
Why Norway is a BS argument for higher taxes - shubhamjain
https://www.sovereignman.com/lifestyle-design/why-norway-is-a-bs-argument-for-higher-taxes-8235/
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fpoling
This is wrong on so many accounts that is not even funny. Corporate tax is
28%. It is low by many standards. That 78% applies only if one is in the
oil/gas business.

My personal income tax is about 35% on a salary that is much higher than
average. For households it is noticeably lower especially if one takes into
account direct payments for children. Even for cases when both parents have
high salary the total tax will be around 50K USD per year.

Yes, VAT is 25%, but it is not particularly high by European standards. Poland
is not known for high taxes, but VAT there is 23%.

Now consider the benefits. Given that University education is free and
students can get loans from the state on very attractive terms to cover living
expenses, after 6 years of studies one may accumulate a debt of 30-40K USD if
one just studies with no income from any jobs.

I have no idea where the author took that 31 hour of working per weak. The
standard number is 37.5 hours. True in some big companies like banks it is OK
to submit time sheets with 127 hours per month, but this is rare. From my
experience on engineering positions in SMB overtime is expected, just not all
the time.

Most people work in SMBs, not government bureaucracies or government-owned
companies or big businesses. Businesses are very competitive. Just consider
that Opera browser, the QT library and Mali GPUs are developed in Norway. I
personally consulted a company that won engineering contracts against Siemens
in Germany and a company that we share the office with like 20 people just won
a contract in France competing against big French companies.

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sharemywin
Don't forget healthcare costs in the US. Which are about 33% of median income
per capita.

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burntrelish1273
And worse outcomes: it's more money for worse care. Also, the individual risks
going bankrupt. If an individual gets some cancer that's crazy expensive to
treat, they lose everything they own in the US and sometimes still can't
afford treatment.

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tonyedgecombe
_As an example, the office complex across from my hotel room was a ghost town
by 5:06pm yesterday afternoon. And work hours in general here have declined
steadily over past decades to just 31 hours per week._

Sounds good to me.

 _Sure, the system gives them lots of leisure time to enjoy… but this is not
necessarily a choice they make freely, rather the only choice they have._

People don't have any choice about their free time in the Anglo-sphere either.
Out of the two options I know which most people would choose.

 _People who think that ‘we should just be like Norway’ are missing an even
greater point: all of this central planning is made possible by huge oil
reserves… and for that matter, oil reserves that are DECADES past their peak
production._

It seems to me out of all the oil rich countries Norway has managed the in-
balance in their economy the best.

 _Simon Black is an international investor, entrepreneur, and founder of
Sovereign Man. His free daily e-letter Notes from the Field is about using the
experiences from his life and travels to help you achieve more freedom, make
more money, keep more of it, and protect it all from bankrupt governments._

Well there you go, conveniently forgetting he didn't make the land, bury
create the oil, educate the population ...

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ShorsHammer
> to help you achieve more freedom, make more money, keep more of it, and
> protect it all from bankrupt governments

The author bio could do with some work. Norway owns the biggest sovereign
wealth fund in the world, with a population of 5 million.

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funnyish
Well, that was amusing. All the best elements of comedy and fiction combined.
It's the writer an accomplished author in this genre?

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kappuchino
sweet conflict of interest, what is this? a cheeky text selling something
smelling like tax evasion at its bottom!

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thefounder
There are always trade offs. Norway seems focused on the well-being of its
people rather than exhausting them to maximise the results(with collateral
victims, of course). It seems most of them like to be happy and vote for this
system, it's a democracy after all.

I'm actually surprises that it works so well. They are many unhappy socialist
states(in EU as well) that don't deliver on their promise.

Norway is not a big country(5.3 mil) so you should't expect it to invent much.

I think the OP argument against NW is actually BS. If anything, Norway is
socialism done right.

