Im sorry for venting, but as an Expat, Im feeling financially pressured in Denmark.
I have accepted a job offer Denmark and I have just realized that I may not save as much money as I though I would. I have a pay limit visa, meaning that its supposed that I would be making a decent salary, but...
47% A-tax on my incone
50% tax on my pension scheme
8% tax of labor market
20% of salary goes to my landlord , rent for expats are more expensive
25% of vat for every product that I acquire
As far as I have been realizing, the "lonely" tax here is very high as well.
I dont study, dont use the public healthcare, dont have kids, dont use public transportation and I wont retire here. Im basically a very lucrative person to the Danish Treasure.
How does a person saves money in Denmark ? Is this the reality of expats, singles and middle class?
Dont get me wrong. This is a dream of a country, but for someone who is not a citzen and intend to go back home one day, life is a little bit difficult...
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The original was posted on /r/denmark by /u/SadBoy-86 at 2024-03-24 16:37:47+00:00.
uidentificeret at 2024-03-24 22:23:16+00:00 ID:
kwgleilYou're not gonna get much sympathy from this sub. It's overwhelmingly young, leftist students who've never paid net taxes and likely envision themselves working some kind of tax funded job in the future.
Yes, taxation in Denmark is absolutely theft. No, Denmark is not a paradise for any remotely ambitious person. You're just subsidizing the angry socialists that hate you in this thread.
The idea of Denmark is that you are a client of the state and should remain as such throughout your life. Want to own a house? Fine, but since you can't possibly save for it, we made it possible for you to "buy" one with a mere 5% down payment. Of course that will leave you indentured to the bank essentially for life.
Want to save for your retirement, maybe manage your own investments? Too bad. That's not up to you. You're forced to leave your retirement savings with a government sanctioned risk-averse and incompetent pension fund whose returns barely follow inflation.
And if you want any savings on top of that, good luck after paying 40-50% tax, 25% VAT, mandatory contributions, your home loan, all that other shit you mentioned, as well as by far the most expensive prime necessities (milk, bread, etc) in the EU.
I moved to Switzerland to save money for a few years. I make 73k per month gross and 57.5k net (in DKK). And nope, I won't get bankrupted by a medical emergency. I have full coverage for just 2k a month, which still leaves me way better off than any Dane with a comparable salary. By the way, in my field and with my experience I'd be lucky to make 50k gross in Denmark, which would leave me with 32k net on a good day (I'd have to earn 100k gross in Denmark to match my current salary after taxes). Practically I'm pocketing 25,500 DKK extra just for setting up my computer inside other borders. I don't know your specific situation, but in general you should leave Denmark if you want to be rewarded for your work.
The calculus changes if you have children. Then Denmark gains some ground relative to e.g. Switzerland, but it'll probably still be behind overall.
By the way, even with all that, the worst part about the Danish system, as evidenced from this thread, is that you are FORCED to love it. If you don't you're a pariah.