Comparison: UBI potential, tax burden
Comparison: Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Estonia, Netherlands
Imagine waking up one sunny morning feeling oddly inspired to relocate. Maybe it’s something in the air? Maybe it’s your latest tax statement. Before you start packing for Denmark, that picture‑perfect realm of bicycles, hygge, pastries, and pickled fish, pause for a moment.
Denmark is often admired for its generous social services. But that generosity has a price tag. A postwar embrace of social democracy led to the famous Danish model: high taxes funding universal healthcare, free education, robust unemployment support, and strong protections for workers and families.
Import taxes on cars and luxury goods are steep partly to help maintain this system and partly to enforce a cultural ethos: conspicuous consumption raises eyebrows. Flaunting luxury feels as socially awkward as discussing your salary at a birthday party.
What about Universal Basic Income? Denmark does not call what it offers UBI. Still, students enjoy a “state support” (SU) of around 6,820 DKK/month (≈ €860), up to five years while studying at secondary school or university. Some argue that SU resembles a partial UBI for a small group under specific conditions.
But Denmark has never implemented UBI in universal form: no monthly payout to every citizen, regardless of age or income. Nation-wide UBI pilots remain untested. Across the world, full UBI trials – basic income given cold and unconditional to everyone- don’t exist yet; Mongolia and Iran offered limited partial versions, but Denmark hasn’t gone that far.
That said, Danish political discourse has flirted with the idea. Since the 1970s, UBI has appeared in debates, inspired by global thinkers. Small parties like The Alternative endorse it, though it has not reached mainstream enactment.
In plain, slightly sarcastic terms:
- Denmark taxes your flashy car like it owes the state a favour. (up to 150% of it’s value!)
- Denmark VAT rate is 25%. Sweden also has a 25% VAT, but 12% foodstuffs/hotels, 6% books/transport.
- It has the highest income tax in the world. Denmark’s top marginal tax rate is 52.07% (55.90% including AM tax). (France has 55.4%, and Austria has 55%).
- It gives students a tidy monthly SU stipend—but that’s not a full-blown UBI, it’s a perk for scholars.
- No nationwide “everyone gets cash every month regardless” policy yet.
- Still, the country’s long-term commitment to social safety nets means conversations about UBI continue (but call it “state support,” not “free money for all”).
Comparison: income security, UBI potential, digital efficiency, tax burden, and future-oriented policy
| ASPECT | 🇩🇰 DENMARK | 🇸🇪 SWEDEN | 🇩🇪 GERMANY | 🇪🇪 ESTONIA | 🇳🇱 NETHERLANDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income Security | ✔️ Strong safety net, high benefits, few conditions | ✔️ Strong welfare state, with strong activation policies | ⚠️ Improved via Bürgergeld, still bureaucratic (Single adults receive 563 euros per month as of 2024, with no increase planned for 2025) | ⚠️ Limited safety net, but tightly organized | ⚠️ Complex, conditional, based on allowances |
| UBI Potential | ⚠️ Indirect through welfare state, politically neutral | ❌ Low chance, strong work-ethic culture | ⚠️ Serious pilots, growing public support | ❌ Low due to liberalism & post-Soviet mindset | ⚠️ Only likely via deep structural reform |
| Digital Efficiency | ✔️ Well-organized, efficient portals | ⚠️ Functional but not cutting-edge | ⚠️ Fragmented across states, digitalization is slow | ✔️ Digital leader, almost all services online | ❌ Outdated, fragmented, lacks integration |
| Tax Burden | 🔺 Among the highest in Europe, esp. on assets & vehicles | 🔺 High, but more balanced | ⚖️ Medium-high, mainly on labor | ⚖️ Low and flattens with growth | 🔺 High and overly complex, many exceptions |
| Future-Readiness | ✔️ Focused on climate, housing, and healthcare | ⚠️ Solid foundation but conservative on change | ✔️ Actively reforming welfare, healthcare & pensions | ✔️ Flexible, innovative, startup-friendly | ⚠️ Slow pension & welfare reforms |
| UBI-like Systems | Student allowance (SU); broad welfare with few requirements | Active welfare with mandatory participation | Bürgergeld: semi-UBI in early phase | Minimal support for low-income, digitally efficient | Complex system of welfare and allowances, with strict controls |
So: you want to buy a car that costs 80k at the dealer. If you actually want to drive it on the road you have to register it. Here’s a breakdown what the car will cost you before you can hit the road: (be aware you also have to pay insurance)
| Staffels | Berekening |
|---|---|
| First DKK 69.700 | 25% × 69.700 = DKK 17.425 |
| Next DKK 207.200 | 85% × 207.200 = DKK 176.120 |
| Remaining (596.000 − 276.900 = 319.100) | 150% × 319.100 = DKK 478.650 |
| Total taxes | 672.195 DKK |
| Total costs incl. taxes | 596.000 + 672.195 = 1.268.195 DKK |
| Converted to euro | ≈ €170.200 |