Last Week in Denmark (05.11 - 12.11) Episode 43 Year 3
Tax cuts; Flying tax; Next members of EU
Editor HQ
You can still sign up for our meetup events around Denmark here. Nine events around Denmark between the 3rd of November and the 9th of December. Rights and opportunities, entertainment, networking, food and drinks, meetup for subscribers. Free access.
Next weekend we meet in Thisted (17th November; 19-21,Strømgade 4, 7700 Thisted) and Aalborg (18th November;15-18, International House North Denmark).
New articles on lwid.dk: 11 rules to tame the glottal stop (a guide to learning Danish by Juan Alvarez); Your Guide to Danish Salary Negotiations (by Claudia Bednorz); Living in Denmark: A guide for non-Europeans (part I) (by Maria Fuentes); Copenhagen Feminist Forum (by Sabine Anna Irbe) and The Social Club for Senior Ukrainians (by Natalia Mospan).
Join Food for Thought event on 16th November. Speaker - Galvin Harrison. Founder of The Next Generation Project, who hails from an Indian/Irish background and was born in Winson Green Prison, Birmingham, UK, where his mother was incarcerated. He grew up in a harsh care system, finding solace in reading and drawing. These experiences inspired him to create a community-based sculpture project, emphasizing empathy and inclusivity. Join them for an exciting storytelling session and a delicious community dinner prepared by the renowned chefs of Send Flere Krydderier.
Danish Politics HQ
New Laws and Regulations
44 measures against gang criminality: A large majority in Parliament adopted the gang package presented by the government in September. To mention a few of the measures; restaurants and shops can film 100 meters out on public roads (extended TV surveillance - it is 30 meters today); knife possession and violence used to humiliate people’s dignity will be punished more severely; police should be able to use civilian agents and carry out wiretapping; it became illegal to recruit minors into gangs; and more focus should be placed on the siblings of gang members.
Law proposals and ideas
The priorities of the government in the next seven years: You might wonder, 7 years? Aren’t there elections every four years? Well, the next elections are at the end of 2026. With the 2030 plan, the government wants to set up the framework and then negotiate with the opposition parties about each reform within the framework to ensure that even if power changes, the road ahead is stable and predictable. The plan is called “Denmark prepared for the future” and it maps out how 68 billion DKK from the “fiscal leeway” will be spent in the next few years.
The fiscal leeway shows the extra money available in the Treasury, a kind of profit.
32 billion DKK for welfare - 19 billion DKK to keep up with the demographic changes (more children and more elderly). 5 billion DKK for health investments. 3.5 billion DKK for psychiatry. 2.5 billion DKK for children, youth, and education. 1 billion DKK for the justice system. 200 million DKK for culture.
4.9 billion DKK to reinforce Denmark’s military power.
23.5 billion DKK for defense and reconstruction of Ukraine.
The senior pension scheme (possibility to retire earlier) will not be abolished.
6.75 billion DKK for tax cuts.
7 billion DKK for green transition investments
Increase the workforce by 45,000 people. How? More internationals to Denmark. Less time studying. Fewer people on public support.
Flying tax: The government proposed a flying tax of 100 DKK on average. 60 DKK for flights in Europe, 240 DKK for flights to North America, North Africa and Middle East and 390 DKK for the rest of the world.
800 million DKK will be spent on creating a green domestic route (via plane) from 2025. Airports and airlines will be able to access the funds to test and implement green technologies.
1.5 billion DKK will be used to further boost the transition to green domestic aviation. What does that mean? Electric, Hydrogen and Biofuels.
Part of the money collected from the flying tax will be used to increase the state pension by 4,800 DKK per year.
Germany has already introduced a flying tax of 159 DKK on average.
The people are happy to pay a higher price for flying, if it means helping the aviation industry become more green, however they are not happy to pay for an increase in the state pension.
A professor from Aalborg University criticizes the government decision to support biofuels for planes.
The political arena
The negotiations for tax reform have started: The government will invite all parliamentary parties to negotiate each reform from the 2030 plan. The idea is to obtain a majority large enough that will ensure that the reform will be implemented regardless of who holds the power next. The first reform to negotiate is the tax reform, or more clearly, the proposal to reduce taxation. Here you can see the opposition parties positions.
SF (socialists) is not happy with the tax cuts reform. They want the money to be spent on welfare instead. The only way they would accept the reform is if the taxation for the rich is increased and the taxation for the poor is reduced.
DD (far-right populists) would also like for the money to be spent on welfare. They like the idea of lower taxation for the poor but do not support lower taxation for the rich.
Liberal Alliance (libertarians) is generally supportive of the plan. However, they want to eliminate the top-top 5% tax for income over 2.5 million DKK.
Konservative (conservatives) is also generally supportive. They would support an even larger reduction in taxation for the lower incomes, and they are not supporters of the top-top tax for the ultra rich. They also want to open the discussion on inheritance tax.
Enhedslisten (red-green alliance, former communists) doesn’t see how they can support the tax cuts. The pensioners, the unemployed, and the people on social support will get nothing from these reforms, while the rich will get to keep more money.
Radikale Venstre (social liberals) is generally supportive of the plan. They want further reductions in taxation for lower income (however, against some conditions related to green transition).
DF (far-right conservatives) is not supportive of the plan. They want to see pensioners get more money.
Alternativet (greens) is not supportive of the plan. The money would be better spent on welfare and green transition. They want a deduction on bicycle transport.
NB (far-right libertarians) is generally supportive of the plan, but they want more money to be spent on tax cuts. They will support the plan if they get a higher driving deduction and a lower electricity tax.
The life story of the new Venstre leader, Troels Lund Poulsen. Use Google Translate and read it - it’s worth it. It is a guarantee that he will play a big role in how Denmark is governed for the next decades.
Danish Economy HQ
How will the tax cuts influence your income? Use the calculator from TV2 to see what the tax reform means for your finances. Factors that influence - married or single; with children or without; income over 500,000 DKK or under; income over 2.5 million DKK.
To be honest, the people that have a reason to celebrate are people with incomes over 750,000 DKK yearly and under 2.5 million DKK. They will get a tax reduction of 11,900 DKK yearly.
Denmark’s richest (8,000 people) will have to pay more if the tax reform becomes a reality: Unfortunately, some of them are already announcing that they will not pay. For example, Martin Thorborg (Jubii, Dinero) will adjust his salary income to fall under the 2.5 million DKK limit and get the money out as dividends instead.
The unemployment rate among university graduates is falling: If in 2019, 15.3% of master degree graduates were still unemployed two years after graduation, in 2021 it fell to 7.4%. The numbers expected for 2023 are supposed to paint an even rosier situation, with an unemployment rate of 6.5% across all graduates (profession bachelor, bachelor and masters). The numbers from 2021 show that 15% of the humanistic degree graduates couldn’t land a job two years after graduation.
Your neighborhood ice cream van has changed its name and concept: After 47 years on the roads in Denmark, the light blue vans “Hjem-is” (owned by the Latvian company Food Union Group) known for the bell sound they make around suburbs will be rebranded as “Fråst”. Further on, you will be able to buy more than just ice-cream, you will be able to buy frozen pizza and other frozen products.
0.1% inflation in October: We are getting closer to a deflation (a negative inflation) when the prices will actually start going down. When the inflation is at 0% it means that the prices are not increasing, nor decreasing. Compared to October last year, gas prices dropped 55%, electricity prices dropped 48% and diesel 14.5%, while airplane tickets increased by 22.7%, holiday rentals by 26.6%, olive oil by 29.9% and sugar by 50%.
42 billion DKK investment in Kalundborg: Novo Nordisk wants to expand its production facilities in what could be the largest business investment in the history of Denmark. Just to understand the magnitude, with that money you could build twice the Great Belt Bridge or all the superhospitals in Denmark. The expansion is planned to be completed by 2029 and it will create 3000 jobs.
Daily Life in Denmark HQ
Healthcare with Punitha Kumar
Diabetics living in Langeland are urged to come forward to have their feet checked for dangerous sores. A screening initiative mooted by Region Syddanmark to prevent foot ulcers and amputations, “Foot på Langeland” has already received 200 applications. Svendborg Hospital vascular specialist Lene Langhoff Clausen told DR that many diabetics often visited the hospital when it was too late to save their feet from being amputated. “They come in with large wounds and sadly, it has to be amputated due to their diabetic conditions.” In Denmark, Langeland holds the highest number of citizens with diabetes. In total, there are around 350,000 Danes with diabetes.
European Union HQ
This category covers interesting happenings from other EU member states, EU candidate countries and EFTA countries (Norway, Iceland, Switzerland)
The local branch of AfD (Alternative for Germany) in Saxony-Anhalt has been categorized as an extremist group: Strong evidence of democratic violations by the party - including Islamophobic, antisemitic and racist statements by elected officials - were collected by the German authorities. AfD is now classified as having “definitely extremist aspirations” — the highest threat category used by the domestic intelligence service, which allows intelligence services to increase monitoring of the party branch.
Ukraine and Moldova started their accession negotiations towards becoming members of the European Union. Georgia received the candidate country status.
Albania also started accession negotiations in 2020. Bosnia and Herzegovina became a candidate country in 2022, however the accession negotiations are blocked at the moment. Kosovo has applied for EU membership, but has yet to receive the candidate country status. Montenegro started accession negotiations in 2012 and made significant progress so far(might be joining soon). North Macedonia started accession negotiations in 2020. Serbia started accession negotiations in 2013 and made significant progress so far (they should join in the next two years).
Turkey became a candidate country in 1999, started accession negotiations in 2014 which then got suspended in 2019.
Any European country which respects EU democratic values and is committed to promoting them can apply for EU membership. To join the EU, the candidate country must fulfil a set of political and economic criteria. When negotiations on all policy areas are completed, and the EU itself is prepared for enlargement in terms of absorption capacity, then the terms and conditions for accession - including possible safeguard clauses and transitional arrangements - are incorporated into an accession treaty.
Announcement Board
This section is curated by Cicek Eris. If you have events you want us to include here please send an email to denmarkhappenings@gmail.com. You can check out her newsletter about cultural events in Denmark here.
Online, 14th Nov, 13:00-14:30: With this online event you will learn how to tailor your CV and get tips about how to deal with employment gaps and career changes.
Aarhus, 16th Nov, 17:00-19:00: Do you want to join a club in Aarhus but do not know precisely what you’re looking for? In this event, you will get to know some great clubs and associations in the area.
Esbjerg, 17th Nov, 20:00: Discover the vibrant atmosphere of Esbjerg Bryghus, socialise, make new friends, and create lasting memories in your new hometown while simultaneously experiencing Esbjerg's nightlife. Spots are limited.
Online, 21st Nov, 17:00-18:30: Join this Danish Tax System Online Q&A and get familiar with the tax system. After a prerecorded video the Q&A will be held live on November 21 and December 6 where you'll be able to ask the Danish Tax Agency your tax questions.
Odense, 29th Nov, 09:30-11:30: HR-ON is an innovative cloud-based e-recruitment solution company and this Company Visit will take place in HR-ON’s office building and will be a blend of useful information about the company’s products, the customers, the owner who started it all, the scale-up adventure, and networking.
Stock Games 2023 with Andreea Bianca Pascalau Buza
Aktiespil is over
Thursday the 9th of November was the last day of Børsen’s Aktiespil, and this Sunday marks my last contribution to the Last week in Denmark newsletter. At least for now :)
The winner of Aktiespil - user “Ildefonso” - had a profit of 194%. That’s almost 1,500,000 kr. in total 🫠. If, like me, you’re nowhere near those numbers, don’t worry. I pretty much gave up on the game when I realized you couldn’t sell your stocks whenever you wanted (meaning at any time of the day). I had days when I’d have +10K on a company around noon, but ending the day with -3K, which was frustrating to say the least.
I hope you at least had fun playing this game, because it didn’t have much to do with real life investments (where you also pay tax, the variety of products you can invest in is much higher, you can buy and sell at any time of the day and so on).
Although I won’t be in the newsletter anymore, if you’d like to learn about (real life) investments, home ownership, loans, money-saving tips and lots more, you are welcome to follow me on Instagram @moneylikealocal.dk where I write regularly, and keep an eye on my website www.moneylikealocal.dk for articles and guides on the same topics ☀️.
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