Yesterday was the 11th of January 2012 ! Normally we should be in the middle of winter, with the temperatures ranging around -10 Celsius and 3 feet of snow in the valleys and 6 feet or more on the mountain.
well, I am told that's what it's like in the Tirol and Vorarlberg and parts of the rest of the country. Here in southern Carinthia we have 0 feet of snow and the temperature is so mild, we had lunch on our balcony in shirtsleeves. Bleiburg, where I live, has the nickname of "The snow hole of Carinthia"... this year it certainly does not deserve this name. More like : "the Florida of Austria."
Finalized my bookings for London (8th to 14th March) and to Toronto (2nd May to 2nd June)
I am looking forward to both these trips. For the London trip I have enough points for both of us to fly free...? free ??? did I say Free??? Yes the flight is Free but the Taxes amount to more than the flight.. and they are not "Free"... They must be paid...
I had better not get started ranting and raving about Taxes... They are ridiculous in Austria.
Take a person earning about 5,000.00 Euros per month. A good salary, but not financial Paradise either...
Right off the top, the Government takes about 50%.... That leaves you with 2,500 Euros. Most of which you will spend on the necessities of live. Those carry a Sales Tax of 20%... So it can be said that you are actually spending 70% of your earnings in Taxes... This means, if my mathematics are correct, that you work for the Government including your Health Insurance Premium until the middle of August of every year. Is this not absolutely insane? But remember, I said that I would not get started talking about Taxes.... so let's not.
Hey... give the Prime Minister a nice raise....
Bertstravels.
2 comments:
Well, the government can pay for everything and tax you everything or they can pay for some things and tax you for some. The question is, what is the average Austrian's standard of living? Frankly, if an Austrian needs some extra cash, they can always get more work during their 2 month paid vacation.
Oh, and it is really mild here too - it was +6 overnight last night and today we should get about 2cm of snow that might actually stand a chance of sticking around for a bit. Ah me, I guess February will have a few surprises yet too.
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