Yes, cars, alcohol and food are _much_ more expensive in Norway, mostly due to taxation, and to a lesser degree the high cost of labour. Norwegian income tax i

Yes, cars, alcohol and food are _much_ more expensive in Norway, mostly due to taxation, and to a lesser degree the high cost of labour. Norwegian income tax is subject to a lot of deductions, so in practice people will never pay the full whack. In fact the average income tax has been estimated to be under 30% http://www.smartepenger.no/skatt/653-skatteprosenter-pa-lonnsinntekt http://www.smartepenger.no/skatt/653-skatteprosenter-pa-lonn... (Norwegian language article)