sean99
pfm Member
The tax in DK is eye-watering, at least to those who are used to US/UK rates. Not many loopholes either. The average tax rate is around 45% (top rate 56% though the tax bands may have changed since you lived there). Share of taxes related to income is very high. A lot of taxes go to caring for the elderly/pensions as well. And yes, cars are still expensive. I think at the time in the UK there were concerns about quality and government caps on enrollment which led to a series of reforms that created the university system we have today. There may have been other reasons.
Attending a state university in the US costs around $30k a year (tuition, room & board). Health insurance for a family is around $20k a year (partly paid by employer, partly by employee). Good job our taxes are low, or we'd never be able to afford to pay for it all .
The one positive about higher education in Massachusetts, at least, is that there's a lot of choice, and those who didn't get top grades in school, or are "late bloomers" can find their way to a useful degree, perhaps via part time community college, which is much less expensive, particularly if you live at home.