Last Week in Denmark (10.12 - 17.12) Episode 48 Year 3

Lower taxes; Good times for your personal economy; Last edition of the year

Dec 17, 2023

Editor HQ

Three years since “Last Week in Denmark” started. Three years of free time, evenings, and weekends donated to one ideal - to empower people with information. 1,600 hours so far dedicated to collecting, sorting, extracting, and rewriting in plain language a 6-7 page newsletter, week after week.

Despite being a media project run during our free time, “Last Week in Denmark” has become one of the main sources of information for internationals in Denmark. With 25,000 subscribers (across the five language versions) and an average of 60,000 readers, our words reach every corner of Denmark. From the fish factories in North Denmark, to the farms in Central Denmark, to the trucks in South Denmark, and even to the “fine salons” of Copenhagen, we come together each Sunday afternoon into one very diverse collective.

Our third year has been one of many firsts. Our first merchandise line (so proud to see our enamel mugs in random stories on social media). Our first podcast (broke a thousand listeners after five episodes). Our first public grant (which allowed us to commission articles - wow). Our first donations (thank you for the support), and the list keeps going. A year of many changes that really pushed the limits of a volunteer-run project. We are very grateful for your many support messages during the year, which kept us going during rough patches.

Can we take this project to another level? Yes, certainly. There is so much more we could do. That’s why I plan to read all of the feedback given through the open questions in the survey (which is quite a bit - more than a thousand answers to go through) in the winter break and include it in the strategy for 2024. One certainty for next year is that we will have a central administration (full-time thanks to Erasmus+) so that we can increase our volunteer team to 100 people, so that we can disseminate information on more platforms and languages.

What’s the goal? 50,000 subscribers to unlock the doors of permanent public funding. Public funding, which could allow us to transition into a proper multilingual newspaper for the international community in Denmark. Public funding, which could attract a skilled journalist to replace me and increase the quality of the newsletter. Hopefully, we can see this dream become a reality by 2025.

One thing is certain. “Last Week in Denmark” is here to stay and can only become better with time. Another certain thing: the newsletter will always be free. Your donations are obviously welcome, but your access will never be limited by money.

Before I close this letter, I need to express my gratitude to the volunteers who invested their free time into this project.

Alina Axinte, who keeps our Facebook page alive :)
Anda Macovei, Andrei Moldovan, Lavinia Moldovan, Diana Popa, Angela Elena Stan, Cosmin Florian, Sebastian Florian, Donatela Cazanacli and Ioana Nechifor, who create the Romanian version of the newsletter and take it further than just a translation with original content for the Romanian community.
Aleksandra Wojcik, Monika Elend, Ewa Łagodzka, Jagoda Ziółkowska, Karolina Ćwiklińska, Michalina Gębicka and Kinga Marszal-Norsworthy, who bring to life the Polish version of the newsletter.
Maria Fuentes, Ignacio Talavera Cepeda, Ana Macarena Macri, Ariadna Tagliorette, Francisca Reyes Alcaíno and Yamel MG Henriksen, who connect the Spanish-speaking world to the realities of Denmark.
Punitha Kumar, Jelimir Vlastici and Cicek Eris who reduce my burden on the English version by taking care of curating news from healthcare, sports, culture and events.
Alexandra Kalacsi, Elsa Alves, Daniel Cojocaru, Harshvardhan Jain, Miguel Oliveira and Andreea Corciovei, who have kept an eye over the development of the project and offered advice.
Eva Renata Balasz and Ines Almeida, who joined us not so long ago, but already made a sea of difference, by bringing our website up-to-date and showing the importance of having a functioning central administration.
To our writers: Louisa Magnussen (who is also producing our podcast); Juan Alvarez; Andreea Bianca Pascalau Buza; Claudia Bednorz; Natalia Mospan; Pratik Hariharan; Sabine Anna Irbe; Sorina Floroiu (who made an impressive effort with the “Romanian’s in Danish media” project), Alina Racila, and many others.
To the volunteers that have contributed at some point during this year.

…and to you, the reader, for opening your email week after week, for leaving feedback messages, and for telling others about this project. It’s thanks to you that we have reached this stage today, and it will be thanks to you that we can move forward to the next chapter.

Happy Holidays,

Narcis George Matache

P.S. - You can show your love by donating, by telling others about this project (tag us on your social media) or by leaving comments on our Substack.

Danish Politics HQ

New Laws and Regulations

10 billion DKK in tax reduction: A majority in Parliament has come to an agreement regarding the reduction of tax income for the state by 10 billion DKK. 3.3 million people in Denmark will benefit from the tax reduction.

Employment deduction (fradrag) will gradually increase (until 2026) to 12.75% of the salary (10.65% today), to a maximum of 56,200 DKK.
The additional employment deduction for single parents will increase in 2025 from 6.25% to 11.5%, a maximum of 44,900 DKK. (there are 117,000 single parents)
New deduction for people close to the retirement age (65-66 years old) of 1.4% from 2026, a maximum of 5,400 DKK. In 2030, it will increase to 3.9%, a maximum of 15,200 DKK.
For the 290,000 people with income between 618,400 DKK and 750,000 DKK the top tax will decrease from 15% to 7.5%.
For the 9,000 people with incomes over 2.5 million DKK, the top tax will increase from 15% to 20%.
From 2026, there will be higher senior premiums (seniorpræmie). A senior premium is a tax-free amount you receive if you continue to work at least 30 hours per week for two years after retirement. 50,415 DKK premium for the first year (67 years old) and 30,000 DKK premium for the second year (68 years old).
The fradrag on inheritance tax increases in 2026 with 26,300 DKK to 348,000 DKK, and one more time in 2029 to 375,000 DKK.

You can use the calculator here to see how much you get to keep extra in your pocket (from 2026).

Three political parties would not join the agreement on tax reduction: SF (Socialists), DF (Nationalist Conservatives) and Liberal Alliance (Libertarians) have left the negotiations for various reasons. SF couldn’t be part of an agreement that makes the rich richer, DF wanted a tax reduction for pensioners - without much success and Liberal Alliance would not be part of an agreement where the government implements an extra tax for the ultra rich.

Enhedslisten (red-green alliance) didn’t even join the negotiations due to no tax reduction for the unemployed and people on state support.

2.5 billion DKK for homes and local communities placed near an energy park: A majority in Parliament decided to make it easier to establish energy parks around Denmark. 1.3% of Denmark’s surface will have to be dedicated to wind turbines and solar panels (Today, 0.5% is covered by green energy parks). There will be significant compensation for the homes that will neighbor the future energy parks.

The Health Act has been amended: An unanimous Parliament has decided to give sane citizens over 60 years old the right to opt out of being resuscitated in case of cardiac arrest.

The political arena

Denmark votes for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza (Palestine): At the United Nations General Assembly in New York (USA), a resolution to temporarily stop the war in Gaza was supported by a large majority of countries. The support to stop the war is a change of course for Denmark, as they abstained from voting in October.

Why? According to prime minister Mette Frederiksen “a break is needed to get humanitarian aid in. There are people who need help.”
Konservative (conservatives), Nye Borgerlige (nationalist libertarians), DD (nationalist populists) are unhappy with the temporary ceasefire.
Enhedslisten, Alternativet (greens) and Radikale Venstre (social liberals) would have liked a call for a permanent ceasefire, an end to the war.

The internal struggles of the social democrats - the exodus of the voters and the fight for the heir position: Since the last parliamentary elections (a bit more than a year ago), almost 25% of the social democrat voters have left the party. While the incredible election success last year was due to Mette Frederiksen's performance during the years of pandemic and crisis, the voters have gotten “tired” of seeing Mette at the helm.

Why? The removal of the national holiday (Great Prayer Day), the support for tax reduction while the municipalities are crumbling under the welfare cost, and the closed room deals.
Despite the voter exodus, Socialdemokratiet is still the most supported party in Denmark. That is because it is the only party with a significant core voter base and a lack of real alternatives for social democrat voters.
Who will lead Socialdemokratiet and maybe Denmark, after Mette Frederiksen? Finance minister Nicolai Wammen or Justice minister Peter Hummelgaard.

Danish Economy HQ

0.6% inflation rate in November: After the shocking, almost zero inflation rate in October, the November numbers show a higher inflation rate. Goods have become cheaper (due to lower energy prices) and services have become more expensive (due to higher salaries and rents). The forecast for 2024 inflation is 2%.

Higher property taxes for commercial spaces for almost half of the owners: Not only private homes got re-evaluated, but also commercial spaces. So far, 318,000 commercial properties have been assessed and half of the owners will pay a higher property tax.

The commercial spaces include rental properties. Does this mean a significantly higher rent in 2025? Only time will tell.
Erhvervsdækningsafgift (business coverage tax) which is based on the commercial tax base is limited to a maximum 10% increase. You pay business coverage tax on commercial spaces in 33 municipalities. 26,000 companies pay this tax.

House prices have fallen on average only 2% this year: Despite the higher interest rates and the predicted fall in house prices of more than 8%, the demand for houses is as high as ever. House prices are expected to increase in the following two years (1.2% in 2024 and 1.9% in 2025). Interest rates have peaked (to 5% on a fixed-rate loan) and then even decreased to near 4% on fixed-rate loans.

The interest rates are expected to decrease moving forward, with a significant drop in 2025.

Our purchasing power is getting stronger next year: With inflation around 2% and an average hourly wage increase of 5.4%, the real wage will see a significant increase, and therefore we will be able to afford more. Economists say we should be able to afford just as much as before the inflation crisis. Another good thing is that interest rates are going down.

Daily Life in Denmark HQ

The most searched keywords/phrases/questions on Google can provide a deep dive into the heart of a society: What are people in Denmark googling in 2023? Fatigue, energy drinks, and caffeine. There is a general feeling of being tired in society after facing one crisis after another. Last year, the keywords were petrol prices, quick loans, and Ukraine, while in 2021, masks, hand sanitizer, and coronavirus dominated.

Most googled names: Holger Rune (tennis); Jonas Vingegaard (cyclism); Taylor Swift (musician); Tobias Rahim (musician); Lise Nørgaard (writer); Matthew Perry (actor); Michael Hansen (football player); Tina Turner (musician); Mette Frederiksen (politician); Andreas Mogensen (astronaut).

12 recommendations for screen use in schools: The Board for Education and Quality presented 12 recommendations for screen use in schools. It is not mandatory for the school leaders to implement them. To summarize, there should be more control over screen use in schools.

Better balance between analogue and digital (limit the use of screens in class; provide screen-free lessons or parts of the lesson; reduce the need for screens during homework; provide alternatives to screens during breaks and social contexts).
Limit the use of screens in schools (allow ban on mobile phones in class; block access to non-relevant websites with a firewall).
Have a democratic discussion between teachers, students, and parents over the use of screens in school.

Healthcare with Punitha Kumar

Police must investigate the cancer scandal at Århus University Hospital, Viborg state prosecutor says. The Østjyllands police department dropped the case several months ago after concluding no punishable offenses had taken place. However, state prosecutor Jakob Berger Nielsen said the Attorney-General’s report on the cancer scandal has revealed that many mistakes were made systematically over a long period of time by hospital staff and management. This deliberately led to the fact that over 300 patients at the hospital have not received their cancer treatments on time since last year. Instead of the maximum two-week waiting time for an operation, patients waited for over ten weeks despite having life-threatening diseases.

Purchase liquid paracetamol instead of suppositories, which are in limited supply, for your children, parents told. The Danish Medicines Agency said parents should opt to purchase liquid painkillers, as suppositories are often reserved for children with no other alternatives. Paracetamol suppositories can only be purchased with a prescription in Denmark, but many parents have complained that even with a prescription, pharmacies near them are out of stock. The suppositories are currently in low supply due to production issues from the supplier. The pharma companies have since said they would only be able to produce the requested quantities by February next year. Therefore, the agency has contacted other foreign manufacturers to obtain more of the almost sold-out suppositories, which are expected to arrive “within the next few weeks.”

European Union HQ

This category covers interesting happenings from other EU member states, EU candidate countries and EFTA countries (Norway, Iceland, Switzerland)

The Road to the European Parliament elections 2024: The fight for the 15 mandates has started. There are only six months to go until the EP elections on 9th June 2024.

Socialdemokratiet (social-democrats) is looking at obtaining 3-4 mandates. MEP Christel Schaldemose is the leading candidate. They have an electoral alliance with SF and Alternativet.
Venstre (liberals) got four mandates in 2019. This time they are looking at maximum one. MEP Morten Løkkegaard is the leading candidate. Most likely there will be an electoral alliance with Radikale Venstre and Moderaterne.
Konservative (conservatives) is fighting for keeping the one mandate they got last time. They entered into an electoral alliance with Liberal Alliance. MP Niels Flemming Hansen is the leading candidate.
SF (socialists) might be the surprise of this elections round. They are looking at 2-3 mandates. MEP Kira Marie Peter-Hansen is the leading candidate.
DF (nationalist conservatives) is on the way out of the European Parliament. After having four mandates at the 2014 elections and then one in 2019, this time they risk having none. MEP Anders Vistisen is the leading candidate.
DD (nationalist populists) might enter the European Parliament for the first time. Local Aalborg councilman Kristoffer Storm is the leading candidate.
Liberal Alliance (libertarians) could also be the surprise of this elections round. They are looking at 2-3 mandates. MP Henrik Dahl is the leading candidate.
Moderaterne (social-liberals) is looking at one mandate. Popular businesswoman Stine Bosse is the leading candidate.
Radikale Venstre (social-liberals) are also on the way out of the European Parliament. Sigrid Friis Frederiksen is the leading candidate. This could be a disaster for the most pro-EU party in Denmark.
Enhedslisten (red-green alliance) is on the way in the European Parliament. Local Aalborg councilman Per Clausen is the leading candidate. They might get the mandate usually obtained by the People’s Movement Against the EU, which is not running this time.
Alternativet (greens) will fight hard to get one mandate. Political advisor Jan Kristoffersen is the leading candidate.
Nye Borgerlige (nationalist libertarians) is unlikely to get their first ever mandate in the European Parliament. Martin Henriksen is the leading candidate.