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External Links
The Innocent's Crime
Bernt Sørensen, an expat Dane describes how dishonest, evil, and fraudulent civil servants throughout the
administration and the courts cost him his life's savings. Danish version. |
Denmark unfit for immigration
Interesting debate that gets close to some of the subjects discussed on this page.
Some of the comments made on that page confirm the Jantelov. |
Speak
Danish
Mark Anderson, a South African immigrant to Denmark, has created this site
to help other immigrants learn Danish and understand Danish society. |
IT Contrctor
Alan, an English IT contractor, moved to Denmark in 2005 with his Danish partner who promised a better life there.
Too late, he found it what Denmark is really like. Apart from complaining, Alan gives a lot of useful practical
advice.
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This page presents some very personal views on Denmark. However,
it should be read in the light of the fact that Denmark is fundamentally a
democratic and free country with strong traditions of exercising that freedom.
This site is, however critical, in itself a celebration of the basic principle
of freedom of speech upon which Europe - and thereby Denmark - is built.
I'm a Dane born in 1960 in Copenhagen. I grew up in the Copenhagen suburbs
and emigrated definitively in 1993, aged 33. Hence, this page is based on
impressions from the 1970s and 1980s.
And now to the real stuff ...
"There is something rotten in the State of Denmark." William
Shakespeare.
The Danes believe Denmark is the best country in the world, that Danish beer is the best in the world, and that anything they do is better than anywhere else in the world. But however contradictory it may seem, between them, they don't like to see others being successful. Thus, they do everything they can to bring down the brightest amongst them. The
communist tax system that has brought the highest overall taxation level in the
world is an effective way of doing so. As you shall see later, the colour of the national flag corresponds to the political system.
People quoted
on this site are real persons, and the stories I have been sent by
these persons are shown as I have received them. A few readers who don't like to
see certains things on print have accused me
of making it up. That accusation is groundless and false. People have sent their
stories to me on their own initiative. If I wanted to make a point, I
would not make it look like a quote from someone else. Whether the stories told
by the persons are true is beyond my possibility to verify.
Read the Disclaimer.
Table of Contents for this page
Janteloven
Locked up in the Psychiatric Ward for not Conforming New
15/1/2009
The Invisible Denmark Wall
The Taxes
Fraud and Corruption in the Legal System
Exported Products and Foreigners' Perception of Denmark
The Smokers
The Political Parties
The Welfare State
The Unions
The Beer
The Food
The Language
Why?
Janteloven
In order to understand the Danish society, one must be familiar with Janteloven (the
law of Jante - an invented town from the Danish novel "En Flygtning Krydser
sit Spor" from 1933 by Axel Sandemose):
- You shouldn't think you're anything special
- You shouldn't think you're as much as us
- You shouldn't think you're smarter than us
- You shouldn't think you're better than us
- You shouldn't think you know more than us
- You shouldn't think you are more than us
- You shouldn't think you're any good
- You shouldn't laugh at us
- You shouldn't think anybody likes you
- You shouldn't think you can teach us anything
Thus, don't try to flaunt your wealth if you're one of the
few; don't pretend that you're better, smarter or more clever than others, whether it's true or not.
If you progress above the average level, be it intellectually or materially,
then be discreet about it. That is, unless you're an intellectual of the correct political
observance: Extreme left wing. Any attempt not to
conform will be punished through extreme taxes, envy, and maybe even sabotage by fellow citizens and the
government. This may happen through a variety of subtle ways. People who emigrate
are subject to envy and therefore the wrath of the Jantelov, because the only reason for emigrating
that a well-conditioned Dane can think of is to avoid paying tax and thereby
evading their duty to show solidarity with the less wealthy. Also, by
emigrating, you show that you think you are better than other Danes, and that is
unforgiveable. Unfortunately, communistic and socialistic indoctrination sets in from an early age. Because of the high taxes, both parents are forced to work and leave their children at institutions, where the personnel has every opportunity to implant the "correct" ideas in the children. Thus, many Danes actually believe in the destructive regime.
As a practical example of the Jantelov, an expat Dane who bought a Renault
Espace in Denmark in order to export it elsewhere in Europe, and as such free of
Danish taxes, was told by the car dealer that sometimes those at Renault Denmark
who prepared the documents required to register the car abroad apparently
delayed the documents as a symptom of envy towards expat Danes who bought
expensive cars that Danish residents normally cannot afford. It's a true story!
Many countries allow their citizens to vote at parliamentary elections even
when expatriated. Not Denmark. The moment a Dane puts his/her
Jantelov-disobedient foot outside the Danish border, he/she loses all
parliamentary voting rights. This part of the Jantelov is even written in the
Constitution. A recent modification allows expat Danes who stay outside Denmark
for less than 2 years to vote, though.
Still don't believe me? Then read this extract of the Danish prime minister
Anders Fogh Rasmussen's speech to the annual assembly of Danish Industry on the
27 September 2004:
"Vi skal være bedre til at anerkende, påskønne og belønne de
mennesker, der tør, kan og vil. Succes skal ikke avle misundelse, men
anerkendelse. ... Der er mange eksempler på, at hvis erhvervsfolk skaber en
succes, fremkalder det misundelse, og der er en undertone af, at så har de nok
snydt sig til det. Det er den tankegang, vi ofte har været stillet overfor."
And for those who don't yet understand this germanic language, here is a
translation:
"We must become better at recognising, appreciating and rewarding
those persons who dare, can and will. Success shall not breed envy, but
recognition. ... There are many examples that if businessmen create a success,
it evokes envy, and there is an undertone that they have probably cheated to
succeed. That is the mentality we have often been confronted with."
In December 2005, someone from a Danish company who was looking for a
translator and read my professional site that presents my services sent me the
following comments:
"Hjemmesiden oser i øvrigt af et ego som virker noget ude af trit
med dansk tradition."
In English, this means:
"By the way, your web site oozes of an ego that somehow seems out of
step with Danish tradition."
No further comments required on that one.
An American reader who wishes to remain anonymous sent me the
following comment in October 2004:
"I have visited Denmark many many times. I know all about that
frightening "Jantelov". What nerve these people have! This lame
attitude that their world is perfect and everything else non Danish is rubbish
them just proves how out of it they really are. Knowing that this idiotic
unwritten law exists in their minds and just to piss them off, I go out of my way
to brag about anything and everything. Everytime I would return from DK to the
US, everyone would ask how my time in "Amsterdam" was. Is that
ignorant? In many ways yes but it also proves how insigificantly small Denmark
is to the world. I am convinced that since birth, these people have been
programmed like robots. Everyone thinks, acts and pretty much looks exactly the
same. Same styles (all stolen from other countries), same attitudes (jantelov)
and
same ridiculously liberal views (socialism). Forget about being a right winged
American. You are an instant outcast. It is hilarious to see the faces of people
when I mention something that does not coincide with the programmed computer
chip in their tunnel vison minds. Mind you, I have met many wonderful people who
live there too. Thing is, the majority of people never wander outside that
political safety zone. Chatting with them is pretty much the same as chatting
with an talking baby doll. Everyone pretty much says the same thing and
political correctness runs rampant to the point where it turns my stomach. Ee
can thank the completely biased and ridiculous foreign media for that one. To
live there? Um, I'll pass thank you.........or is it "Mange Tak"? I
will say that Scandinavia boasts the prettiest women on the planet. I defy any
hetero male to walk down the "Strøget" (walking street) in Copenhagen
on a sunny spring afternoon and not be completely overwhelmed at the gorgeous
creatures that will pass by. That is the best thing about it. Well no, Carlsberg
on tap is great too. I hate Faxe and Ceres and only drink Tuborg if there is no
Carlsberg. They do have an edge over American brew but so what? Denmark is a
perfect example of a country where everyone lives in a lethargic dream world and
keep their eyes closed to the fact that their socialistic/communistic government
is ripping them off hook line and sinker. With that I will say, thank GOODNESS
for the United States where a person can think for themselves, be successful in
life and not have to worry if the neighbor who lives 27 miles away is getting
jealous of their progress."
Renata told me the following story in November 2004:
"Dear Finn,
This is renata, we have been in contact before.
I would like to write about what happened to our family in Denmark. In June 2000, my Danish husband and I together with three children came to
Denmark. Why? According to my husband's opinion, it should have been a perfect
country to take our kids. A bit of savings and a move to Denmark, then we could
have more time for our family.
I understood that we should have more possibilities of doing things
together, find secure jobs and very honest people surrounding us.
This is what happened to us: My husband got a job. Meanwhile, we were living in a rented house in a
small town in Jutland.
The security of him having a good job was
great, as was knowing that everything should work out as planned. Our biggest
dream was to own a house with a nice garden so our children could play and
finally have a place to call their own. We started to look around for a
house which we were able to afford at the time. After a few weeks
looking and discussing carefully with the estate agent, we bought our house. There was
a lot to renovate and do. We were
used to hard work and we were trying to create a perfect humble home. It
seemed that my husband's boss was more than jealous, so he told him that
there was no more work for him. That was the first lie that we were faced with:
The secure job that he never
had. Automatically, our situation changed, but a few weeks later, my husband
got another job in one of the richest and biggest companies in town. Too
bad that his boss was an alcoholic who was very good at complaining and
finding problems in everything.
My husband worked there for two years and was fired by his boss who retired
a month before he decided to fire him. He never had a chance to meet the new boss and keep his job.
After that, we were in big trouble.
At the same time, our daughter was
confirmed. In Denmark, confirmation was
the step into real and adult life. A few months after the confirmation, at the
age of 13, our
daughter started going to parties, drinking and smoking. For her, it was okay, because everyone else did
it. It went on for a year, and
we sent her to a boarding school that she wanted to go to. When she came
home for the weekends, she was never home, she was partying the whole time and
didn't come home at night. We were looking for her everywhere, but she never
told us when or where she was going. She started to cut her arms and be very
aggressive. At school, she shared a room with three other girls. Two of these girls were
abused by their fathers, and the third was beaten and came from a divorced
family. The two girls who were molested were also schizophrenic and had many
problems that they shared with my daughter. She had many things to think
about and went crazy herself. The community promised to cover the expenses
of her school, but that ended up differently. The one who should be responsible for
that wasn't there anymore. My daughter also should have had a psychologist from
the community, but she only
saw him twice. There are drugs and alcohol in school, and everyone pretends not to see it.
Our economic
and mental situation was devastating. We put our
house for sale in March 2003. Another estate agent was responsible for selling our house. We gave
them the keys to our place and we left for 2 months outside Denmark. When we
came back, we had an electricity bill for 17,000 kr. (2,300 €) and a cut telephone
wire. My husband was going out of his mind. The government would not help us financially because we owned a
property [this is a
classic example of the workings of the Jantelov. Property owners in Denmark are
permanent targets of envy from others, because they are considered rich when
owning property. The politically correct behaviour is to be poor and live in
rented, social accommodation. Hence, property owners will be harassed by all
available means by the administration, at least until they break down and sell.
It doesn't matter if the rent is more expensive than the mortgage payments. What
matters is that you are not property owner, because by being a property owner,
you show that you think you are better than others, according to the wicked
Jantelov. In places where rented and owned buildings are next to each other, it
can be seen that those who live in the rented flats frown upon the "rich
ones" in the owned flats. ed.].
So the first announcement
about our house going on forced sale came fast. Then, the estate agent that sold
us the house came by to assure us that they would be able to help saving our house by
selling it. They convinced us that it was nonsense that the other estate agent
was unable to sell a house for so long time, from March to November 2003. So again,
the original estate agent acted quickly and advertised our house. Keeping the friendly smiles on their faces, they drove us to "the bottom of
the sea". They said that they couldn't help in any way, but they sold the
house a week after the auction. Even though we found a family member who was willing to help us and loan us
money, one lawyer decided not to accept it. All those people are liars and
cheaters, wearing elegant clothes, smiling nicely and ripping your life to
pieces with cold blood and no mercy. But the worst is that there is no
justice over those people in Denmark. We can't find a lawyer to take
our case, because we need 35,000 kr. (4,700 €) before anybody will talk to us and
take our case seriously. Right now, our family is living out of Denmark with
big scars that are very hard to heal. All names and telephone numbers will
be given if requested. We went trough living hell surrounded by communists
and ignorants, which is something that you can't describe in words, but
something that stays with you for as long as you live. The plague of hate,
jealousy and hopelessness is what these robot-like people are."
A Danish friend of mine, Hans-Henrick, was running his
trend
laboratory in Paris. As artistic director he combined his different skills as a
self-employed conceptual hairdresser - hairstyling on models for photo shoots
and shows - artistic photo graphic expressions and brand building amongst
others.
Hans-Henrick uses his real parrot LordB
as an integrated part of his activity, for branding and artistic content for
example.
His
experiences with French mentality were similar to mine: A dishonest landlord who
does not maintain the apartment, a
lying solicitor falsifying documents and manipulating the procedure, courts and
judges who let dishonest behaviour pass (laisser-faire), a legal and
administrative system that enforce their rules on you with full force while not
respecting the laws and regulations themselves, etc. You can read more about
France on the French page. As
self-employed, Hans-Henrick also had experiences similar to mine: Taxes and social charges
that can be higher than your income, ten different social charges to pay, each
one calculated differently, endless red tape, business unfriendly civil servants
who turn their back as soon as they know you're self-employed etc.
As I, Hans-Henrick was
finally burnt out of many years of stress by such a hostile system and
mentality. He was thrown out of his Paris apartment and returned to his native
Denmark by train on the 17 November 2008. To overcome the stress, he sought help at the
local psychiatric urgency. They offered him psychiatric treatment with
medication which he refused as he believed what he needed was psychological or
psychotherapeutic help without medication. Not content that he refused their
medication, they sent the police out to his home to arrest him on the 16
December 2008 and take him to the closed psychiatric ward in Risskov near Århus,
Denmark second largest city. As they needed an excuse
to lock him up, they said in the report that he was suffering delusions and that
he was psychotic. His 'delusions' were describing life in half-corrupt, disorderly and artistic
Paris - a universe these provincial Danish psychiatrists don't know a thing
about or can even imagine exists and therefore think Hans-Henrick has invented. The local patient complaints board turned down his appeal.
They don't believe he has been a self-employed entrepreneur in Paris. Danes have this unrealistic, rosy image of France as a country of culture
and gastronomy which has very little in common with reality - these Danes are in
fact the ones who have delusions. If they are not used to massive administrative
abuse in Denmark, they just think you make it up if you tell about it in a
country like France. These psychiatrists don't have to prove anything, they just over-interpret
and lock him up and he will have to prove he is not insane.
Hans-Henrick's way of
expressing himself verbally and graphically does not conform to the Danish model
and many people would say he walks with his head in the clouds or even that he's
a weirdo. Cristina Gardeazabal called him "eccentric" in her article
about the Ethical
Fashion Show. Others in fashion might call him original. The medical report
says Hans-Henrick has "increased self-esteem" as if that were a sign
of mental illness. Some Danes may seriously believe it is, because having
increased self-esteem is a severe violation of the Danish Jantelov
according to which you are not entitled to believe you are anything special. I've spoken to
Hans-Henrick and exchanged e-mails many times over the last
three years and never got the impression he should be insane. Just different and
not of an analytical nature. Do you know any mathematicians who work with
fashion hairstyling? So why should people who specialise in artistic fashion
hairstyling have to conform to some administrative-bureaucratic-logical model
for expression cut out by those in power? That's clearly his crime in Denmark. There is no
place for people who don't think and act like the 5 million other Danes, unless
you are one of the self-proclaimed left-wing 'artists', in which case anything
goes, for if something is socio-communist in Denmark, then it must be good. The
USSR also locked up people who dared to think differently. Denmark is of course
not the USSR but a part of our brave new European 'democracy' where you have
freedom to say anything that doesn't offend those who decide.
I certainly disagree with some of his views and his ways of expressing them,
but let me quote Evelyn
Beatrice Hall: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to
the death your right to say it".
He can send and receive e-mail and browse the Internet except for certain
censured sites that concern subjects related to psychiatry.
What further shocks me is the reaction I get when I tell this to Danish
friends and family: "Well, he must be insane then". "Isn't he a
bit bizarre" (understood: That must be his own fault). Someone who knows
him: "Should I do anything or write to him?" (gosh, if you were locked
up in the psychiatric ward, why would you possibly want anyone writing to
you?) As Danes are conditioned from they are small to believe that what the
system does is for their own good, they can only conclude that if the system
says the man is insane, then he must be insane and it is for his own good he is
locked up. Books like "Brave New World" and "Nineteen eighty
four" spring to mind.
Comments? Go to the Visitors' Book.
The Invisible Denmark Wall
A more subtle example of the workings of the Jantelov is the law for
foreigners voted in 2002 and amended in 2003. According to the law, a foreign spouse to an expat
Dane returning to Denmark cannot obtain the right of residence in Denmark if the
family as a whole is more attached to a foreign country than to Denmark, unless
the person already living in Denmark has held Danish nationality for at least 28
years (EU/EEA
excepted due to the right of free movement). Also, a foreign spouse of less than
24 years of age cannot expect to be given a residence permit at all. In
order to obtain a visa for his/her spouse, the Dane must furthermore provide a
bank guarantee of 50,000 DKK (6,711 €), and his income must be higher than a
government-defined amount to prove that he can support his spouse, the level of
income defined being higher than what is in many cases sufficient in real life.
They must also dispose of a suitable dwelling, but the requirement is
administered with such rigidity that couples are being denied entry to Denmark
because 2 square metres were missing. A delay of 6-8 months while evil servants
in the evil Udlændingestyrelsen (Directorate for Foreigners) deal with the
applications provides for further problems for married couples. A
young Dane who has married abroad and
lived a number of years in the country of his/her spouse (or elsewhere) will
thus find it nearly impossible to return to Denmark with his family. As we see
from the Jantelov, any expat Dane who may have had success abroad will be seen
to have neglected his/her Jantelov obligations and as such should expect no
mercy from Denmark or other Danes. It is a sadistic pleasure for the evil
servants working in the administration to deny a Danish-foreign family the right
to repatriate to Denmark or - even better - to ruin their family. As seen by
other Danes, the expat has only himself to blame, as he could have avoided his
problems by doing as the majority of Danes - remain in Denmark and marry a Dane
- instead of going abroad because he believed he was better than the average
Dane. Danes can thereby justify their belief in the Jantelov by pointing out the
disasters waiting for those who do not conform.
In July 2004, a report
from the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights criticised the Danish
government for this. Below are some extracts from this report:
I (7): "Some of the provisions analysed below may, moreover,
prejudice the effective enjoyment of certain rights guaranteed in the European
Convention of Human Rights and other international treaties."
I (10) (discussing the application of age criteria): "These
provisions do not in my view guarantee the principle of equality before the
law."
I (11): "I was also informed of cases where the application of
the law resulted in differentiated treatment depending on the economic situation
of the persons concerned, which again raises serious concerns in terms of
equality before the law, in particular, regarding the respect for Article 14 of
the Convention, which prohibits discrimination on grounds such as property. ...
The requirement of a bank guarantee of 50.000 DKK [6.711 €] - which is only
released after seven years and insofar as it has not been used for possible
social assistance for the couple - can be very difficult to obtain for persons
with low incomes and few possessions. Moreover, the requirements are re-assessed
every two years, and if the person residing in Denmark has in the meantime
become unemployed or had to move to a smaller apartment, the residence permit of
his or her spouse can be discontinued. Being under a constant threat of
separation from one's spouse or having to move abroad in order to continue
family life, inevitably creates a significant strain and anxiety for the persons
concerned. Such restrictive criteria risk conspiring against the efforts to
encourage greter integration."
I (17) (about the problem of children between 15 and 18 not having an
automatic right to residence): "Such a situation fails to secure the legal
certainty that ought to surround the determination of fundamental rights."
Many such married couples consisting of a Danish expat and a foreign spouse
having found themselves unwanted in Denmark have sought refuge in Sweden or
Germany, countries that respect EU's immigration rules for EU nationals and their foreign
spouses. Such couples have then been able to work in Denmark by commuting across
the borders. However, in breach of EU's rules for free movement of EU nationals
and their spouses, Denmark has refused them entry to settle and live in Denmark.
In May 2006, the leading Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten
asked the European Commission to state if the Danish government's practice was
legal, to which the Commission gave the obvious reply that it is not. It is
clear that human and family values are not important in Denmark, and
particularly not when it comes to protecting such values and rights for those
who have dared doing anything unusual.
The government is justifying the harsh and inhuman measures with the need to
curb immigration and notably Turkish citizens living in Denmark but going back
to Turkey to marry. They also want to curb forced marriages. It is somewhat
ironic that the measures now force many Danes to marry someone else than they
want just because their chosen partner is a foreigner. There is no end to the
hypocrisy and inhumanity of the Danish government in this issue. The
restrictions were a demand from the government's only support party, Dansk
Folkeparti (Danish People's Party), a right-wing anti-immigration party. Without
curbs on immigration, the government would have lost its necessary votes from
the far right. Trashing a number of Danish families was the price to pay for
remaining in government. The choice was easy for any power-hungry politician.
I do not pronounce myself on the need for curbing immigration or not but only
on the unacceptable impact on Danes marrying foreigners.
The Taxes
Denmark is the master of tax. According to international statistics, Denmark has the highest overall taxation in the world. The following is a selection of the taxes:
- A complex system of income taxes takes up to about 70% of peoples' salaries.
- Plundering of personal pension funds. One of the underlying principles is that the funds are allowed to grow with the inflation plus 2-3%. Any revenue above that is confiscated as tax. In fact, the calculations are so complex that it's impossible for anyone to verify them.
- Not content with plundering Danish residents' pensions, the Danish
government is little by little introducing Danish income tax on retired Danish
expats' pension payments. It is the norm that pensions are taxed in the
country of residence, so emigrated pensioners would pay tax in the country
they emigrated to. It makes sense, because expats use the public services of
the country they live in, not Denmark. That rule was written in many of the
double tax agreements Denmark has signed with other countries. But Denmark
started pestering foreign governments to obtain the right to tax these
pensions instead of the country of residence, and they succeeded in many
cases. Some countries like Spain and France have refused this racket, and the
Danish government is now threatening to give notice on these tax agreements as
they did with Portugal some years before. With no double tax agreement in
force any more, Denmark can legally tax away at their expatriated Danes. It is
a so-called conservative government that is doing this. Read: socialist, the
only type of political party that exists in Denmark. The amounts of tax
involved are insignificant compared with the state budget, but it's a matter
of envy - the Jantelov is still observed, also by the so-called conservative
prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen whom I have quoted elsewhere on this page
for having said: "Success shall not breed envy, but recognition".
- The Value Added Tax is the highest in the European Union with 25% on all products and services, food and children's articles included.
- Excise duties ("punktafgifter") add some extra tax to specific products like alcohol, tobacco, chocolate, soft drinks, packaging, matches and petrol. The excise duty is calculated on the goods and the
VAT, resulting in a system where one pays tax on tax.
- Car registration tax of 180% of the car and the VAT (the first 45.000 kr.
(6,000 €) are taxed "only" at 90%, and there are deductions for some safety equipment).
Note that this includes a "tax tax" because the registration tax is also
calculated on the VAT.
- Annual road tax.
- Tax on car insurance.
- Fuel tax.
- Energy taxes.
- Green taxes.
- Driving licence tax.
- The European Union's most expensive television licence of 1894 kr. (254
€) a year.
- Various stamp duties, such as 600 kr. (80 €) for a passport.
- Tax on the number plates for cars of about 1200 kr. (160 €).
- Full income tax on all savings interests and capital gains. Many countries
have taxfree schemes to encourage individual savings. Not Denmark.
- Property tax.
- Another tax on owned property. This used to be called tax of lejeværdi af egen bolig (letting value of own habitation). The
communist principle behind it was that the habitation represents a potential taxable letting income. The letting value was calculated on a progressive scale from 2.5% to 7.5% of the public valuation. The letting value was added to the personal income before income tax was calculated. Thus, one paid tax of an income one never had. The principles have now been changed in order to hide the fraudulent nature of this tax.
This tax is due even on properties abroad owned by residents of Denmark, and
even if such properties abroad are already taxed in the country where they are.
- Inheritance tax.
- Emigration tax.
Note: Foreigners and Danes who've lived outside Denmark for some years may benefit from a fixed low rate tax for up to three years under certain conditions. This would apply typically to specialist contractors coming to work on a particular project, and who leave the country when the project is finished. These would also be exempt from paying the standard rate of car registration duty. For more information, an extensive guide can be downloaded from PricewaterhouseCoopers at http://www.pwcglobal.com/.
Fraud and Corruption in the Legal System
When the Government wishes to impose a new tax, it doesn't matter if the principles behind the new law conform to the constitution,
European legislation, human rights or other treaties. What matters is the money, and that the government can get away with the fraud. Even if some citizens should win at the supreme court ten years later, many will have been discouraged.
It's worth noticing that even if the citizen is right according to the letter of the law, the courts will often introduce their own interpretation. That is, if you
followed a law and made perfectly legal financial and fiscal arrangements, then the courts may go against
you if they find that the sole purpose was to pay less taxes. This practice without any foundation in the law has been going on for a long time at the lower and middle levels of the court system. This might be explained by the fact that it's the Minister of Justice who promotes judges. In order to benefit their own careers, many judges presumably try to avoid offending the government in delicate cases. But once a judge is promoted to the highest level, which is the supreme court, then only his peers can touch him. This difference has meant that to get a correct decision without political interference, one has been forced to continue to the supreme court. It
may no longer be so. There is now a tendency for the supreme court to join the club of political judges.
The Danish constitution states that the three powers must be separate, that is the legislative power, the judging power, and the executive power. It is clear that this system of promotion leaves an open floodgate between the executive power and the judging power, to the detriment of the citizens' legal protection.
If you don't believe me, then read this
article by Jesper Berning, the well-known Danish lawyer who defended Jesper
Bonde Nielsen and won against the State. The article is in Danish. The site JR's
Debatsider has in fact a whole collection of articles concerning the
problems with Danish justice. Recommended reading for everybody, and in
particular those who still believe that Denmark is ruled by law.
While Russia is trying to recover from lawlessness and introduce a proper legal base, Denmark is drifting towards lawlessness, as promoted by the highest powers in the country. There is already a centralised computer system monitoring all financial, and many other affairs of the citizens. Thus, the citizens are exposed to attacks from the state at any time.
George Orwell's "1984" was introduced in Denmark little by little.
Denmark is politically and legally corrupt, and you have very little chances of ever making any progress there.
Tax authorities, as supported by the whole, corrupt establishment including
the courts, will spare no means to wrench every penny out of you, once they've
got you in sight. Innocent people have been driven to suicide, nervous breakdown
and financial ruin by the tax authorities and their evil servants.
A gruesome testimony
written by Bernt Sørensen, one such victim who had emigrated from Denmark in 1956, tells
how misinformation from the tax authorities lead him into a trap that cost him
his entire savings from 30 years' work abroad. Arrested by the police and
sentenced by the local court, High Court and Appeals Court for non-existing
crimes, no one has been willing or able to tell the victim what crime he
committed. As already said, it's all a question of envy and money. The real
crime this man committed was as a Dane to emigrate and be successful and make it
visible in Denmark. Danish version..
The case of Stephen Hoath - a Briton who had been living in Denmark
for 13 years - may be familiar to some readers. A Google search will reveal
plenty of articles and a petition. Stephen Hoath's nine-year old daughter had
been molested by a convicted paedophile, Villy Andersen. He reported it to the
police, who didn't want to act because of lack of evidence. After the first
incident, the paedophile kept telephoning Mr. Hoath to harrass him, his wife and
daughter, saying that he would 'get' the daughter in the end, as Mr. Hoath
couldn't watch over her 24 hours a day. Each time, Mr. Hoath reported it to the
police, but they did nothing. One day when Stephen Hoath met the paedophile by
chance, he lost his temper and shot Mr.
Andersen dead. Stephen Hoath was sentenced to 14 years in prison, which was
lowered to 12 years on appeal in March 2004, in biased and unfair trials called
a sham by his lawyer. In politically correct Denmark, one must try to understand
the criminals' feelings and protect criminals against unfair punishment (unless
it's a case of tax evasion, which will be treated with no mercy). A bit of
compassion for the victims is of course in its place, but one must understand
that it would be unreasonable if criminals were to suffer just for the comfort
of the victim. The sole fact that you have been a victim of a crime doesn't make
you any better than the rest, according to the Jantelov, and so you shouldn't
expect any special treatment. If you try to take the law in your own hands, as
Stephen Hoath did, you will feel the full wrath of the Jantelov. I don't defend
shooting someone else - he shouldn't have done it, of course. But why wasn't the
paedophile locked up, and why didn't the police do anything? It is
understandable that Mr. Hoath lost his temper in that situation. If he should be
punished, then it would have been reasonable with a symbolic punishment. Not 12
years! He has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and was given 5 more years to
live in 2002. His
daughter will almost never see her dad again. How can this be called justice?
It's yet another example of this inhuman, cruel, disgraceful country with the
name of Denmark, calling itself a "welfare state". Stephen Hoath was
transferred to a British prison in 2004 on his request, only to find out that
conditions there are horrible; freezing during winter and no sign of compassion.
His marriage went down the drain, and he is now even further from his daughter.
Read the Daily Telegraph's article
from November 2004.
Another example of evil servants' abuse happened when a Dane living and
working in Germany regularly visited his Danish girlfriend just across the
Danish border. After having regularly spotted him crossing the border in his
German registered Mercedes, customs and police officers confiscated the car and
demanded payment of Danish registration tax of 200%. The customs officials
obviously could not let the provocation that a Dane drove a foreign-registered
Mercedes in Denmark unchallenged. That was a serious breach of the Jantelov. The case ended up at the
European Court of Justice, where Denmark lost and had to hand the car back and
pay compensation.
Recent examples of dishonest legislation from Danish governments are:
- AMBI (ArbejdsMarkedsBIdrag). A 3% tax added in parallel to the VAT of then 22%. The European Court of Justice ruled this tax illegal. A few companies tried to sue for compensation. The government cashed 50 billion kr.
(6.7 bio. €) in on this scam. After the ruling, the government removed the tax and increased the VAT to 25%.
- Illegal limitation of personal import of beer for personal consumption. European Union legislation provides citizens with the option of buying their goods where they like. Goods bought and taxed in another member state cannot be taxed when imported into another member state by an individual for personal use. Denmark illegally limited the quantity of beer to 10 litres in 1986. Five years later, the European Court of Justice ruled this illegal.
- Import from another member state of many articles for personal use became subject to VAT during a short period in the eighties. This wild west law defined that any purchase which was not "normal shopping" was subject to VAT. To make a mockery of out this circus, a newspaper telephoned several different customs offices and got as many different interpretations of "normal shopping". The EU persuaded the Danish government to repeal this illegal law soon after.
- To escape the crushing taxes, people sometimes organise particular investment schemes. Just as often, the government will change the laws retrospectively or disrespect double taxation treaties to damage these schemes.
- Civil servants are obliged to put money into a particular pension fund. Everybody are entitled to old age pension. But an amount similar to the old age pension is deducted from the payments from their pension fund when they retire. This scam has not yet come to the courts, and however strange it seems, the negotiators from the civil servants' unions have accepted the scam. There is little doubt that the negotiators, the unions or both have been corrupted by the governments.
Exported Products and Foreigners' Perception of Denmark
However mean the Danes may be between them, they are incredibly proud of anything produced in Denmark, and all exported products are covered in little, red, Danish flags, the Dannebrog, and "Denmark" or "Danish" is written all over the place. Of course, all that makes no difference to foreign customers, who've never heard anything about Denmark. Asked about Denmark, a Brit
or a Frenchman would ask if it's part of the EU. The informed reader will know that Denmark joined at the same time as Britain and Ireland, namely 1 January 1973. If you show a map of Scandinavia to a Brit and ask him to point out Denmark, he'll show you either Norway or Sweden.
People outside Scandinavia usually believe that Denmark is a quiet, orderly fairy tale like country, with a welfare system that takes care of everybody in a fair way. Little do they know about all the crime, the record high taxes, the people dying while awaiting life-saving operations, the mean Jantelov, the envy, and the corruption.
The Smokers
One of the first things that struck me when I visited Denmark in June 2006 was
how people are smoking everywhere. That is in stark contrast to other civilised
countries such as France, the UK and the USA, where you are unlikely to be
confronted with smoke in offices and public places. According to this
site, 28% of the Danish adult population is smoking daily. In the EU, only
the Spanish, the Dutch, the Luxembourgish and the Greek have a larger percentage
of daily smokers. In Canada and the USA, only 17% and 18% respectively are daily
smokers. This is contradictory to the common belief that the Danes are very
conscious of environmental and health issues. During the public debate in the
1970s about whether to introduce nuclear energy or not, it was noted that one of
those opposed to nuclear energy due to cancer risks had been photographed with a
pipe in his mouth. The Danes ended up rejecting nuclear energy, preferring to
pollute the atmosphere with fossile fuels and tobacco smoke which together are
killing more Danes annually than nuclear energy has ever killed worldwide.
Denmark is far behind other civilised countries when it comes to legislation
protecting the rights of non-smokers to breathe clean air. This may be due to a
liberal attitude according to which people should not be subject to
restrictions, but the majority of non-smokers are paying the price for this
pseudo-liberalism. I have worked in Denmark, the UK, Luxembourg and France, but
Denmark is the only country where I have had to tolerate smoking in the offices.
Smoking in public places is today outlawed in Denmark, as it is becoming
common in other countries.
The Political Parties
Alll the Danish political parties are socialist or communist or a combination.
There are at least 10 of them. One of the socialist parties is named the Conservative People Party
for historical reasons.
You may find this description absurd, but the explanation is that the whole
political spectre in Denmark has been slided to the far left. On an absolute
political scale, British "New Labour" is more to the right than any Danish party. Denmark has had socialist rule as long as anyone can remember (despite the so-called Conservative Party having been in power), and it's
one of the most socialist countries in Europe. Because of the huge number of political parties, governments are always in minority. This assures
a continued line of socialism. Political parties or not, the country is mostly
governed by the administration, where socialist-communist parties have planted
socialist-communist dinosaurs in key positions for decades. Even if a purely
conservative government came to power, it would take ages to rid the
administration of them.
The Welfare State
Denmark is a paradise for people who don't like to work. The welfare system is designed to assure that anyone not working has at least the same standard of living as those who do. Thus, there's no incentive to ruin your spare time by looking for work. In fact,
more than half of the population is financed by the working minority, who must
pay for pensioners, unemployed, social security clients, single mothers, immigrants and the
civil servants who count about half of the working population. By promising and giving money to
these groups, the socialist-communist parties have managed to keep themselves in
power at the cost of the working minority that are slaves of the government and those financed by it.
By contrast, the part of the welfare system that's being used by the working population, is being starved of money. Thus, the health
system has slid further and further down when compared with similar countries.
Danes are brainwashed to think their health system is the best in the world and
they like to criticise the British system, but the British system has been
improving and is certainly not worse than the Danish now. This is the case despite the population paying the world's highest taxes. People who don't fancy dying while awaiting a life-saving operation either have to pay cash at one of the new private hospitals (private hospitals were illegal until the eighties)
or abroad or pay for private medical insurance.
The welfare state was built with borrowed money during the sixties and the seventies. The government
gross debt reached 101,000,000,000 € at its highest. With a population of 5,300,000, this
amounted to 19,100 € per citizen, new-born babies included (figures from 1996, source: Eurostat Yearbook 1997). Thus, a large part of the high taxes
went to paying interest on the debt.
Over the last ten years, moderate governments have successfully reduced
the debt significantly, to 63,000,000,000 € (11,500 € per person) gross
or 33,000,000,000 € (6,000 € per person) net, out of which
9,000,000,000 € (1,600 € per person) is foreign debt (Danmarks
Statistik 2007). Let's note that interest payments are calculated on the gross
debt, not the net debt.
The Unions
Manual workers are expected to be members of the communist union in power at the workplace. Even though there's no legal requirement to do so, anyone refusing membership is considered an outlaw by his colleagues, who will refuse to work with him, smash his car (if he could afford one in the first place), damage his property, terrorise his family and
go on illegal strike until the outlaw is fired. Firing him is of course illegal, but many companies see themselves pressured to do so in order for the business to survive. Public services, like the Copenhagen City Hall, have been seen to fire employees who refused to join the unions as well. They know it's illegal, but since the communist and socialist mayors sympathise with the unions, they find that it's ok.
The Beer
Beer is Denmark's national drink, drunk at any time, anywhere, at any
occasion and for any excuse. Danes like Danish beer from Tuborg, Carlsberg and
maybe Faxe and someone seen drinking a foreign beer could be considered a bit of
a weirdo, committing an act of treason. There are some exceptions: 1. It has
become trendy to drink special brews from Danish micro-breweries or the main
Danish brewers. 2. Near Germany, where beer is imported to Denmark in large
quantities to save on the beer tax, it is acceptable to drink cheap German
brands of beer. Needless to say, Danish beer consumption per capita is among the
largest in Europe.
The Food
Denmark's contributions to cooking are flæskesteg (roast pork prepared with the rind on it, served with sweet/sour red cabbage, boiled and caramelised potatoes and a brown sauce), hakkebøf (steaks of minced beef, served with boiled potatoes, fried onions and a brown sauce) and frikadeller (fried meat balls made of minced pork and veal, served like the hakkebøf). As opposed to the brown sauce served in Britain, the Danish version sometimes has a taste.
Lunch is open sandwiches prepared on slices of rye bread. Any sort of meat, including what was left of the dinner the day before, may be used on the smørrebrød. In particular, marinated herrings in spicy sauce is popular. The lunch is washed down with Danish beer, and at weekends with snaps (an alcohol made on potatoes and with various herbs like cumin). The snaps must be served ice cold.
The younger generations are increasingly revolting against the fatty diet, which is replaced with pizzas, pastas, and other foreign food.
The Language
Danish is a germanic language, so it bears some resemblance to German
and Dutch, while Norwegian and Swedish are very close to Danish. It means that
Danish follows the German habit of glueing words together, giving very long
words such as stærkstrømsregulativfortolkningsproblem (interpretation
problem regarding a power current regulation). This word passed my Danish
spellchecker!
Apart from its German roots, Danish is really a blend of imported words from
Roman languages, notably French, Greek, English and many other places. Often,
the initial pronounciation is still in use. Given the many different language
roots and rules for pronounciation, there is often no direct relation between
the spelling of Danish words and their pronounciation. In a Roman language like
French, the pronounciation of the vast majority of words follows a set of fairly
simple rules. In Danish, you have to learn the pronounciation of many words by
heart, because you cannot apply a simple set of rules. This makes it very
difficult for foreigners to learn Danish.
As for the numbers, the Danes - like the Germans - pronounce the 10's and 1's
in opposite order:
23 is treogtyve - three and twenty - just like the German Dreiundzwanzig
- what a mess! The Swedes are more clever and use a logic system: totitre
- two ten three.
Why?
That is a question you will frequently hear in Denmark. Danes are often
meticulous and have an unusual sense for detail. They want to understand why
things are like they are, how things work and the details of things. They will
not take "because it is like that" for an answer. In TV broadcasts of
major events, for example involving royalty or visits of foreign heads of state,
there are hours and hours of broadcasts on the main State TV channel, showing
all the aspects that can possibly be filmed and explained. This satisfies a
genuine interest amongst Danes to understand what they see. This interest in
detail is partially the reason why Danish products and services have obtained an
international reputation for quality. It also partially explains why Denmark has
been a leading country when it comes to improving environmental standards. Once
a Dane understands the pollution around him, he simply cannot accept it.
Disclaimer
Some Danes are so happy about their country that criticism like what you will
find on this page is seen as an insult. In November 2007, I received this
comment from a Dane: "You clown. Move from denmark, if it is that awful.
I thought that your brites where gentlemen, but your are a disgrace."
Well, this guy thinks the British are still gentlemen as in the early 20th
century - and many people around
the world think the Danes are tolerant of others and other opinions. But, to
return to this eloquent opinion, I AM Danish, not British, and I DID emigrate in
1993, having had enough. To be happy in Denmark, you have to like and accept the
uniform way of thinking that the socialist welfare and envy system has built up
in the 20th century. Criticism and other ways of thinking are not accepted, but
it's not the state that will censure you - as in certain countries - but the
individual Danes, as this fellow here just illustrated.
This page is a subjective description of certain aspects of Denmark as I see
them. It is neither balanced nor complete. Should it be balanced? Is existing
literature praising Denmark balanced? Why should a text only be balanced when
presenting negative views but not if it presents positive views?
If a factual description of Denmark
is what you're after, then I suggest reading the US
State Department's fact sheet about Denmark, which is one of the best I've
come across.
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