Do you realize 50% of a Hungarian salary is way less than 30% of a Dutch one?

The problem here is that Hungary's cash salaries are much cheaper than average, whereas Hungary's non-financial compensations are merely quite cheaper than average.

The only systemic problem described in the article is that private bosses have to shoulder the burden of helping mothers and older workers. Helping them is a societal decision, it ought to be supported by society: if you want to help pregnant women, let bosses fire them, then have the government compensate them with tax money coming from all companies, not only from those which hire child-bearing-age women.

No, not fire them. You shouldn't be able to fire someone just for having a child, that's a terrible disincentive for talented women to join a business (and also for people to have kids, which damages society as a whole).

Simply have the state pay their wages while on maternity leave (and the father's on paternity leave). That's how it works in Canada. Works well.

The point in the article is more subtle than that. AIUI that's what happens in Hungary too. But he has to hire someone else whilst she's on maternity leave (and though it's not mentioned, that recruitment process itself could potentially be quite expensive), and then, when she comes back, he now has to fire that replacement person (which is slightly tricky, as Europe doesn't have 'at will' employment practices, so either there'll be severance payment involved, or he could hire someone on a more temporary basis from the outset, but that's almost certainly going to be at a higher rate). And then, the mother has accumulated holiday days all the time whilst off on maternity, so will either take them all off at the point of official 'return', and thus he'll have to be paying two people for the job at that point (or else she doesn't take them all at once, but takes them in large chunks over the next few months, making it even trickier to have someone else cover).

How does Canada handle those parts?

I don't know the best solution, and I bet there's no perfect one. But for many qualified jobs, employees are not easily interchangeable. You cannot replace and reemploy women based on their family needs without disrupting the business needs. Unless you provide employers with a solution to this, there's a disincentive to employ women in non easily replaceable positions.

Hungary might be an outlier but right after it comes France and I'd say that the French get quite a lot for their money.

So like most things, "it's complicated". This article oversimplifies to the point of it being flat out wrong.

And not only that, it's completely unoriginal, being an exact transcript of what every shopkeeper in Europe will tell you after you've bought him a few drinks.

Look, my post isn't about Europe, but Hungary. And here, we do not get enough for our money. When you go to a hospital, you're scared to death. Okay, I didn't write a dissertation. It does simplify things, yes it sounds like whining. But it's very original. :) It is how I felt when I first wrote it in Hungarian, and I was sober. I wanted to buy beers, but they refused to sell it after 10 pm. Why? It's now legal to drink, but illegal to buy at night. My overall point is that the state is like an elephant in a porcelain store.

The problem you are facing is that very few people are familiar with your situation and so they take what they understand from their country or what they see in the news about some other country on the same continent as yours and they apply that view to your post. So it's no surprise that even with so many comments, very few have anything to do with what you wrote.

I don't understand Fidesz - or their motivations. I don't have the context (I'm rather new to living in Hungary) but it looks to me like they think they can tax their way out of the hole the socialists left behind. The fact that we have the highest VAT in Europe now seems to corroborate with this view.

The problem is - it doesn't work. People just find ways around the taxes. They have to do so. People need to eat and live and if they do everything above board they will not make it.

So as I read your post - I was bemused, trying to picture this Hungarian who pays all his taxes.

High taxes are not a Fidesz invention. It was always like this since 1989. In fact it was Fidesz who won the elections by lying they will reduce burdens. Of course, the did the opposite. They increased them, and completley destroyed the whole economy. Now we have the VAT world record: 27%. All three rating agencies downgraded us to junk, the Forint is done. It's a huge problem for millions of people who have depts in CHF or Euros. They are basically screwed, big time. I wouldn't be surpised, if it was our PM and friends shorted the Forint.

As for paying the taxes? Some people do have to. You may go to jail if you're in the way of people who have good political connections.

So then the problem isn't taxes but what your government does with them?

Fine, I can see that. But your post barely says anything about this problem, focusing instead on how much it is you would have to pay.

Which is exactly what every shopkeeper does after you buy him some drinks. Hence the confusion :-)

The problem is very clear. Burdens or legal businesses are high. This gives illegal business (that our goverment doesn't stop, being extremely corrupt themselves) a very unfair advantage. It's like boxing with an opponent who has a gun. This is the problem.

And yes, also, that when you get sick of it all, and go the hospital that is financed with your tax money, not those, who do not pay the taxes, you are literally scared of the conditions. You are walking on tiptoes in piss.

This is basically what I can whine about when you have paid me a drink.