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Wait, is the tax rate in East Europe EU members the same as those in the West?
Also, 19% VAT is ridiculous. You even exceeded my 3rd World shithole's 12%. Do you have VAT-exempt goods?
Just for your guys reference, when I worked in Silicon Valley either 43% or 47% of my paycheck was taken out before I got it, and I was one of the few people who didn't have a 401k or whatever. Gasoline costs quite a bit more there than almost anywhere else in the country, as do electricity, water, etc. Since I had no interest in owning property in that shit-hole I rented the cheapest apartment I could find, and I always switch apartments within several weeks of switching jobs.
I think my friend who bought a place down there pays something like $40,000 per year in taxes for the privilege of living in his own house. And he gets exercise dodging the human feces and drug needles which litter the streets.
401K, isn't that like your social security pension stuff? Yeah, you'd probably only take 40% of your salary if that would also be deducted. I suppose it's cheaper outside the coast but there's less available jobs.
I see a lot of videos talking about the shitfest in some cities in California. Really shocking, like, I don't even see stuff like that in my low-income neighborhood. Even the people in the slums don't leave their shit on the street.