How much of your earnings can you put in your pocket?

I live in Sweden, one of the highest taxed countries in the world. It has its highs and lows and almost free healthcare is one of the highs. Running my own company has made me look at tax differently though. After deductions I can put about 50% in my pocket. I’m exclusive here on the Envato Marketplace so that gives me 50%. I’ll probably stay in that percentage for a while before things start to take off. In the end I make 25% of what the item is sold for. I don’t complain though, it’s just a fact.

On top of that the dollar is quite low at the moment compared to SEK . Naturally things are expensive here in Sweden. As a comparison, a beer at a local pub (not a fancy one) is about 6 dollars.

Now, since this is an international site and I guess most of you have your own companies, how much can you put in your pocket after the tax is payed in your country?

The most question of all though is of course, how much do you pay for a beer in your hometown

I’d have to look at my tax return from last year to be sure, but strictly looking at stock sales (which I report as small business income separate from my day job) I probably didn’t pay anywhere near 50% in taxes, most likely more like 20-30%. Part of this is that the rate is not as high but also because I was able to deduct some sizeable purchases .

I know I pay about 30% to various taxes for my day job earnings.

Not to start a political firestorm, but I would pay higher taxes in an instant for good universal health care coverage or low cost of higher education. There’s a lot of stupidity and misinformation going around right now in the US over these issues. Meanwhile, I’m mostly covered by my day job’s insurance and consider myself lucky to be able to insure myself and my family at about $400/month (without work coverage it would easily exceed $1000), along with setting $500/month aside for eventual college tuition for my daughter (she’s 8 now, and by many estimates that actually won’t be enough to cover it by the time she’s 18). Um, sorry – I won’t rant any further The people who are calling for lower taxes have their reasons as well – I guess things have to be paid for one way or another.

But regarding the more important issue:

It really depends on the quality of the beer. A good pint of Oregon microbrew could cost 6 USD or more and be worth every penny. If you’re just getting something like a Widmer Hefeweizen it could be 4 – 5 USD a pint. PBR , Bud Light, Coors, etc might be 3 USD a pint, but what would be the point? Oh shoot, now I’m really asking for it…

@jhunger said : It really depends on the quality of the beer. A good pint of Oregon microbrew could cost 6 USD or more and be worth every penny. If you’re just getting something like a Widmer Hefeweizen it could be 4 – 5 USD a pint. PBR , Bud Light, Coors, etc might be 3 USD a pint, but what would be the point? Oh shoot, now I’m really asking for it…

Hey ! i’m with you on that one he he.

Hey guys!

Thanks for the response. I thought about writing a disclaimer saying I hoped that this wouldn’t turn into a disussion about taxation as a whole. But as you showed jhunger it’s possible to comment about it but in a lighthearted way. You also answered a question that I talked about with my brother the other day. How much does insurance cost in the US? I have a lot of american friends but I never got around to ask them. Over $1000 a month. That’s just…just…wow

In Sweden college is free. On top of that you can get a $400 dollar benefit from the government + another $900 loan per month you study. That loan has to be repaid of course, but the terms are great. If you don’t work you don’t pay. It’s that easy. That student loan and benefit can be used for up to 6 years in higher education. Didn’t do so well in high school? Same applies for two years of studying at a high school level as an adult.

As a comparison, in Sweden we do need insurance too. The one that’s most common is called “home insurance”. Although it’s called that you get a lot of benefits from it. If I go overseas it will cover the medical expenses in any country. Having bigger issues? They will fly out to get you back to Sweden. For this I pay $15 a month.

30% tax is standard in Sweden if you’re employed. I thought it was closer to 15% in America. That would make more sense.

If I’m not wrong, Sweden is the extreme here. There aren’t many countries with these many benefits. Like I said before, the taxes are high and things are expensive. And since people have to complain about something, taxes are always up for discussion. Being a small business owner as myself can be tricky sometimes but in the end it’s worth it. Hey I get to produce audio for a living. What can be better than that?

Well, as always there are multiple hues to complex issues . I should probably clarify that the 30% I quoted was not just federal income tax (which is 25% for the last dollar I earn, 15% from 17K to 69K, and 10% below 17K for 2011) but state tax (9% in Oregon over a certain amount I can’t recall), FICA and Medicare (4.2% and 1.45%, respectively). I think this would all add up to more than 30%, but there are several deductions that you can take for mortgage interest, 401(k) contributions, etc.

I didn’t include property tax (we have a small house so it’s around $1500 annually) in my estimate, though. Oregon doesn’t have sales tax, but it’s one of the few states that doesn’t – California and Washington, for instance, pay about 9% if I remember right.

As far as insurance goes, if I had to pay for it all myself the last time I looked (several years ago) the absolute cheapest coverage I could get for my family, which was basically catastrophic coverage, was around $600/month. To get the same insurance I have through work – not the greatest – I believe it would be more along the lines of $1200 – $1500. One of the many tragic results of this is that entrepreneurship (which the US traditionally prides itself on) is discouraged because people can’t quit their day jobs in order to keep their insurance.

Our state universities (University of Oregon and Oregon State University) run around $10,000 per year currently in undergraduate resident tuition costs alone (going full time at 17 credits). This doesn’t include housing, food, books, etc. If you want to come here from out of state the tuition triples. So really it’s past the point where average wage earners can send their kids even to a state college without them graduating with buckets of debt right out of the gate. Private universities are far far more. Lewis and Clark college (down the street from me) is 40,000 / year in undergraduate tuition.

I love the US to death, especially where I live in Portland, and will never live anywhere else, but I also have to admit that we have more than a few issues to work out if we’re planning on staying competitive with the rest of the world in the coming years .

The question should be how much money goes out of your pocket because you’re making music

I know your beers are expensive dear neighbour, but at least you have affordable vehicles

Reachground said
The most question of all though is of course, how much do you pay for a beer in your hometown

A 0 .5Lt Bottle (for example Carlsberg) costs About 1.2Euros in Super Markets, 1.1Euros for Amstel, 2Euros for Franziskaner, BUT they cost 3-7Euros in Bars/Taverns (it depends on the bar/tavern).

I’m an “alki” though as my name states in your native language, so don’t listen to me…lol.

Not much…since I have a slow sale ratio

I get to put all of it in my pocket since I really don’t make very much from my sales…lol.

But seriously, this is currently just a hobby for me. I doubt I will ever really make a lot of money from it to even be concerned how much I am putting in my pocket.