"Rates of start-up creation here are among the highest in the developed world, and Norway has more entrepreneurs per capita than the United States, according to the latest report by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, a Boston-based research consortium."
You don't hear about it as much because Norway is a relatively small country relatively far away from the U.S. (both geographically and culturally). The lack of Silicon Valley-like echo chamber is also a factor.
-50% alone to the federal government.
-1% of your total net worth, which is means you may have to pay taxes, even when you have no profits coming in.
-Anytime he purchases something, he is charged VAT
-They mentioned 25% payroll taxes
-This doesn't include local city/state taxes
-There are tons of other taxes that aren't even mentioned (property, luxury, etc)
After all this, there isn't much left over. At that point, it's almost state capitalism. The state pretty much owns every company.
Even better, you can figure out exactly how much anyone makes through the government website.
More gems from the article:
"When you start buying expensive stuff, people start to talk," says Dalmo. "I have to be careful, because some of the people who are judging are my potential customers."
I don't know about you, but I would rather have the added risk of health care than having the government in full control of my business.
The unemployment rate is also misleading. Does Norway consider people that are getting government assistance unemployed?
"Between workers who do the same job at a given com
pany, salaries vary little, if at all. At Wiggo Dalmo's company, everyone doing the same job makes the same salary."
Interesting, so I guess skill set doesn't really matter in Norway. A guy with 6 months of experience will be paid the same rate as a guy with 4 years.
Some people are alleging that Norway isn't socialist. They are more socialist than I ever thought.
"firing an employee for cause typically takes months, and employers generally end up paying at least three months' severance. "
More proof that starting a company may be easy, but having a long-term business will be tough. If you are bootstrapping a company, how can you possibly afford this?
"The three things we as Americans worry about—education, retirement, and medical expenses—are things that Norwegians don't worry about,"
Norwegians are putting all of their eggs in one basket, which is riskier than anything in my mind. They are under the impression that their government will be around to pay for all of their medical expenses in 30-40 years when they want to finally retire. What happens if the system collapses during that time? Since the majority of your money is going into the system, you won't nearly have enough to pay out of your pocket.
"Even if Nordlaks made no profits, paid no dividends, and paid its owner no salary, Berg would owe the Norwegian government a third of a million dollars a year. "Every year, I have to take a dividend, just to pay the tax," he says, sounding genuinely angry."
I'm amazed that people actually put up with this. I would have left that county asap.
It is a center, per capita. From the full version of the article, http://www.inc.com/magazine/20110201/in-norway-start-ups-say...:
"Rates of start-up creation here are among the highest in the developed world, and Norway has more entrepreneurs per capita than the United States, according to the latest report by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, a Boston-based research consortium."
You don't hear about it as much because Norway is a relatively small country relatively far away from the U.S. (both geographically and culturally). The lack of Silicon Valley-like echo chamber is also a factor.