Differences in salaries in EU vs US

[big_foot]

Currently I am surfing through available positions and I see a big gap between EU and US salaries.

For example, the positions which I see in EU have roughly €60 – 70k annual salary, while in US it is $150-200k.
Why there is so big gap?

It feels like I am missing something and working for a US company is not so profitable as it seems.
I assume that the one working form Europe will have to work as a sole trader or something like that and the taxes will not be the same as when working as a regular employee, but still.

Is it so that taxes will eat all the margin? Or maybe I will have to pay double taxes in US + in Finland?

[betelgeuse]

Currently I am surfing through available positions and I see a big gap between EU and US salaries.

For example, the positions which I see in EU have roughly €60 – 70k annual salary, while in US it is $150-200k.
Why there is so big gap?

It feels like I am missing something and working for a US company is not so profitable as it seems.
I assume that the one working form Europe will have to work as a sole trader or something like that and the taxes will not be the same as when working as a regular employee, but still.

Is it so that taxes will eat all the margin? Or maybe I will have to pay double taxes in US + in Finland?

Make sure that you are not comparing apples to oranges. For example, Finnish salaries do not include the pension contribution that the employer makes and you will get much more time off. Even after adjusting for the differences, it's likely that US pays better.

[riku2]

You need to realise that even seemingly basic benefits such as paid sick days can be missing in the USA. My USA colleagues are told to use their paid holidays if they are sick. On the other hand they do get a european amount of holidays (being a Swedish company). Having 10 days paid holiday per year in the USA is not unusual.
And most of my colleagues around Atlanta live in "gated communities" - a housing area with fence around it and security guards. Something that's not needed in Finland for many reasons.
While they're living in their gated communities they should put some of their income aside for health coverage in their old age, because even with private health insurance the insurance company might eventually say enough is enough and decline to pay for health care, which leaves them to pay a fortune in medical bills

Is it so that taxes will eat all the margin? Or maybe I will have to pay double taxes in US + in Finland?

If you're a US citizen then you always pay USA tax regardless of where you live. So some people do have to pay double taxes. But the USA is almost unique in such a system.

[betelgeuse]

If you're a US citizen then you always pay USA tax regardless of where you live. So some people do have to pay double taxes. But the USA is almost unique in such a system.

Commonly there's a tax treaty to limit the right of USA to tax. For example, living in Finland working for a Finnish employer, one would not pay taxes to USA but would still need to file a tax return both in Finland and USA.

[FinlandGirl]

Currently I am surfing through available positions and I see a big gap between EU and US salaries.

For example, the positions which I see in EU have roughly €60 – 70k annual salary, while in US it is $150-200k.
Why there is so big gap?

Part of the reason is that salaries in Finland are more even.

The minimum legal salary for a full-time cleaner in Finland is €25k.

Finnish society is not as split into super-rich and super-poor as in the US, it is more typical that the person with an university degree working in an office gets twice the salary of the person cleaning the office - not 5 times or more as with the salaries you are looking at in the US.

[browndude]

I have lived and worked in both the EU/Finland and US and this is what I saw. In the US, you will probably have a higher salary, lower taxes and fewer laws restricting you in business. But unlike in Finland, you will have to pay from your own money, for schools/day-care, medical care and security. In the US you have more opportunities to make a lot of money but also higher risks to your health and safety, e.g. a medical emergency in your family could essentially make you lose all your money. The US is very good at marketing and will show you big numbers but in the end you might end up in a much worse position after all the needs are paid for. Note that the US is a very big country and the cost of living will vary greatly from place to place. A 150K salary in places like New York or San Francisco will barely be enough to live decently while with the same salary in a more rural community in e.g. Tennesee could give you an excellent life-style.

[agroot]

In US you can visit Canada or Mexico for healthcare. You can also buy expat insurances that work outside of US.