True. The cold weather is indeed a downside. This morning it was -12C (10F) when I left for work. I also had to clear snow from the driveway before I could leave.
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True. The cold weather is indeed a downside. This morning it was -12C (10F) when I left for work. I also had to clear snow from the driveway before I could leave.
What is your combined and total tax rate there on your income? If you make money on investments, are you taxed? Capital gains tax as they call it here exists there?
I think income tax is between 30-50% depending on your annual income. Capital gains are taxed too. There's also a 24% Value Added Tax (VAT) on goods and services, 14% for food, 10% for medicine or entertainment. Lots of taxes for all sorts of things and although I might complain, in the end, I really don't mind because I'm happy with the benefits I get from the government.
Ouch. No thanks! What benefits exactly? Here even our roads are built by private companies. I'm a private investigator too. We don't even need government police. We certainly do not need a standing army either.
There's all sorts of things. I think health care is the most popular one.
Let's take child birth. I was talking with a work colleague in the US. He said that our company provides pretty good health insurance. When his wife gave birth, the hospital bill was 40K USD but thanks to the insurance his out of pocket was only 5K USD. WTF?!?!?! When my wife gave birth, it cost us less than 200USD. And it wasn't thanks to any special company benefits. It's the same for everyone in the country.
Women can be on maternity leave for up to 3 years and they are still guaranteed a position when they return to work. There's paternity leave too. I think it's up to 6 weeks but I could be wrong.
In general, you don't have to worry about getting sick, having an accident, etc. Medical expenses (like with childbirth) are only a fraction of the cost compared to what you might pay in the US. And we don't even need to pay for health insurance. It's already part of the taxes.
By the way, you mentioned that roads are built by private companies. I think that's the case everywhere. But who pays the private companies if there's no government? Who pays for all the interstate highways, for example?
They would be privately owned as many roads here already are.
I don't like privately owned roads. Highways between cities cost billions to construct. Some private entity is going to pay for that out of the goodness of their heart? I don't think so. They will invest to make a profit. That means I'll have to pay a toll everytime I use it. How is that different from taxes? Well, I can drive on public roads anytime I want. Privately owned roads can be closed by the owner anytime they want. They can decide only their friends get to use their roads. Or, they can charge high fees for its use. Profit, after all, is the goal. In any case, it's someone's private property so they can do whatever they want with it.
Of course, the government can charge tolls too. However, the proceeds go back to the government to be used by the government for other public services. Proceeds from a private toll go to a few rich individuals to help them accumulate even more riches.
The road wouldn't be successful if they didn't use the funds wisely to maintain it, build more roads, etc.
You don't like toll roads? I absolutely love them. The main reason why is because they are always better taken care of and safer. Best of all, I don't pay for them unless I use them. I'm voluntarily making a business transaction.
That's way better than a gun being put to my head. There should be no government property. It should all be private, and that would include the spaces for roads. We'd figure it out too if given the opportunity. In America we have tons of toll roads, bridges, and tunnels.
The process is already there and works just fine. City streets could be funded by the community of businesses there (That's how it used to be done). There's no reason to have a government collecting taxes to do it. Sure, that cost would be passed on to customers, but it is a better system than having a government forcibly stealing from people who may never even use the roads.