRS once and never want to do that again. Be absolutely sure before taking that deduction!

 

[chroot]

If you register the car in the US, you most certainly will pay a tax based on the value of the car at the time you register it. The states I've lived in have all closed that loophole that allowed you to buy a car out of state and drive it home and avoid paying taxes. It's a state tax, not a federal tax, but tax nonetheless.

There are still ways. If you buy a car out of state, have it registered there, and then drive it (somewhat illegally) for more than a year with the original plates, you won't have to pay taxes in your actual state of residence.

- Warren

 

[gravenewworld]

30% for all taxes, deductions for health care, and retirement crap. i can't believe stupid philadelphia city tax is 25$ more than PA state tax.