They have a low base tax rate but permanent residents and citizens have to pay ~20% into a fund. They could withdraw from it to buy housing or for a pension. It could also be withdrawn if you leave Singapore.
It feels like that’s what we need in Europe.
I love Europe, both for the lifestyle and the safety net. But the salaries are kind of shocking for an American.
It's hard to really compare between the countries, but I feel like one should almost x2 an EU salary, to get an US equivalent, in terms of quality of life offered.
Many people just gave up to the dream of real estate ownership. Rent till the death.
With 6000 monthly how many years they need to save money for down payment for small apartment? Buying a house is not an option at all for working people.
Funnily enough Nordic populations tend to leave home before Americans, so the American figure is even worse than they look.
Don't just tell people to look up figures - cite them here please, and why they should overrule the figures saying as many or more Nordic people own their homes than Americans.
Outside of big-tech and FAANGS, pay in EU is super weak compared to US, like orders of magnitude.
Don't get me wrong the safety net component is really nice but as long as the goings good it's a hard sell compared to the USA.
Which company is that? Parent didn't mention a company.
No. The salaries at all levels in Europe are lower than in the US, regardless of a few outliers. That part is indisputable.
I don't have a PhD, but from what I've heard in the US, PhDs are paid pretty poorly there too, compared to their level of education and the level of work they do compared to, for instance, a software engineer with a Bachelor's.
I want my society to be nice because that's where I live. And it's not about the exact amount I add or withdraw from the communal tax pool.
Adult immigrants will benefit less from the system than locals over their lifetime, but may end up contributing as much. Adult immigrants with advanced degrees who come to work here for a few years and then move out are penalized quite severely by the tax system, to the point where I think it makes very little sense to do that.
On my locally quite high $80k annual income (STEM PhD, 40yo), my employer pays an additional $36k in taxes and pension. Then I pay $22k in income taxes and 25% VAT on everything I buy.
Why would anyone with an advanced degree from China, India or the U.S. come to work here? Lowering the taxes for a couple of years following immigration, possibly proportionally to level of education, would encourage immigration and would be ethically defensible.