American reacts to 'Why is Scandinavia so expensive?'
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- Thank you for watching me, a humble American, react to Why is Scandinavia so expensive?
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Personally, I think high tax is good when it goes back into the country to make the country better, not to fund wars. Better health care, better roads, better education and higher standards of living.
VAT - tax on an item but its included and NOT added after like America.
The one thing that I harshly criticize about nordics wealth and good life is that yes they invested their taxes in quality of life and education, but is kind of a one time special occasion and now they are facing the consequences, what I mean? After the threat of an enemy taking their country they stopped investing in defense and "reality" necesities (like a video game in easy mode with no enemies where typically you will have to invest in defense and hard times, this because of NATO and oppresive power of the US, this made a lot of European countries put all their money into education and welfare, forgetting the world is a harsh ruthless competitive place because this part of being a country is dealt externally.
@@phaerion9142 No, you are wrong. It is not a one time special occasion. It has been like this for long. We had this policy in the 80s with huge military budgets and compulsory conscription too. I would say huge immigration is why Sweden has more problems, Militarily we have spent a lot more earlier with huge taxing. Its been like this for a very long time.
This is indeed the whole point. People actually get value out of taxes here.
US, not really. No affordable healthcare, no affordable education, no daycare, no days off, no sickleave, all the minimum wage BS. Get to drive huge cars Big Auto scammed them to buy and vote for more power for billionaires and pay all kinds of "service charges" given out by self-checkouts and drive-ins...and tip everyone. Like what is this dystopia?
@@phaerion9142 That is just bad take on so many ways.
That plywood table might be the most expensive thing in the room, because it's perhaps made of birch and it's a design item : )
It would not surprise me if the plywood table cost 40 000 USD.
Thats what they were told atleast... but it is likely just ordinary plywood.
A carpenter stole some plywood, 1by1's and a handful of screws from his latest construction site in order to make that designer item.
True. This table could be solid. Several scandinavian design brands use layered real wood for lots of things. I have some... but IKEA is known for being low end with plywood everywhere
As a British Politician once said, Everyone wants Scandinavian levels of welfare, free education, health cover and pensions, but wants American levels of taxation.
You can't have both!
The taxes in American really isn't that low tho when combining sales taxes and everything else. The difference is that those taxes goes to the politicians and the military rather then its people.
well usa taxes are well hidden + plus health, and in total they are as high as in skandinavia, but ppl are oblivious..
@@theoteddy9665 Total Tax burden in USA is 27% of GDP. 37% in UK 47% in Denmark
So not the same at all
@@Tony-wu4wk USA tax burden is 27% of GDP, Denmark 47% of GDP
Currently Brits have neither ...
Scandinavia: Norway, Sweden and Denmark. I'm Norwegian...now I'll keep on watching. :)
isen't there a tiny part of Finland that technical is part of Scandinavia ( some where up north in Finland along the border to Sweden )
@@torbenjohansen6955never heard of that. But in north of Sweden we have the Baltic Sea called "Bottom Bay". And "states" that called "North Bay" and "West bay" in the east of Sweden. This is because in Finland they have the "East bay" area.
@@torbenjohansen6955 You definitely have a point. One might argue that the north-western corner of Finland reaches into the Scandinavian peninsula.
@@torbenjohansen6955 Maybe...could that have something to do with the Sami. In that case a small part of Russia is also Scandinavian. It really doesn't matter. Just let Finland in. :)
They are 'technically' geographically not , but I always include Finland into Scandinavia.. Definetely culturally , politally .
They speak 'bilingually' swedish aside Finnish. ..
i was similarly shocked when i visited a restaurant in US and ended up paying ~50% more than what it said on the menu...
The salaries are high, so I feel out taxation is moore than fair. And it benefits all of us. I've had major surgery three times, and if I lived in the US, I'd be homeless...even with insurance. All my neighbours have cars, but you don't HAVE to.
Like $15-30 for a heart transplantation, including the transport with ambulance to the hospital. In Stockholm they started to charge people taking the car into the city instead the bus. But to have really cheap (the first years) ticket cost they didn't need to build more roads and less people for stuck in the ques.
The salaries aren't high for some industries though. Software engineers in the US can easily earn $400k+, while you'll be lucky to break $150k in Norway. (In fact, given the fact that the Norwegian Kroner is worth basically nothing right now, salaries are comparatively half what they used to be.)
That said, I don't think taxes in Norway are that high, really. I think I paid about 34% (or something around there) in total last year.
No. We are not rich. You might be, but Scandinavian are not. It might benefit you, but the average Scandinavian get screwed over.
If you lived in another country, like USA, with the same income,
you would only have problem paying those surgeries, if you spent all your money on drugs.
This, is identical to UK and their HRS. You think the government is great, because that is what you have been told.
But you might notice, the only people moving to Scandinavia, are people who want to live of the social network.
Nobody with wealth, want to live in our countries, because they live better elsewhere.
No rich American or even average American goes "sweet, this look like a easier life than USA".
And that is how you can know, it is brainwashing.
@@haraldbredsdorff2699 ur wrong on so many levels...
@@Patrik6920 Ok, do tell. How many Americans move to Norway for better living? Now compare that to Norwegians moving to USA.
But sure, keep telling yourself what the brainwashing tell you.
Taxing new vehicles heavily means people are much less likely to buy a new car every few years, but will keep them running for as long as they can. And they're not going to buy a vehicle they don't _need_ ... which, with more compact cities and better public transit, means a lot fewer multi-car households.
I like how in his example of buying a sweater in a Swedish store he messed up slightly and said that the tax went to the Danish government. Yes, we Swedes definitely pay our taxes to the Danish government. Makes perfect sense.😂
We got your child soldiers out of Malmo, you paying danish tax is only fair 🙂
Maybe they haven't heard about Gustav Vasa yet. Before him those danskjävlar taxed us
@@bram6567 Hahahaha
@@bram6567
Gustav Vasa? 🤔 Ahhh, the Submarine vessel?
@kasperkjrsgaard1447 do you mean The Vasa, the ship that sunk in Stockholm Harbour as soon as it took of on it's maiden voyage?😂 because that was named after the all mighty king Gistav Vasa I, who liberated Sweden from the Kalmar Union and founded what would evolve into the nation state of Sweden
Finland is part of the Nordics, aka Scandinavia + Finland and Iceland, but we have ALOT in common with Scandinavia, for example we also have a state-run monopoly on liqour, although with different regulations
VAT is what you americans call sales tax
"Alcoholic beverage control states, generally called control states, less often ABC states, are 17 states in the United States that have state monopoly over the wholesaling or retailing of some or all categories of alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine, and distilled spirits."
...and many people in those states get upset when you call it 'socialism.' When you point out that's exactly what it is, they'll say, "Well, it's liquor - that's different." (I've never gotten a good explanation of how or why it's different.)
It’s not the monopoly that makes wine and beer expensive in Sweden and Norway, it’s the taxes, in Sweden the price without taxes are quite low
I would say that is no plywood table. It looks more like a stone (marble?) table. Which would make more sense considering the rest of the interior.
To me it looked like OSB that's short for oriented strand board.
If you look at the original video, it is actually OSB. Maybe they are being ironic. Maybe the outer is intended to be replaced when you spill on it.
It is a plywood table - this was filmed in a bar called Bryghuset and they had a very mixed furniture choice, with lots of diff. things but it was really cosy
@@Carl5728 Yeah definitely OSB. I think it's meant to contrast with the luxurious sofa, it's not there because it's cheap.
VAT is like a sales tax, but it's only levied on consumers. I.e., if my company purchases materials from another company, I would be able to claim back any VAT I paid for those materials against any VAT paid to me by my customers.
There are also different VAT rates for different things. In the UK, for example, food and books are exempt completely. (Or they used to be, I don't know whether that's still true. It's been a long time since I lived there.)
The high taxation on cars in Denmark is mainly a behavioral measure, to prevent overpopulating roads especially in urban areas... you have to remember Denmark is tiny compared to Sweden, Norway and Finland, which are 8 to 12 times larger ~ even though Denmark, Norway and Finland have comparable populations, whereas Sweden has twice the population... as a consequence, in Denmark public transport is highly effective due to the high population density (365 people per sqmile), making cars a bit of a luxury unless you live far out in the sticks ~ whereas in Sweden, Norway and Finland cars are an absolute necessity (40-70 people per sqmile, literally 5-10 times less), and correspondingly their car taxation is very similar to the US... that's why.
When browsing Scandinavian solutions, always use Danish solutions for urban areas and Swedish/Norwegian/Finnish solutions for rural areas ~ but they are absolutely applicable to the US.
The food price is roughly half of US prices if the quality is the same. However, Scandinavian people are maximalists, they usually buy really expensive and excellent food. If you are poor and not demanding, you can buy cheap.
That statement is so wrong it has to be a joke. It's not like we have article after article about the crazy food prices, and more and more people choosing the cheapest available.
This is very old. Much has changed since then. In Norway we have 6% less income tax and NO fees or taxes on EV cars under $50,000 - but 25% VAT on car prices above this. There is so much else that has also changed that it will be too much to tell in one comment. It is not particularly expensive in Scandinavia - but like the average in the EU.
We also have another PM (not Erna Solberg) whom I don't like.
I can confirm Finland compared to Sweden is not any cheaper. There is not really any reason to compare to Norway, they are on other league. And what the hell is adult education level -% ? :O
the USA has the pull of their top Universities and the research they make. Basically Finland fares well to a certain point and then it's moot. US doesn't really do well on basic level but the upper echelon makes up for it.
@@owlietowlie4015 Not really in my experience. Many Ivy league universities perform very poorly on education, and try to make up for it by creating the old boys networks.
It's the amount of people who peruse higher education (like university) after high school.
@@aaopopanda9205 pursue or get graduated ? And which degree ?
CNBC really fucked this up. I know the original OECD graph, and you have to choose WHICH education level you want to see. Like "how many % of the population has a tertiary level education". This graph just says "how many % has some kind of something". Utterly bizarre. It could be "how many 25-64-year-olds has gone to kindergarten", as they don't specify WHICH level.
I like that you are aware that you need to expand your knowledge and takes steps to actually do so.
2:41 The next sentence explained it 🤦♂
The paragraph, once again in front of your eyes, says that the US is the unique exception in that you have state-regulated sales tax instead of a nationwide VAT. Don't get me wrong, the people who just come to these comments to insult you are idiots but I hope you see how it's frustrating whenever you ask something, the answer to which is literally on your screen. ^^
...which is sorta the same as people who only read the headline of a news article and are under the impression to know everything about the topic within.
Being in an argument with people only reading the first sentence of a topic/explanation/whatever can be highly frustrating...
He never fully reads anything, pauses in the middle of sentences. He normally asks a question and will then talk over the answer when it's being explained.
heres the thing, you dont rly think about taxes... its all handled automatically. but, on the other hand, you never have to worry about anything.
everything is insured, health care is free, you get money when u go to school, and child care is almost free.
also, if u have a kid, you get over 400 days of work, with almost full pay (paid for by taxes), and u get roughly 120 dollars every month, per child, until the child is 18.
Finland is part of Nordic Countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway Sweden, Finland) and so not in Scandinavia. And Finland is very expensive. 😅
VAT example: If you buy something for 100€ and sell it for 120€, your added value is 20€. You pay VAT on that 20€.
Some states in the US do also have the same alcohol store systems as Sweden and Norway.
VAT - value added tax is tax that is added to every product. Every item you can purchase in the store has VAT on it. So, the prices in stores usually consists of product price + VAT + store cut %. Store cut is also usually around 10-30% depending on the product. Lets say product price to buy and sell in your store is 100$. Lets say VAT is 20% then you need to sell that product at least for 120$ or you'd be taking a loss because you need to add VAT regardless. Then you add your store % as well so a 100$ product is usually sold for like 130-150$
tldr: it's sales tax.
if he's finished reading the paragraphy in the video, he would have seen how it corresponds to US taxes.
edit: I see ryan figured it out later.
The Danish krone is stronger than the Swedish and Norwegian kroner. You get 153 Swedish kroner for 100 Danish kroner. And the same also applies with Norwegian kroner. There you also get 153 Norwegian kroner for 100 Danish kroner. 100 Danish kroner is about 15 Dollars
Oh wow what happened to NOK? Or do i remember wrong, it used to be the strongest, with a big margin?
Nordic countries are pretty high level at living standards and what we prioritize and value in life.
For most nordic people the life is good, secure and fair. That is why they keep being happy regardless the sh1tty climate for half the years.
The biggest similarity between Norway, Sweden and Denmark is language. We can talk to each other without going via English.
Several years ago I went on a holiday trip to the fjord area of Sognefjord in Norway. When the coach that we were travelling on arrived at the ferry port and we met our tour guide she told all of the passengers to make sure that if we would be wanting to consume alcohol in the evenings at our hotel we should buy it from the duty free shop on the ferry, because of the sky high price of alcohol in all the government owned and operated shops throughout the country. She went on to say that just a year before the staff in all of these government owned shops, had walked out on strike over their pay and conditions and that within hours of the strike starting there were no home brewing kits to be had anywhere in any of the major towns and cities because of people who would normally buy one or two bottles of wine or spirits a month were going out and stripping the shelves of wine making kits and equipment, in less than a week the shops were experiencing shortages of grains that could be used to make home brewed beer and all kinds of sugars were soaring in price. Next all types of vegetables were vanishing from the grocery stores to be turned into moonshine and everyone who lived near to a ferry crossing to non-Scandinavian countries were going on trips to stock up on their brewing supplies. This strike was over in two or three weeks, and the Norwegians started going back to the usual shops to buy their drinks but because several people had cultivated a taste for their homemade drinks and were still making and drinking them it was nearly a year before they returned to normal purchasing habits and they very nearly had riots in the streets when the government raised the tax rate to try to make the books balance and the government had to return the taxes to pre strike levels or face being ejected from their positions in a general strike. So because the price of hard imported alcohol was still prohibitory high the hotels had started advising their customers to bring their own bottles into the hotel bars and let them keep their drinks labelled with their names on the back shelf and settle for just selling the beer from the local brewery that was only available in small bottles and was what was known as drivers beer, which was deliberately brewed to a very weak recipe , so weak that you could drink until you were full to bursting without being too drunk to drive.
Unless I'm mistaken, that "plywood table" was made of red marble.
No. It's definitely OSB. 🤣
Not sure what it is, but it definitely doesn't look like plywood!
It's some sort of hardwood. Maybe birch or something similar.
I really like how many different topics you look at on this channel. I don't know if you've seen "The star spangled banner as you've never heard it” but I would love to see your reaction to it!
I'm guessing this isn't going to be seen so thanks to anyone who even sees this lol
Bro your so underrated I don't understand why you aren't famous yet😃
It is only in Denmark and Norway that there is a high tax on cars and in Denmark it is 150%. It is even reduced from 180% to 150% it was 10 years ago
Netherlands also has one of the highest taxes on cars.
@@rogerk6180 And that is in % ?
@@bjørnjacobsengaming yes,
@@rogerk6180 how much tax is there on cars in the Netherlands ?
@@bjørnjacobsengaming it used to be 70% or something. But i think they are changing it to a grams of co2 per km scheme. It changes almost every year.
2:42 the US has sales tax, EU has VAT... if you go into the technicalities of it, they are not the same thing, but to the end consumer it's another extra percentage on top of your grocery bill
Actually VAT is included in the grocery bill by law in Scandinavia. It's illegal to price goods without VAT to consumers. What you see on the price tag of every item must include VAT.
@@KurtFrederiksen I know that, but if you're trying to explain VAT to an american who's never heard the term VAT, this was a simplified explanation
Those income taxes are maximum rates on the highest incomes. Most people have lower rates of income tax..
What you said about government efficiency is actually one of the benefits of high taxes. It means that the government are able to invest in better and more efficient services. Of course there are things that can be improved, but this high gov. investment rate means online, digitized services, many are automated etc. For instance, our tax returns are mostly filled out automatically as the gov. already knows most of the information. What you need to do is to double check it is correct (it can get things wrong) and add info that they can't get automatically (which most people dont need to do).
That is a freakin expensive table lol. It isn't plywood, it's some sort of exotic solid wood 😂😂😂
Looks terrible though. I wouldn't care if it cost a million bucks, I wouldn't take it home if I found it next to the trashcans in front of my house.
@@tomscorpion6288 most expensive things look terrible..
Denmark is actually among the most start-up friendly places. I believe there was a Forbes article on it a year or two ago
Denmark , Norway and Sweden are the only countries located by or on the Skanderna mountain range , which gave it its name Scandinavia.
Value Added Tax (VAT) is the more modern version of General Sales Tax (GST). The price of the item you buy already includes the tax, so you don't need to constantly make calculations in your head before you go to the checkout counter.
Awesome video as always!
I would say that table is made of curly birch and that stuff is very expensive!
In Finland the wat for most of things is 25,5% since beginning of September.
That education is probably by universities and it's highly debatable..USA has nothing to do in general level education list like pisa. Asian countries are dominating that one.
Okay, so the parts that is filmed with the host is filmed in Billund Denmark.
1) is the Billund bageri & Cafe, 2) one of the residental streets, 3) Is the Bar Bryghuset, which sadly now is closed down, it was a really used place in the city but the owner wanted all the space to make a brewery - if you see the orginal video it ends with the host on top of LEGO HOUSE, which is a museum/experience place that is built by LEGO to showcase the LEGO history but also offers creative experiences for LEGO fans of all ages.
I live in Billund so when i saw the bakery i was like "wait, what..."
We do not have state-run alcohol stores in Denmark, we can buy alcohol everywhere in Denmark and therefore our alcohol is also cheaper than in Sweden and Norway, so Swedes and Norwegians often come to Denmark to buy cheap alcohol. So to say that the model with state-run alcohol stores is common in Scandinavia is bullshit.
🤣🤣
Or we from Sweden goes also to Germany to buy alcohol. Its cheaper than Denmark. 😅
@@mcinen67 True, we do that ourselves.
That's not why alcohol is cheaper in Denmark. It's because you have lower taxes on alcohol. It wouldn't matter if Sweden sold crates of vodka at IKEA, the tax is still the same.
@@frankkrunk It's not true, you can only buy real alcohol in Sweden in the system company, and it's state-run, that's why it's expensive. It is not because taxation is much lower. Alcohol has always been wildly expensive in Sweden for that reason, 50 years ago and until 15 years ago taxation was high in Denmark and despite that there was almost an exodus from Sweden to buy cheap alcohol in Denmark, especially gold beer from Tuborg, end of discussion.
Ryan, about the Adult Educational Level in Scandinavia and the Nordic countries, the prevalence of technical careers often leads to a lower percentage of the population with college degrees. While many in other countries pursue higher education, many Scandinavians find that technical training offers well-paying and fulfilling opportunities
for VAT, think sales tax, it's basically the same, the structure is a bit different, but for the consumer the difference is irrelevant (just keep in mind all prices you see in not just Scandinavia but all of Europe is including all taxes, so you don't look at the sign and then add 25%, the price is with the 25% included.)
Denmark doesn't have an alcohol monopoly, it can be bought everywhere basically, the car taxes in Denmark is between 85 and 150%, But the high taxes also means car manufacturers sells their cars cheaper to Denmark, so a car you can buy for 10k in the US before taxes, they will sell for maybe 6k in Denmark before taxes.
VAT - When something says it costs 1000 bucks, but plus VAT it costs 1100. Taxes.
The happiest countries in the world and have some of the lowest crime rates are the ones that have higher taxes...
Something to think about.
VAT is like the American tax added when you pay. The only difference is that in the US the shelf Price you see if not including it.
Here the shelf Price for goods is shown including it. So when we check out we already know what the Price is.
Redistribution is also a part of the tax system. Many people get money from the government, usually as subsidies. This is how childcare is cheap, because the government will cover some (or all) of it, based on income. Also there may be subsidies given to housing, also based on income. And tax reductions, such as you being able to subtract paid interest from taxes, transportation money if you live a distance away from your job, and Denmark also had deductions if you hired professionals to make your home better for the environment.
This is utterly insane, I feel like CNBC did everything to confuse and misinform their viewers. "State run monopolies on alcohol sales = high alcohol prices = high cost of living"?
1. The price of alcohol is high because of high taxes on alcohol. If alcohol was sold in 7-11 it would be the same price.
2. If alcohol prices affect your cost of living, you should probably drink less.
The joke in Sweden is that the monopoly is needed because if Swedes could get alcohol around the clock we would all drink ourselves to death
Why is it state owned then if the monopoly doesn't matter? Anyone selling it would have to pay the same tax. I'm missing something here.
It used to be about 175% for larger cars here in Denmark. Sales tax is 25%
VAT is short for Value Added Tax. It’s a tax that is added into the price of goods, weather its food, electrical goods or on anything else that you buy.
Example. If something in the U.K. was priced at £10.99pence that is the price you pay because the VAT has already been added.
You Americans add your tax on top of the price that is shown.
Food doesn't have VAT in the UK.
Hi Ryan, taxation and happiness can work together. The people love to take an All-Inclusive vacation in some resorts... 7 days of no additional costs... They paid anything in advance and forget it during their stay. So, high income taxes are hurting only once a month and the rest is just spending money for goods you can touch.
Plywood table, Chesterfield couch. Every class and creed welcome for a beer!
And 205% for an MC, welcome to Denmark... Plus a "road charge" twice a year, depending of the age or consumption of the vehicle the price varies from about $100 / $1200 twice a year, now you know why there are so many bikes here...
Well; they got it wrong regarding VAT and taxes in the video for companies.
Everyone pays 25% VAT (can differ depending on what it is, we got three level 6, 12, 25), the companies pays this to. BUT if you have a company you will get all VAT you paid back from the state. In the end it will be like a sale tax that only effect the end user of the product/service. Here in Swedan we call it MOMS. VAT (Moms) make up approximately 30 percent of total tax revenue for the state.
Coperate tax is paid only on the profit and is lower than in US but higher than in Netherland, and as I wrote; VAT for Cleaning, Electricity, Rent e.t.c will the companies get back.
One of IKEA's legal structure was set up in the Netherlands for two reasons: The Netherlands allows for a legal structure which creates the possibility to avoid hostile takeover or trouble because a large shareholder wants to get rid of the shares. And as he said non profit organisation..... incom
American sees an exclusive, expensive arctic birch table and think it is plywood. lol
The Netherlands is THE official tax evasion ("fiscal optimization") place inside the Eurozone, almost all major eu/international companies use it to avoid paying domestic taxes, or high taxes on their european business.
It's been a problem for several decades now, that is yet to be addressed.
Companies taxes has been a competitive "game" between EU nations, you can also see how Ireland lowered corporate taxes, down to 0.1% although never officially advertised, based on individual deals (microsoft / intel) to lure corporations.
Also Norway has to be slightly taken out of the picture here, as it is mainly an oil producing state.
Scandinavian and Nordic countries may be expensive when it comes to cars and alcohol, but when it comes to necessities it's a different story (except maybe for food although it's not so different from other European countries here). I live in Helsinki, Finland and my monthly bill for electricity is 12 euros, phone bill 25 euros (including unlimited 5G internet), health care 0 euros, home and travel insurance 24 euros, water 30 euros, rent 890 euros for a 45 sqm renovated apartment by the city center, Master Degree 0 euros. When I see what Americans pay for these things my mind is blown. You may not get rich in this country but you have what you need for a good life.
hahaha, the expression when seeing our (Denmark) car taxes, glorious xD. And yes cars are very expensive to own here
Any nordic country outside Norway is cheap, and wage is nothing compared to north america. However, products are cheaper in than in north america.
Hot dog: 59 cents
200 dollar rent for a cheap 1 person aparment and so on.
Up to 600usd for the absolutely nicest, brand newest 1 person apartments.
normal wage is just over 2000usd.
The alcohol monopoly in Norway is literally called "the wine monopoly" (vinmonopolet).
Doesn't it breach the anti-monopol laws then? :)
at 0:30 OMG - what is Scandinavia - but your are on the right track, ir is a region in Northern Europe consistiing of Norway, Finland, Sweden (and dont forget little) Denmark (the faroe islands and iceland can allso fit in).
No you are thinking of the nordics.
Scandinavia is only sweden, norway and denmark
How is he is the right track when he called a continent (Oceania) a region….imagine this dude is a over average educated american
Love your reaction to car taxes😂 coming from a Swede :)
Yes, Ryan it's amazing how businesses can exist under the Swedish Tax Model. That's why 99% of all stores you see are Big Brands, that can afford it, because you can't profit as a small business. Heck even being able to afford a singular employee, working the normal 40 hour work week, with an average salary of 25'000SEK before tax, per month, your company already needs to be making about 300'000SEK in revenue per month... because that one employee is about 55'000SEK in expenses. And that employee will only see 16'666SEK after tax, so you're basically losing 38K SEK into the ether, as taxes, and if they get sick it's coming out of your pockets...
Scandinavia is a financial hellhole, specifically designed to drain the last cent from your bank account... unless you're filthy rich, because then Scandinavia is a Tax Haven.
State run monopoly means that the state controls prices
An example is in Norway towns have to have more than 3000 residents before they can sell alcohol, this is why so many people brew their own.
There is nothing that compares to Systembolaget in Sweden, you can get anything, the assortment is unpaired. The amounts of those large volumes bought means they get enormous discounts.
And the hefty taxes are one of things that contribute to almost free healthcare and medicine.
I would not choose any other system, and especially not how things are in the U.S!!!
Scandinavia (Norway, Denmark Sweden) plus Finland is called Fennoscandia.
Vat rate is a sales tax
on that state run monjopoly thing.. i've heard.. that while it makes it a little bit harder to get really high end stuff, the fact it is the only store, and it's not the one that sells you the goods that gets you the most profit as a liquer store owner, you can find a wider variety of alcohol in these shops. still.. on the flipside.. its really hard for me to get good tequila.. there just isn't any...
V.A.T is the tax added to goods. In the USA they add it AFTER you buy stuff. In the rest of the world it's already added. So the price you see on the ticket is the price you pay. In the UK it's 20%.
IKEA = EE KAY YA (Swedish) not EYE KEY A.
The " plywood" table is probably timber from local sustainable sources.
or IKEA = EE KEEH AHH if you use the english pronounciations. But that depends on the dialects. ;-D
Ikea moved from Sweden in the 70 th when Sweden had really high taxes. Now, companies for companies are not that bad. Ikea would probably not have moved in today's taxation environment.
150% car tax? That’s cute
- Singapore with 320% tax and a $100k license to drive an equivalent car
I'm Swedish 🇸🇪 and I'm going to fill up my car, so it costs $110
Petrol/Diesel is very expensive here
The problem is that not everyone is rich, in Denmark capital region there is a growing problem for nurses, teachers, policemen etc,
3:11 "Which helps to keep prices up"
This is from the point of view of governmyth people who's salary depends on governmyth monopoly of violence.
One indication of freedom is that i can sell home made 96% booze from my backyard in middle of christmas night to anybody i want to.
So, Denmark hasn't got a state monopoly on alcohol.
Also, the tax rate on cars, is a 100% flat rate now, except EVs.
Yes, Denmark and Sweden have the highest taxes in the world for private citizens. Norway's taxes are lower (still high) because our their immense oil wealth. The car tax is specific to Danmark, Sweden only has standard VAT and Norway has not even VAT on electric cars. One problem with very high taxes on labor is that very few low-income/low-skill jobs are produced. This mean most/a large part on of the migrant population is unemployed (unemployment rate in Sweden is 8% and about 90% of them have a migrant background) and lives on welfare, this in tern means that they often do not get integrated into society. This is most evident in Sweden with a much larger migrant population. This is one of the reasons there's a crime wave in Sweden. But of course it's also because of the high numbers and the cultural differences. This is why Denmark and Sweden shifted hard in migration policys as of late. This is just one of the reasons a system like the Scandinavian's have would not work in a place like the US.
I am happy to pay high taxes to things that benefit our people. (Sweden)
I would never pay taxes that goes to the military and the corporation bosses supplying the army or the companies combing the countries of the world's resources by bypassing democracy with economic threats, coups and invasional war just for the profit of some greedy billionaires and their political cronies! And the same billionaires use the profit to buy political power, that is a cancerous system!!!
This commentary section is now property of our fellow scandinavian neighbours.
Exchange rate of SEK strong ? A USD gives around 11 SEK. During the Carter years it was around 5 SEK per USD....
Cars are very stupid expensive in Denmark, indeed. It's generally not recommended to own a car once you have your car license as owning a car is usually a suicide wish considering how much you have to pay for it in taxes/duty every month - and whomever you buy your car from will usually set a high right if you're first time buyer or very obviously inexperienced and young.
Cars are a sign of wealth, need and experience. One family of four will typically have ONE car to share, even if the kids are old enough to have a driver's license. Morever, cars are considered high-end luxury, so many households don't have one unless, again, they need one or they have a family with children.
It also depends on where you live. Cars are de-incentivised if you live in the city where public transport, bicycle walking is plenty available.
I suspect it might also partially be a culture thing to make it as unattractive as possible to own a car considering the architecture of cities and towns were not designed with cars in mind considering how old they are.
As an example, Copenhagen is roughly 800 years old, while Vordingborg and Roskilde are well over 1000.
That said, there are still way too many cars inside Copenhagen, and the city itself does have relatively high air pollution which I think is mostly due to cars. You aren't taxed on pollution with cars - yet - as far as I know, so the tax isn't that high because of climate concerns.
I've wondered sometimes how much of it is a high average quality level of the humans in politics/public officials.
It's harder to select well in a polarized political system like America and harder to make such a multilayered system work as well as the simple nation of Norway.
I wonder what would need to come first? The good public system so you can have a good political or the good political system so you can have a good public system?
I suspect you'd have to carefully weave back and forth improving both but then the naysayers would protest that doing the same thing as Norway doesn't have immediate results.
Hard to judge what the move is.
The plywood is a high end designer material.
Yeah they make kitchens of it 😂. The seller didn’t like it when I called it the cheapest plywood one can get. We didn’t fall for this highly designed plywood kitchen though.
150% car tax does not spund right… I wonder how they got to that number. Tax on a car would be the normal 25% as far as I know. There might be import taxes for the importers that add up to more…
3:11 Fair, not up. If anything, down. For the consumer.
5:35 and how is it possible that theres no such a poverty or anything else like other 3rd world countries like usa
VAT is Value Added Tax rate: sales tax. The Netherlands is a tax haven. Profits from IKEA are transferred via a non-profits holding in the Netherlands to somewhere on central America/ bermuda or somewhere.
Ikea HQ only moved to the Netherlands because we have insane low tax for multinationals. Ikea can easily pay the tax in Sweden but it wants to avoid it like many other multinationals. Just very greedy. Percentage wise, I pay more tax than Ikea. Absolutely bonkers.
Norway sweden finland would be fennoscandia
I know this the wrong answer but in my mind Skandinavia is that dog shaped peninsula at the top of Europe 😅
Haha it is actually pretty insane to not know what VAT is. You pay it for almost everything you buy.
What I learned from this video is that high taxes make you happy.
7:35 Not in theory really... I couldnt pay for security guards and stuff but i just know i dont need em because goverment takes care of those who would othervise just have to make crimes like robberys or even worse... But im happily paying taxes... yes alot of my "salary" but still being safe and feeded and even taken care of if i get serious illness or something...
After the Norwegian currency has chashed, groceries in most European countries are just as expensive.
The full region of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Finland is collectively called Norden-"The North",- Scandinavia consists of Denmark, Sweden and Norway,- three culturally, historically and lingustically extremely similar countries( basically the same peoples in three different variations).
Iceland has been more isolated in the Northern Atlantic, so it has stuck closer to the original Old Norse - the language of the Vikingr. (All from the Germanic language familiy not to be confused with modern day German!)
Finland is linguistically from a completely different language family ( Urallic) heralding originally from the areas around the Ural mountains at the easternmost part of the European part of what is today Russia and it´s closest linguistic sibling would be Hungarian. ( Magyar).
Therefore Scandinavia is a description of Denmark, Sweden and Norway - The North encompasses Iceland and Finland( Suomi) and nowadays to an extent also the Baltics: Lithuania, Estonia and Lattvia.
Should you want to delve deeper into this topic check out the channel of Langfocus and his videos on the Scandinavian languages,- maybe also the video called "Norden - Religion" - a mini documentary about a US fundamentalist Christian Baptist minister coming to visit some of the least religious countries in the world-The North.
It´s hilarious.
The channel is called John Stark.
ua-cam.com/video/W-kANR1vJkM/v-deo.html&ab_channel=JohnStark
The closes linguistic sibling is Estonian. And some of the minority languages in neighboring Russia like Karelian.
@@to_loww I should have been more specific,- I was thinking of the original lingustic ancestor to Finnish whom to my knowledge would be the same as the one for Hungarian,- even though they have developed very differently.
@@to_loww Karelia btw. should be Finnish,- the Russians are just occupying the territory,- like in Donbas.
Scandinavia is linguistically and culturally defined. Swedes, Danes, and Norwegians speak Scandinavian languages that are mutually intelligible. (Most) Finns speak Finnish, which is a Uralic language with no relation to the Scandinavian languages. They also lack Viking history, etc. For this video, though, it would have been much more reasonable to talk about the Nordic countries, as Finland and Iceland also follow the Nordic model and function very similarly to the Scandinavian countries.
Alot of cherry picking. High tax on cars in Denmark (not in Sweden). High tax on alcohol in Sweden (not in Denmark). In Norway everything is expensive. To the degree that the comparisons dont make sense...
Our politicians are trying to take education from is, even early education.
2:15 VAT is basically a transaction tax that is added to the price. In Scandinavia, it is included in the price tag number (w/ VAT). In some countries, VAT is not included in the price tag for a reason I very much dislike