Friendly reminder - Taxes due by tomorrow (July 15th)

You know, one of the few really good things about being retired is that I don't have to pay any income tax since I don't earn an income!!

My taxes are ridiculous. I pay nearly 30% of my net in taxes.

You need a better tax accountant!!

Myrthos said:

Over here there is only one way to file for taxes and that is through the government website and using their online software, which is all free.
The whole process has been simplified quite a bit over the years and we now even get tax forms where most of the stuff has already been filled in from information the tax office has received from our employers and banks, which does need to be checked as not all information is always 100% correct, but most of it is. Simplifying it has also reduced possibilities for fraud, I suppose.

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Yeah, thats really awesome. There seem to be a huge difference with that. France seems to have a very similar system as you have in the netherlands, and without a complicated situation, probably every idiot can fill it out.

On the other hand you got countries like Germany, where you better have some tax specialist doing taxes for you because otherwise you get screwed.

One of the reasons for that is not just complexity but I think also how the state treats their inhabitants.
Every other day in Germany you hear about programs which would help people, but which are not used because they are too complicated, or too much effort. So the state can say "we got all these great programs in place". On the other hand, Germany likes to take money first, and then give money back if it was too much.
For example on ETFs (stock market) you basically pay some hypotetical (but low) fee first just for potential value gains, not even for selling it. And if it actually fails to even get these gains, you can ask the state to please return that money again.
Also you have something like a "Werbekostenpauschale" which is a supder stupidly named for a an automatic reduction in the tax you have to pay by reducing your income by a flat amount, assuming these are costs you use to work. They are at 1000€ max per year. If you have higher costs, you have to make sure you keep everything to prove it. The money reduction for just driving to work or use public transport can actually break that (also because public transport is quite expensive in Germany which is also stupid).
France on the other hand: Bam! They just reduce your taxable brut income by 10% to account for all the crap you might need to pay for. So if you are at 30k you must exceed 3k per year to make it worth your while to collect all the statements for expenses. Ofc publich transport is also much cheaper, and even though it's cheaper your employer usually also pays 50% of that cost.
So instead of just having some neat programs ob paper nobody uses, they just do stuff and make it usable.

Btw: Funny enough: Just before seeing this thread I spent about 6 hours looking into taxation, especially of capital gains in different countries, including the netherlands with it's three Box system. I might have a couple of questions for you later on if thats ok with you.

Corwin said:

You know, one of the few really good things about being retired is that I don't have to pay any income tax since I don't earn an income!!

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Actually in Germany, and probably in many other countries you have to pay tax when retired. While you receive money from the state you actually have to pay taxes on it. Which…yeah is really stupid, but that goes with what I described before. However you do not have to do it, if its below some amount afaik.
In some cases it makes sense though. For example if you have a pension paid by the state of let's say 1000$ and also get another 1000$ by capital gains, it makes sense you have to pay taxes for that as usual. Ofc it might be possible that Australia just deducts them at the source and its a flat amount, so that the bank is already paying it for you. But I am not familiar with your system at all.

crpgnut said:

My taxes are ridiculous. I pay nearly 30% of my net in taxes.

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Isn't "net" actually "brut" with deducted taxes?

If you actually mean what you wrote and that with 3000 net, you already paid 30% of that in taxes which is 900€, then…well…taxes are super small.

I guess something between 25-50% is normal for most countries, depending on your income and situation ofc. (as in, you earn 4000€ brut in a month, and you get like 2500€ net from that).

In the Netherlands, like probably in more countries, you pay different tax rates over certain amounts of your income. up to 68 KEuro you pay 37% in taxes, all income above that amount is taxed with 49.5%. If you receive a pension (which is at 67) then over the first 35 KEuro you pay ‘only’ 20% and over the money above that, it is the same as above. So with the same income as someone else who does not receive a pension yet, you pay less taxes.

In an absolute sense 30% of taxes is not that much, but it can not be compared that way. It also depends on the cost of living, income and the benefits one can receive, which are only possible because taxes are paid.

I work in big oil so the money and bennies are good. However, it does seem they take more and more the older I get. I would like to retire but they steal so much of my money before I even get a chance!

Get off my lawn!