[BHershewitz]

Not so in Helsinki. In Helsinki, $100k would be in the 40% tax bracket. But the problem in Helsinki is the tax bureaucracy; you have to estimate your income for the year, and the tax office gives you a tax rate. Anything above that level gets taxed at an exorbitant amount (>50% for the 100k$ salary). Plus, yes, there's free healthcare in Finland, but it's only really available for you if you're poor (if you're not a citizen). If you make money, you're expected to use your private insurance, which will be covered by the company. Salaries in Helsinki are about 60% of what they are in SF, but costs are about 80-90%.

[antris]

> you have to estimate your income for the year, and the tax office gives you a tax rate. Anything above that level gets taxed at an exorbitant amount (>50% for the 100k$ salary)

The higher tax rate is a safety mechanism in case you would fall into a tax bracket with a higher percentage. This does not mean you are necessarily taxed at a higher rate; you are just saving in case you earn so much that your tax bracket will change.

If you don't fall into a higher tax bracket, you will get the money back when the tax office checks the numbers afterwards.

This system is in place so that you wouldn't get surprised by huge tax deficit when you fall into a new bracket at the end of the year.

[_delirium]

Yes, I had the same thing due to failing to file any kind of form when I first moved to Denmark— they withheld at the top tax rate by default, but then gave me the money back at the end of the year. I didn't have to go through any sort of process to request a refund; it was just automatically deposited in my bank account. They even tacked on 0.5% interest onto the over-withheld amount.

[aapl]

In Finland, your income tax rate only depends on your total yearly income. If you estimate your income too low and too much money gets withheld, it will be returned to you the next year. You can also adjust your estimate at any point during the year.