HIGH PRICES

Denmark is a high wage, high tax, high price society. I have always known that, but sometimes it helps to know just how high.

Compared with the average of the 28 E.U. countries, Danish consumer prices are 41% higher, the highest in Europe. The only countries with even higher prices are those economic oddballs, Norway and Switzerland.

What should worry Danish politicians is not just the fact that Denmark has the highest prices, but that there is a long way down to competitors. Sweden is next, at 29% above average; and the only other countries more than 20% above average are Luxemburg and Finland. Denmark's main export market Germany has only average prices, which is one reason why cross-border supermarket trade in Southern Jutland is booming.For the adventurous, there are even bigger bargains to be had.  Bulgaria's and Romania's prices are 52% and 45% below average, though doing business there is not for the faint-hearted.

Denmark's VAT rate of 25% on everything is one of the main reasons for the discrepancy, but there are others; Europe's highest electricity prices, and hidden taxes on lots of parts of the production process. No wonder Danes spend less on Christmas presents than the European average, they simply have less to spend.

I am off to stuff the turkey. Have a great Christmas!

Walter Blotscher