A self-inflicted hostage-taking situation?

Why is it that big German automakers are worried about Chinese retaliation?

Because they voluntarily put themselves in the position to be retaliated against. Think Germany’s voluntary dependency on Russian gas recently. That didn’t work out very well either. But for whatever reason, this is what Germans do.

Germany launches 11th-hour bid to avert trade war with China – Germany wants the EU to set tariffs on electric vehicles at a low level to avoid severe retaliation from Beijing…

Germany’s position was “problematic,” he said: While big German automakers still entertain good ties with Beijing, that’s not necessarily the case for smaller businesses, meaning “the German economy as a whole has an interest in a more assertive policy towards China.”

German Of The Day: Netto vom Brutto

That means net pay from the gross. And gross is it ever. Only Belgium (think Land of the EU) does it better. Meaning worse, of course.

Netto

According to a report just published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Germany has the second biggest tax burden worldwide. And we’re talking about middle-income people here, people. Not millionaires or anything.

The OECD calculated each country’s tax wedge – the gap between what employers take home in pay and what it costs to employ them, including personal income tax and social security contributions. Germany had a tax wedge for single, childless workers of 49.4 percent, behind Belgium at 54 percent. That means nearly half of a single person’s income goes towards taxes and social security contributions in Germany.

Please remember this the next time somebody starts telling you again how wonderful everything over here in ze Europe is (“socialized medicine” and all that). There simply is no free Mittagessen (lunch).  You can go broke eating free lunch over here.

„Die Belastung der Bürger ist deutlich höher, als uns bewusst war.”

Remember: Germans have more words for taxation than Eskimos have for snow.