Simplicity, Mr Corydon, thank you

Denmark has to make some significant fiscal changes in order to avoid breaching the EU deficit limit of 3 percent of GDP. 

Mr Bjarne Corydon, the minister of finance, has launched a proposal to reduce the income tax rate and give a pension tax rebate in order to help cut Denmark’s deficit. 

Starting from 1 April, 2015, a tax rebate of 2.5 percent will be available to eligible pension fund members over the age of 60. Additionally, Corydon announced the reduction of the income tax rate from 40 to 37.5 percent next year.  
So far, so good: the government estimates that this new plan will improve the budget balance by 0.75 percent.

However, the stock market’s recovery since the 2008 financial crisis should have inspired people to invest in shares – preferably Danish shares. Expats in particular might have been tempted to invest, especially in the companies where they are employed, like ISS, Novo, Carlsberg and Lundbeck.

Unfortunately, ex-pats have stepped back from doing so because they as well as Danes are suffering from the most diabolically complex tax regime. Corydon’s new tax plan liberates pension savings by about 2.5 percent. Yet, there still remains the question of reinvestment.  What are eligible pensioners to do with the money they receive from the tax rebate? Savings accounts in banks have a 0 percent interest rate at best. Bonds are not much better and are frequently recalled.

It has proven highly challenging to explain the tax rules of share capital gain to the Danes and likewise to expats.  This means that investments are not made – and if they are made, the complex fiscal rules inhibit incentives to trade.

The solution is not around the corner – it is right in front of you. The rules applicable to pension savings (rate pensioners) with tax deductions could be imposed on free capital. The banks have the account system ready and operational: you just establish a share savings account. Within the account you can trade, buy and sell shares with no effect for immediate taxation, but as you get no deduction when saving you are obliged to pay share capital gain tax on the average profit or get a credit for loss for later profit harvesting. Hereby you avoid having to learn the totally complicated share profit tax rules. You could operate in the market without paying attention to these rules, but eventually you pay tax on your profit. It could even be taxed preliminarily year by year – but it will stop killing the incentive to invest in Danish companies!!

So please Mr Corydon – talk to the new tax minister and make him come up with a simple solution to a poisonous regime for the share investment culture for Danes and expats alike. 

What's your opinion Click here to let us know!




  • Danish universities increase security checks on researchers from China, Russia, and Iran, reports DR

    Danish universities increase security checks on researchers from China, Russia, and Iran, reports DR

    Danish universities, especially Aarhus University, now rigorously screen researchers from China, Russia, and Iran to prevent espionage, following recommendations and increasing concerns about security, reports DR

  • Danish Originals S7E5: Camilla Stærk

    Danish Originals S7E5: Camilla Stærk

    This week, Bonderup-born, London-trained, New York-based Danish designer Camilla Stærk talks about her work, anchored against a strong foundation of her Danish heritage combined with her fascination with Old Hollywood and film noir, and expressed in what she describes as the whole universe: of fashion, furniture, lighting, rugs, accessories

  • Young Copenhageners supply study grants by selling cocaine

    Young Copenhageners supply study grants by selling cocaine

    In recent years, the spread of cocaine has accelerated. The drug is easily accessible and not only reserved for wealthy party heads. Copenhagen Police have just arrested ten young people and charged them with reselling cocaine

  • 5 Mistakes I Made When I Moved to Denmark

    5 Mistakes I Made When I Moved to Denmark

    Here are five mistakes I made that helped me understand that belonging isn’t a strategy—it’s a practice. This isn’t a story of struggle—it’s a reflection on growth, told through the lens of emotional intelligence.

  • Analysis shows that many students from Bangladesh are enrolled in Danish universities

    Analysis shows that many students from Bangladesh are enrolled in Danish universities

    Earlier this year, the Danish government changed the law on access for people from third world countries to the Danish labor market. Yet, there may still be a shortcut that goes through universities

  • Danish Flower company accused of labor abuse in Türkiye

    Danish Flower company accused of labor abuse in Türkiye

    Queen Company, a Denmark-origin flower producer with pristine sustainability credentials, is under fire for alleged labor rights violations at its Turkish operation, located in Dikili, İzmir. Workers in the large greenhouse facility have been calling decent work conditions for weeks. The Copenhagen Post gathered testimonies from the workers to better understand the situation

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.


  • “It’s possible to lead even though you don’t fit the traditional leadership mold”

    “It’s possible to lead even though you don’t fit the traditional leadership mold”

    Describing herself as a “DEI poster child,” being queer, neurodivergent and an international in Denmark didn’t stop Laurence Paquette from climbing the infamous corporate ladder to become Marketing Vice President (VP) at Vestas. Arrived in 2006 from Quebec, Laurence Paquette unpacks the implications of exposing your true self at work, in a country that lets little leeway for individuality

  • Deal reached to bring more foreign workers to Denmark

    Deal reached to bring more foreign workers to Denmark

    Agreement between unions and employers allows more foreign workers in Denmark under lower salary requirements, with new ID card rules and oversight to prevent social dumping and ensure fair conditions.

  • New association helps international nurses and doctors Denmark

    New association helps international nurses and doctors Denmark

    Kadre Darman was founded this year to support foreign-trained healthcare professionals facing challenges with difficult authorisation processes, visa procedures, and language barriers, aiming to help them find jobs and contribute to Denmark’s healthcare system