4 ms·

Yet how many people, even well-educated ones, have this balanced view on salaries? Most people see the bottom line on their pay statements. They "conveniently"

Yet how many people, even well-educated ones, have this balanced view on salaries? Most people see the bottom line on their pay statements. They "conveniently" forget that they still have to pay for health insurance, pension funds, etc. A big figure on the pay slip is a status symbol. If Germany wants to attract foreign high-profile human capital like the US does, they should create a similar system: Pay them their full salary without deductions, and then charge them the mandatory cost instead of their employers. It could work wonders.

nicbou 5y ago
You opine on a system you clearly don't understand. Each of these deductions are clearly shown on your pay slips. They can be calculated in advance from your gross income. In the end, the amounts you pay (reduced by half because of employer contributions) are relatively low. In any case, it's impossible to have a balanced view on compensation, because of the huge differences between the countries you compare. I lived 6 years and Germany and the rest of my life in Canada. I still wouldn't venture to compare what a salary means in either country.
- slowmotiony 5y ago
  "In the end, the amounts you pay (reduced by half because of employer contributions) are relatively low." I typed 100k/year into brutto-netto-rechner and it shows that Netto is less than 65k. Basically over 35% of your salary gets confiscated by the state, of course this doesn't include further taxes like 19% VAT you pay every time you buy anything at all. How is that "relatively low"?
  - suction 5y ago
    He's completely wrong, is why.
- suction 5y ago
  Maybe I wasn't being clear enough. What I meant was to simply hide the deductions on the pay slip. Or go one step further, do not deduct them from the salary at the time of payout, but just postpone them and deduct them from the receiver's bank account (and make the bank responsible for making sure he doesn't send the money to Switzerland before it happens). So the employee sees the huge number being transferred into his account. He can go on the internet and brag about how great salaries in Germany are. Also, you are wrong here: "Reduced by half because of employer contributions". This only applies to very specific insurances like private pension funds, where there's a split. Costs for health care aren't split like that, the employer deducts the full amount. But thanks for the patronising comment. American?

nicbou 5y ago

You opine on a system you clearly don't understand. Each of these deductions are clearly shown on your pay slips. They can be calculated in advance from your gross income. In the end, the amounts you pay (reduced by half because of employer contributions) are relatively low. In any case, it's impossible to have a balanced view on compensation, because of the huge differences between the countries you compare. I lived 6 years and Germany and the rest of my life in Canada. I still wouldn't venture to compare what a salary means in either country.

slowmotiony 5y ago
"In the end, the amounts you pay (reduced by half because of employer contributions) are relatively low." I typed 100k/year into brutto-netto-rechner and it shows that Netto is less than 65k. Basically over 35% of your salary gets confiscated by the state, of course this doesn't include further taxes like 19% VAT you pay every time you buy anything at all. How is that "relatively low"?
- suction 5y ago
  He's completely wrong, is why.
suction 5y ago
Maybe I wasn't being clear enough. What I meant was to simply hide the deductions on the pay slip. Or go one step further, do not deduct them from the salary at the time of payout, but just postpone them and deduct them from the receiver's bank account (and make the bank responsible for making sure he doesn't send the money to Switzerland before it happens). So the employee sees the huge number being transferred into his account. He can go on the internet and brag about how great salaries in Germany are. Also, you are wrong here: "Reduced by half because of employer contributions". This only applies to very specific insurances like private pension funds, where there's a split. Costs for health care aren't split like that, the employer deducts the full amount. But thanks for the patronising comment. American?