Young Danes Leave Denmark for Lower Taxes

Cato Daily Dispatch ^ | 12/26/07 | Laura Osio, editor

[bruinbirdman]

"As a self-employed software engineer, Thomas Sorensen broadcasts his qualifications to potential employers across Europe and the Middle East," reports The New York Times. "But to employers in his native Denmark, he is simply unavailable. Settled in Frankfurt, where he handles computer security for a large Swiss corporation, Mr. Sorensen, 34, has no plans to return to the days of paying sky-high Danish taxes. Still, an unknowing recruiter does occasionally pass his name to Danish companies. 'When I get an e-mail from them, I either respond negatively but politely,' Mr. Sorensen said, 'or I don't respond at all.'

Born and trained at Denmark's expense, but working -- and paying lower taxes -- elsewhere in Europe, Mr. Sorensen is the stuff of nightmares for Danish companies and politicians searching for solutions to an increasingly desperate labor shortage."

In "What Can the United States Learn from the Nordic Model?" Cato senior fellow Daniel J. Mitchell writes:

"Some policymakers in the United States and Europe argue that it is possible to enjoy economic growth and also have a large welfare state. These advocates for bigger government claim that the so called Nordic Model offers the best of both worlds. This claim does not withstand scrutiny. Economic performance in Nordic nations is lagging, and excessive government is the most likely explanation. The public sector in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Iceland consumes, on average, more than 48 percent of economic output. ... This bigger burden of government hurts Nordic competitiveness, both because government spending consumes resources that could be more efficiently allocated by market forces and because the accompanying high tax rates discourage productive behavior."

[38special]

South Padre Island maybe?

[yankeedame]

LOL! Did they all lose their readin' glasses? B/c I get that same squint eyed look when I can't find mine.

[BenLurkin]

Ah.
Well.
This is why we need global taxation...

/s

[bruinbirdman]

"This is why we need global taxation..."

The UN does a pretty good job at that. So does the IMF and World Bank. Kind of a super progressive tax.

The EU does pretty good at it, Evidently small differences in income taxes are tolerated, +/- 10%, as perhaps in Germany vs. Denmark. But they do not like the Irish economy running rings around other EU members with low income taxes. Sanctions have been mentioned but only words.

yitbos