[balfirevic]

> But yeah, $50k is enough for many to throw work-life balance out the window

It should be pointed out whether you mean net (take home) pay or total cost for employer. The latter is usually about twice the former at these salary levels (at least in some parts of Eastern Europe).

[protomolecule]

In Russia a self-employed contractor would only pay 2%-6% in total as taxes depending on where they live.

Of course, for that they will only get minimal pension and standard medical insurance. They have an option of voluntarily contributing additional money to the state pension fund to get increased pension.

[jrochkind1]

In the U.S. too, really. Don't forget health insurance.

[Tade0]

As a self-employed contractor in Poland I can get away with retaining ~75% of the sum of my net invoices(sans sales tax, which is transparent B2B) as take-home pay.

For that I get rudimentary health insurance - only really good enough for a hospital stay free of charge.

The tax rate is a flat 19%, so I would wager that the tax wedge is likely smaller in eastern Europe than in the US.