World happiness report

[blightymam]

Varies of course, but for example, if you earn £100k a year you pay about £35k tax in the UK, or £40k in Norway.

If you earn £20k a year you pay £3.2k tax in the UK or £3.8k in Norway. (Assuming not self employed)

I was always under the impression that tax was around 40% for most, and vat was 25%. Some Norwegian students at my uni used to complain about it too. Oh well, I must've been getting it wrong for all those years!

When I was there - 2010 maybe - I was horrified to see the numbers of people shooting heroin in a park just up from the town centre......not what I wanted to see at all.
John

Yes, there was a problem in Oslo when we were there in the 70's with drugs. We were told about it soon after we moved there but never witnessed it personally.

 

[Burnerman]

Certainly I don't know the city well, but I parked my bike near the cruise ship terminal and then walked up to the Norwegian Resistance museum - witnessing the drug (and hooker) issues as I progressed.
I don't know what I expected from the country but I found other towns really rather miserable, with painted timber houses, no gardens or flowers, and this was August. I was advised to go to Fram, Stavanger and Geiranger and then back down to Voss which was awful. Overall I wasn't too impressed, I'm afraid.
John

 

[JohnD]

I was always under the impression that tax was around 40% for most, and vat was 25%. Some Norwegian students at my uni used to complain about it too. Oh well, I must've been getting it wrong for all those years!

Everybody complains, but there are bound to be some allowances and some bands. Nobody pays top-slice on all their income. It's slightly obfuscated when you have a second tax on your pay, at a different rate and in different bands. This is deliberate, to make it difficult for people to know what tax they're paying on their earnings. NI is of course an tax on wages and salaries.

If you're the boss of the Daily Mail you don't have to pay any UK tax at all.

This estimator sometimes works
http://tools.hmrc.gov.uk/hmrctaxcalculator/startsession/Personal+Tax+Calculator/en-GB?user=guest

this one doesn't
https://www.reed.co.uk/tax-calculator?salary=100000

 

[blightymam]

Certainly I don't know the city well, but I parked my bike near the cruise ship terminal and then walked up to the Norwegian Resistance museum - witnessing the drug (and hooker) issues as I progressed.
I don't know what I expected from the country but I found other towns really rather miserable, with painted timber houses, no gardens or flowers, and this was August. I was advised to go to Fram, Stavanger and Geiranger and then back down to Voss which was awful. Overall I wasn't too impressed, I'm afraid.
John

Not been to the places you mention, but had a quick look at Stavanger. Seems pretty to me!!

Anyway, horses for courses and all that. Sorry you weren't all that impressed with your holiday.. As a kid I loved living there

 

[Gerrydelasel]

I've been to all the places mentioned except Fram and Voss. My overall impression was always, very clean, pretty, unspoiled, expensive, and dull. Which is not entirely surprising for the country that is 50% larger than the UK but has one twelfth of the people in it!

 

[Burnerman]

Certainly I found the petroleum museum in Stavanger interesting, but riding up the mountain to view Geiranger Fjord was a waste of time as exhaust from cruise ships had covered everything. Voss is clearly a ski resort, and as dull as could be in the summer.
I guess I was expecting typical mountain scenes like the Alps - awash with flowers and colour in the summer. Not so there!
John

 

[blightymam]

Certainly I found the petroleum museum in Stavanger interesting, but riding up the mountain to view Geiranger Fjord was a waste of time as exhaust from cruise ships had covered everything. Voss is clearly a ski resort, and as dull as could be in the summer.
I guess I was expecting typical mountain scenes like the Alps - awash with flowers and colour in the summer. Not so there!
John

Shame about the dirt from the ships.
And that you didn't see the flowers. They do have them in the mountains, but as I said, not been to the places you have - sounds like you were unlucky. Oh well!
Funny how you say Voss was dull in the summer - I preferred the winter in Norway, more to do, tho we did go to the beach most days until the giant jellyfish took over, never seen so many. Did you make it to Vigeland Park? My young eyes didn't know where to look, strange place indeed!

 

[Burnerman]

Yes, I did go there but didn't really know what to make of it really...I found it a bit bizarre if I'm honest, uncertain if it was intended to be natural or erotic.
Incredible sculptures, completely silent and spooked me a fair bit!
John

 

[blightymam]

Ha ha, thought the same - tho had forgotten about it being quiet