Comment by vidarh | Hacker News Reader

Comment by vidarh | Hacker News Reader

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Norway's taxes on personal income are just marginally above the OECD average [1], which places it somewhat above the US, but not particularly high for a developed country. The idea that Norway is particular high tax tends to come from the marginal tax rate, which indeed is higher than the US, but the threshold is also high.

Norwegian corporate taxes are low, at 25% corporate income tax [2], well below the OECD average, while US corporate taxes are one of the highest in the world and by far the highest of any OECD country [2] [3].

> What about iterating quickly, which involves hiring and firing people quickly as well?

Then hire people on contracts. Nothing in Norwegian law prevents you from hiring and firing at will as long as you don't make people think you're hiring for a position that is meant to last.

[1] http://taxfoundation.org/article/comparison-tax-burden-labor...

[2] http://stats.oecd.org//Index.aspx?QueryId=58204

[2] http://taxfoundation.org/blog/us-has-highest-corporate-incom...

There is no problem firing people in Norway as long as you have a real need to reduce the workforce, or even reduce the headcount in one profession and at the same point increase in another (like in restructuring). This is easier in Norway than many other European countries, especially in Southern Europe.

What you can't do is to fire someone because you don't like them or fire someone while you at the same time is hiring for positions the individuals you are firing are qualified for.

While what you say about contractors are only partially right. If the contractors are hired as individuals, they can legally claim a permanent position after working there for three years. If they on the other hand are engaged through a consulting company or similar, that will not be the case, since then the contract is between two companies. If the consulting agency does not have other contracts available, they can downsize.

I'm norwegian, and have run companies (and done consulting) in Norway, so yes, I'm familiar with the limitations, which is why most contractors are hired through companies - whether personal AS's or an agency. When I was working that way I don't think the idea of hiring someone on a contract basis personally was something anyone ever brought up, exactly for this reason.

So the solution is to contract instead of hire? That's no good. If contract workers were as ideal as employees, then everyone would do it. But they don't, for a multitude of reasons.

Job security has value. If you want to buy the ability to fire people at will, you'll have to pay for it.

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