Health Care was: When Does Folklore Begin

There are lots of tax treaties where you can have a full tax settlement in each country, complete with pensions rights.

The nordic area is one of those areas, and professionals that can work "both sides of the border" for a decent pay very often do so.

Eg. Norwegian MD, in the upper tax and pensions brackets with a pay of $80k+, including lots and lots of overtime; instead does a regular set of shifts; but compress them in time so there are a month here and there completely away.

Goes a month at a time to another facility in another country, probably a ferry ride or 3 hours by car-train, and works flat out for that month. Result : $8k with a very low tax and lots of pensions rights; as she is in the "low income" group where tax intake more or less go unabridged to pensions and services.

You have to earn around $6k in a nordic country to be eligable for pensions, and up to $20k you earn a lot of pension "points". It is the points from you most active 20 years that count. If you have been contributing to the pension system for less than x (where x varies, 30 years in NO-DK) you have a reduction; but the requirement is that you contribute; i.e. tax for ~$6k.

It is made this way to accomodate people (women) that have a number of years away from work, or in low-pay jobs. Changing it will lead to howls of protest. The tax treaty is also near unchangable, as it is an n-way international treaty that has been grandfathered by the EU.

It has the upside of really making a mobile workforce in the high-pay professions; which is a positive contribution. And it help shield those professionals from a high tax bracket.

-- mrr