Of course it is true that the healthcare is not really free, even in Denmark. It is paid for via taxation, but healthcare costs in Denmark are a much smaller percentage of its GDP than in the U.S., though higher than the average in the EU. The important thing is that in almost all cases there is no point of usage costs for medical needs and emergencies, and Danes are not in danger of bankruptcy because of unexpected and even minor health emergencies as is the case for many, if not most, Americans. But even Danes admit that their system is not without deficiencies and can benefit from certain improvements.canpakes wrote: ↑Sat Jan 18, 2025 5:41 pmFree healthcare is a misnomer, for certain. But that Danish Fire Captain has the freedom of mind of knowing that an unexpected medical situation won’t throw his family into bankruptcy.Hound of Heaven wrote: ↑Sat Jan 18, 2025 4:03 pmA fire captain in Denmark earns approximately 560,000 DKK ($80,000). Taxes on 560,000 DKK include State Taxes of 66,000 DKK ($9,000). Municipal Tax: 139,000 DKK ($19,000). Labor Tax: 44,000 DKK ($6,000). Church tax amounts to 6000 DKK ($800). The fire captain's salary of $80,000 translates to a take-home pay of $45,200 in Denmark. From the $45,200 take home pay, the captain is still required to pay a 25% VAT on all sales in Denmark, with the exception of fuel, which is taxed at 59%. If the captain wishes to purchase a new car for the family, the captain will incur approximately 25% VAT along with an 85% tax on any vehicle valued over $10,000. So nothing in Denmark is actually free, is it? Oh, and if the fire captain can truly manage to buy a car, gas is $8 a gallon.
Denmark's health care system is not entirely "free." They are still responsible for the costs of portion dental care, certain medications, and some specialist visits that are not covered.
Right now, our family pays near as much monthly for a healthcare plan as it does for our mortgage (the difference between the two is $38), and there’s no guarantee that even that will keep us from a financial crisis should any one of us become quite sick.
One unacceptable feature of Denmark is that it has an official, state sponsored religion which is largely funded by taxation. However, one can exempt oneself from having to pay the Kirkeskat (church tax) by resigning from the state supported Lutheran Church. https://www.frinans.dk/kirkeskat/
Another aggravating feature of Denmark could be the very high tax rate for purchasing a car. However, having lived in Denmark for 2.5 years I realized it is unnecessary for most people to own a car, especially if one lives in a large urban center (like Copenhagen, for example). For one thing, the traffic congestion is already bad and aggravating enough, without everyone owning their own car. To minimize such congestion is a big part of the justification for imposing such high sale taxes on personally owned vehicles. Besides that, the public transportation is so efficient and inexpensive that it would have been foolish to saddle myself with the expenses of owning, maintaining, fueling a and insuring a personal vehicle, even if had enough money to do so (which I certainly didn't during that time). For shorter distances, my bicycle and walking were handy and perfectly adequate. For longer distances I used public transport such as buses or light rail. From anywhere in Copenhagen, the nearest bus or light rail stop was within easy walking distance, and they ran so frequently that within one and a half hours I could get from virtually anywhere in Copenhagen to anywhere else in Copenhagen (a city of more than a million people) I wanted to go--and this included the time waiting for the next bus or trolley and transfers. I could hardly have gotten to my destination faster by driving my own car, when one includes the driving time in congested traffic and the time it would take to find an unoccupied parking spot. I would have had to be nearly insane to choose to put up with the expenses of buying, fueling, maintaining, insuring and parking a vehicle, unless I needed one for my business or occupation (in which case I would have gotten a tax break, if I could show I needed it for my chosen livelihood).What is church tax?
Church tax is a membership fee you pay when you are a member of the national church.
You become a member of the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church when you are baptized.
If you are not baptized, you therefore do not pay church tax.
Simple.
However, you only pay the tax if you are liable to pay tax in Denmark at the same time.
Yet, in America, I acknowledge that it makes more sense to own a personal vehicle in many places, for a number of reasons, including the relative dearth of convenient and reliable public transportation, and the greater distances between important destinations. In Denmark, one can drive the whole length or width of the contiguous main portions of Denmark (such as the Jutland Peninsula and the island of Zealand) within a day, which we certainly can't do in our country. I acknowledge that I enjoy owning a car that I can conveniently use to drive anywhere I want to go in a hurry. Still, unless I am in a hurry, I usually choose to walk to any destination within my community or the nearest community bordering it rather than drive to it in my car. I also sometimes use my monthly pass for our local public transit system which costs only $10 per month, which is a lot cheaper than driving my car, even though it is a plug-in hybrid. I can normally live with the fact the that buses arrive at the nearest bus stop only once per hour. About the only time I use my car is when I'm taking my family with me, or I need to go out of town somewhere.
