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Let me take the role of a myth-buster here.Myth #1: There were no poor people in USSRThe truth is that in USSR there were no rich people, all were equally poor. But I cannot say it better than Churchill:Material life was miserable throughout the whole Soviet history. Out of 70 years of brief Soviet history, some 35 years represent a horrible poverty, starvation and pain:1917–1922: Rapid de-industrialization, driven by the policy of 'military communism'. The policy included expropriations of property, prohibition of private entrepreneurship. By 1922, Russia traveled back in time to 1880-ies with most railroads closed, electricity and any meaningful production shut down. In agriculture, the military communism and civil war had frozen all the production. The result was an epic hunger in Volga region and South Urals, with 90 million people affected and 5 million dead.Picture (above): Volga regions children, 19211929–32: After a short economic recovery of 1923–28, mostly driven by New Economic Policy (in short, a return of the market economy to the agriculture sector of economy), the communists decided to engage in Industrialization and Collectivisation. Industrialization was needed desperately as by 1928 Russia had been so thoroughly de-industrialized that it more resembled medieval Moscovia than the Russian Empire.Graph (above): Industrial production in Russia. Notice the fall in 1920–21 to the level of 1880-ies.So, the communists chose to industrialize the country by robbing farmers and converting them back into serfs. In effect, they were made slaves of city population. Collectivisation brought sharp decline in agriculture production, destruction of equipment, houses, cattle. Hunger followed. Number of victims is still debated, but it seems that it was anywhere between 3 and 10 million people (1929–32).Picture (above): Communists ‘expropriate’ grains from peasants.1941–47: WWII and post-war famines. Food was rationed during this period by cards. Number of hunger victims is impossible to count, anyway it pales in comparison with the war butchery machine victims.Picture (above): Bread ration card, Leningrad 19411947–52: rebuilding the industries. Again agriculture resources were pulled to finance the re-industrialization and military upgrades. Population remained on subsistence levels everywhere (both in cities and in countryside).Picture (below): Novocherkassk meeting. In 1962, the working class in Novocherkassk protested against price inflation and effective decrease in salaries. Soviet Army shot 26 workers on the spot, then another 7 were sentenced to death.1965–91: 'Deficit' economy spiralling out of control. I wouldn't like to expand here on arguments why 'deficit' is an integral part of any central-planned economies (there's no shortage in scientific argument about that). What is important to say is that deficit problem in USSR had three serious boosts:In 1967, when Liberman/Kosygin economic reforms were rolled back;In 1974, when peasants were given the right to leave their collective farms and move to cities. In the following 2–5 years, the rural economy came to almost complete stop: villages deserted, agriculture imports sky-rocketed and city dwellers were mandated to participate in 'the battle for crops';In 1983, when after short relief brought by the surge in crude oils prices, oil price returned to normal, stripping USSR of hard currency which by that time was already vital (grains were purchased from this to feed the whole country).In reality, unrolling deficit meant that from 1970-ies, most of 'luxury' food items went off the shelves to the black market (meat, sausages, fresh fish, caviar, etc); from mid-1980-ies, deficit expanded to almost every food item (except for bread and milk products) and closer to 1989 even the bread and milk products were off the shelves.Central government tried to keep the distribution channels in order at least in big cities: these have fallen victims much later than the rest of the country. But as they fell, it seemed like the problem came out of nowhere: just a couple of years ago (1984) Moscow and St Petersburg knew nothing of deficit and then… Boom! All of it has gone.To this day some Moscovites believe that the deficit problem was brought by Gorbachev’s Perestroika and blame CIA for destroying the rock-solid Soviet economy.Myth #2: USSR was the land of social justiceNew Serfdom (1929–74)Tell about social equality to the peasants (kolkhoz workers) who from 1929 to 1974 couldn't leave their collective farms under the risk of criminal prosecution and did not get any salary (until 1966). As a payment for their serfdom, they were given a small part of agricultural products that they themselves produced.Soviet peasants did not have passports. This might seem a trivial thing today, but in USSR it meant these people could neither move, nor go to study, nor travel, nor search for other job outside their farm other than with permission from their master (collective farm director).It was serfdom, fair and square. And there were 58 million of them by the time this serfdom was abolished in 1974.Picture (below): Trudoden-stamp, i.e. the ‘currency’ which could be exchanged by a peasant for food in a village grocery storeNew MastersTell about social equality to the Communist party elite, who isolated themselves from the rest of the country with luxurious accommodation, exclusive shops, clinics, Crimean recreational facilities, spacious dachas, free transport and security, cash in envelops on top of their official salaries, etc.Somehow they, being communists, didn't have problem with social inequality even in the hardest periods of war and hunger.Moreover, through shameless propaganda they implanted the myth of their asceticism in the heads of Soviet people. Even today, whenever Stalin personality is discussed, 8 out of 10 Russians would tell you this outrageous nonsense that he owned only a pair of boots and a military uniform. They would forget to mention that he personally owned everything and everyone in USSR, making life and death decisions at his will.Picture (below): An example of Stalin’s asceticism, Vorontsovsky Palace in Tbilisi where Stalin’s mother lived from 1920-ies to the time of her death in 1937Picture (below): Notorious ‘Dom na Naberezhnoy', the house where the early Soviet nobility isolated themselves from regular folks. Prime location, furnished apartments, all-inclusive services (private cinema, restaurants, laundry, tailor, etc, all closed for general public). Residents did not pay for either food or transportation. The first place on Earth were communism truly existed. Pity it did not expand much outside of the house perimeter.SlaveryEarly Soviet economy ran on slave labor. Slaves were the engine of Stalin's industrialization, they continued to be a significant economic force up until late 1950-ies.Mostly criminals were used as slaves. What's important to understand, you would be a ‘criminal’ in early USSR for such things as your origin (clergy, noble, business owners' descendants were considered criminals). Peasants who protested their lands expropriations were criminals too.In late USSR, you could be considered criminal for reselling your property with profit, for buying or selling currency, for not being able to find job, etc.By some estimates, Soviet slavery camps used as much as 3 million people at the pique (1935–40). As the regime cooled down, the number of slaves fell to 700–800′000 people.Picture (below): Labor camp workers in Kolyma, 1930-iesPicture (below): Slave labor on construction of Belomorkanal, 1930-iesMyth #3: There was no unemployment in USSRThis is like saying that headless bodies don't have headaches.There’s no unemployment in any slave camp by definition. You were legally forced to work, it was NOT your choice. If you didn’t, you got a slave labour sentence and worked anyway (Soviet Russia Criminal Code, article 209).One might say: people have to work under any other system to survive. So what’s the difference? The difference is that the State never asked YOU whom you want to be. Your choice was artificially narrowed by what the state needed in the place where you were registered. If you didn’t chose something, it meant you broke the law and would go for slavery in labor camps (or ‘public works’ as this was put mildly by the communists).If you are born in countryside, you don’t get any passport and you effectively found yourself an ‘employer’ for life, tell me about luck.All other Soviet people were tied to the places of their birth by registration system. You could not just decide to move and move. You had to be allowed to move.The beautiful story is the one of a poet Joseph Brodsky (Nobel Prize winner) who was sentenced to labor camps for not being able to find permanent paid job as a poet. The judge ruled that there’s no such profession as a poet and sent him for 5 years of slave labor.There were tens of thousands of such people who didn't become Nobel prize winners and whose stories you could never hear.Picture (below): Brodsky in Labor campMyth #4: USSR was the land of optimism and happinessIf there was any persistent mood applicable to all citizens, it was neither optimism nor happiness. It was the dynamic mixture of Fear and Cynisism.The fear to be prosecuted for wrongly understood joke, for telling something to somebody that the State would consider a treason, for showing your religious beliefs, for siding with wrong party in whatever strange dogmatic discussion is going on…Even in the 1980-ies, I remember my parents shushed us every time anything remotely related to politics was discussed with the words ‘Do you want us all to rot in jail’?The Cynisism over time has become widespread as a form of protest against the system: elites didn't believe in what they say, took the rest of the country as ignorant idiots, and the rest of the country demonstrated compliance with absolute secret resistance and mocking.Picture (below): a car nicknamed ‘Black Raven’. Used by secret police to detain 'enemies of the people' so extensively, that to this day the very sight of this auto masterpiece makes blood chill in your veigns.Myth #5: In USSR, apartments were given for freeFirst of all, those apartments have never been given to be owned. They remained the property of the state and technically you could have been kicked out any time.Most of those apartments were actually privatized AFTER the USSR broke down, it was the act of Yeltsin administration. People had to pay for this (not much, but, again, it was Russia who gave the apartments, not USSR).Ask the emigrants from USSR what happened to ‘their’ apartments. The answer is that they had to return them for nothing, moreover, they had to pay for basic repair so that those apartments would be ‘accepted’.Second, in large cities people had to wait for their free apartments for 5–10 years. The queue was long and complicated by a range of documents you constantly had to bring to prove your right to remain in this queue. Where did they live all this time while awaiting for 50 sq.m. paradise? Barracks, work hostels, ‘communal apartments’ (where 2+ families live in one apartment).Workers’ barracks:Workers’ hostel:‘Communal apartment’s’ kitchen:Typical Soviet residential block:And last but not least. It was not like barracks, communal apartments and work hostels were an unusual way to live. In Leningrad, by 1989 some 450′000 people lived in communal apartments, another 300′000–400′000 people lived in work hostels (population was 4.5 mln). The rest were lucky to have 2–3 rooms apartment in the block similar to the one in the picture above.Myth #7: Not only USSR had the best medicine, it was for freePersonally, as someone who spent a lot of childhood time in Soviet hospitals, I find that claim so outrageously false that I don’t even know where to begin.First, if it was so great, why even now, 30 years after the break up of the USSR any Russian person with money prefers to go for health services to Germany, Israel, and wherever else, but not to local hospital?Second, do you even remember how your hospitals looked like? I do not mean 3–5 best hospitals that Soviet elite built for themselves and kept regular citizens away. I mean an average district poliklinika with its lines, poorly educated doctors, lack of free medicine, constant bribes for everything, beds in the corridors, anesthesia queues?Third, if you don’t like the general discussion, let’s take dentists as something specific. Do you remember people with golden/metal teeth? Teethless mouths? Do you know that almighty Soviet doctors did not even manage to fix Mr Brezhnev’s mouth: his speech impediment was mostly the result of constant toothache?Now, do you seriously believe all of the above qualifies for the world best?Forth, about ‘for free’ premise. Take a look at this differently. You WERE NOT PAID enough salaries to afford medicine. The State could have done it differently, as with utility bills (make you pay a little and subsidize the rest), for example. Or they could go for insurance payments. But they just preferred to underpay workers and pay for clinics from state funds. Not because they cared, because it was easier. What’s there to be proud of? What’s there to cherish?Picture (below): Line to doctor reception (very likely post-Soviet times, yet that’s exactly how I remember my local Poliklinika)Picture (below): District Hospital Room. Unknown period, yet again, it’s how I remember itMyth #8: Unlike in capitalism where people compete with each other and hate each other, in socialism people love and help each otherThe very nature of socialist distribution system makes you hate each other as you effectively compete with other ‘comrades’ for perks and distributions from the State.a. non-Moscow residents universally hated Moscovites, because Moscow was kept in better order in terms of food, housing and public facilities. Moscovites were never shy in showing arrogance to the rest of the country;Picture (below): thousands of people would take trains from suburbs and villages to Moscow and back on weekends to shop. The train earned the nickname ‘sausage train’, because people traveled to buy meat products, absent outside of Moscowb. It was hard to love your brothers who stand in queue with you for whatever deficit item is on sale in retail shops:c. It was even harder to love your neighbor in communal apartment: the regulation was that if a resident in such apartment lives alone and dies, other neighbors effectively could take over his/her room. It went down to poisoning, writing anonymous forged accusation of neighbors in political crimes to KGB, in extreme cases. Constant quarreling was modus operandi.d. ‘Free apartments’ were provided by the state enterprises as much as the local authorities. So you can imagine how the relationships between the colleagues in the state enterprises developed as they all competed for limited number of flats to be distributed. Bribes, nepotism, false accusation, forged disciplinary measures were all in play against fellow colleagues.e. Colleagues working for state owned enterprises fought with each other not only for the apartments. On top of what you can find in companies in capitalist societies (salaries, promotions, nice business trips, etc), they would fight for places for their kids in kindergartens and summer camps, for spots in recreational facilities funded by the state companies, for possibility to shop in closed shops maintained for company managers, for closed medical facilities access and many other in-kind benefits/perks that the socialist distribution system provided.f. Everybody in USSR universally hated retail shop workers: in constant deficit conditions for most of consumer goods, the workers in retail shops and logistic centers had a closer access to retail goods and could effectively resell them on black market. The state wasn’t short in blaming the soviet retail workers in the deficit too. From time to time the communists entertained the public by throwing some managers of ‘soviet trade’ system under the bus.Picture (below): In 1978, Deputy Fish Minister Vladimir Rytov was sentenced to death for ‘organizing a criminal trade’, i.e. reselling fish products on black marketg. Residents of national republics within USSR hated the whole russification campaign unleashed on them heavily from Moscow: Russian as a language in most cases replaced the local languages, without speaking Russian you couldn't effectively make any sort of meaningful career anywhere.The list of these hate-generators is truly endless, and all of them were created by the system. You could not blame people for behaving as they did.But you certainly could not describe the relationship between citizens in USSR as brotherhood and love. It was the opposite of love and brotherhood. Much farther away than what you can observe today in evil capitalist Russia.Myth #9: Unlike in capitalist societies, in socialism people worked better because they knew that they worked for themselves, for the society and not for evil bunch of capitalists who steal from workers their profitsWhen the communist government expropriated property from small and medium business owners, they faced immediately the problem of ‘alienation of workers from means of production’ as described by Karl Marx. Working for the government is never the same as working for yourself. And they faced all the consequences in full.a. Neo-Luddism (intentional breaking of machines and equipment, stealing of state property)Even Stalin recognized it talking to Churchill in 1943: ‘when we gave tractors to the peasants, they were all spoiled in a few months’. The Communists had to respond in their usual way, i.e. violence and propaganda. The criminal code was amended to include death sentence for this.That did not stop people much: they were actively stealing from work whatever could be stolen going to unimaginable levels of creativity in the process.b. AbsenteeismOnce people figured there’s no correlation between your work and your remuneration, naturally they tried to find workplaces with less work to do or closer to goods distribution systems. Or as these were called ‘Теплое Место’ (literally - a warm place).Food storage cargo worker could have more power in the system than industrial plant engineer and, usually, lived far better material life. In every city, the meat shop director was a dream job for everyone.The other type of job would be some meaningless office work where the actual job would take 2–3 hours a day and the rest could be used for whatever private life you had. People were actively searching for such places.c. Rampant alcoholismFar too many people drank far too much. Some people called it ‘inner emigration’. For some, it was just a quicker way out of otherwise miserable life.On the graph: Alcohol consumption per capita in USSR. Notice the drop in 1985, when Grobachev initiated ‘Anti-alcoholism Campaign’ (which actually led to sharp increase in moonshine production, not shown on this chart)Many people here on Quora wouldn’t stop asking why the Soviet Union collapsed. Personally, I believe this broken correlation between your work input and your personal wealth is to blame.In conclusionHaving written all this, I do not pretend to give you the full 3D picture of life in USSR. There was much more, both on the positive and negative sides.I just hate when people distort the reality and paint USSR into something it had never been.Yet, my personal opinion (not pretending to be the only objective truth) completely coincides with the Churchill's:

Some great answers already, this is my attempt. Dealing with each area in turn, with taxes and law combined as they interlock.Taxes and the Legal SystemNew Zealand has an easy to understand system of taxes, but the full impact on an individual income may not being immediately obvious in all cases. If becoming self-employed, owning a business, setting up a company or you have investment income such as stocks and shares, then I strongly recommend obtaining the advice of a chartered accountant (CA). What I say here is purely general in nature and does not constitute professional advice in any way.Right, that said; an individual will be taxed directly through Pay As You Earn (PAYE), which are direct deductions from wages and salaries at the time payment is made. Tax rates are progressive, meaning you pay a higher percentage as earnings grow. Additionally, Kiwisaver contributions may be deducted and these will be forwarded to your Kiwisaver provider. You can redeem these payments and their investment returns when you reach 65, the retirement age, or when other events occur, such as leaving the country permanently or you die. You’ll need to check for all instances this applies to. Kiwisaver can be used to buy your first home but don’t ask me how this works as I've been a homeowner for years.You will soon know about any of these taxes as the employer has to tell you about them on a payslip or staff portal.You will also soon find out about other direct deductions, such as various withholding taxes, the most common of which being Resident Withholding Tax (RWT) on any bank interest you earn. Bank statements will show how much you pay but the bank will only send out a year-end statement if you earn over a certain sum, if under that you need to chase it up as you may claim any tax already paid, and you must disclose that interest or dividend income to Inland Revenue in any case (IRD).If self-employed or an investor in stocks and shares you may see withholding taxes being deducted before payment is made to you, your accountant needs these records, don’t lose them. If owning shares outside of those listed on the NZ or Australian stock exchanges then there are special tax considerations to consider, see your CA.If you have a family trust and manage your affairs through such a vehicle, definitely get the advice of a CA, as there are rules around distributions to beneficiaries of family trusts.Then there are other tax considerations; if self-employed the general principle is you pay tax in advance. This can have a serious impact if you estimate your income incorrectly. If you overestimate your income then you may impair cashflow while if you underestimate you may be charged penalties which escalate and compound over time.Then we have indirect taxes. When you consume anything there are taxes built into the price you pay. With the exception of a few items such as financial transactions, Goods and Services Tax (GST), is paid at the current rate of 15%. Please note that at the retail level this tax is usually included in the asking price. But this needn’t be the case, and some places add the tax at the till, an example may be at auctions. Be careful.Businesses dealing with one another generally organise themselves exclusive of GST, meaning all sums have GST added to them whether purchasing or selling. Homowners can be caught out when they find their plumber adds that critical GST to the bill. It may be the plumber doesn't do much work all-inclusive, preferring to deal with other businesses exclusive of GST. Once again be careful.If you are the business then you act as tax collector for the IRD. You may even qualify for refunds from time to time if purchases are greater than your sales. Don’t expect these refunds to come through quickly if they occur frequently, and expect to be audited if refunds sought are large. This a word to the wise.There are a myriad of other taxes, excise taxes on alcohol, tax on fuel, road use charges for diesel vehicles, registration fees, user charges of one sort of another on everything from form filling through to importing and exporting. The latter type of fees are often referred to as user-pays. When you use it, you pay for it, that money goes to the government and is often a government department collecting, a passport or citizenship application being an obvious example.If a landowner then you pay rates on the full capital value (land plus improvements) to the local councils. These costs vary depending on where you live. If you own more than one property in more than one region, then you’re going to be managing several such invoices.Then lastly there are fire and earthquake levies. These are collected when you insure something or register a vehicle. If you do neither and are happy to lose everything if the worst occurs, then you don’t have to pay these.The legal system is an English common law system with civil and criminal courts. Civil matters can take a while to be resolved, meaning mediation or settlement is often the most viable option. Bribes are not acceptable, unless very low level such as inviting someone to a barbecue.EducationNZ has a grammar school type of system at the secondary level, with adjustments. Before formal schooling commences there are pre-school kindergartens and early child care. This is subsidised but you do pay something.Children must attend school from the age of 6 until they turn 16. However they may enrol as early as age 5. Children may exit the system due to suspension or expulsion, so that 16 leaving age is a soft target. Most children are at school until they complete Year 13 (twelfth grade), most students are 18 at this point in their lives.Note that repeating years is possible and children may be at school until they are 20. Some schools offer a Year 14, offering technical training courses and the like (which is not grammar oriented, see adjustments above).Schools fall into three camps; private, state or integrated. Private is just that, you pay. Integrated schools are usually schools with special character, often religious in nature. The school owns the buildings and parents pay fees for their use, but the tuition itself, along with teacher salaries is paid by the government. The integrated system was introduced back in the 70’s to prevent the Roman Catholic schooling system from collapsing. But not only Roman Catholic schools are integrated, others may include Anglican or Rudolf Steiner and so on. The trick for the private school integrating is its roll is capped. They are prevented from growing and being competitive with the state system.State schools are free, the school cannot charge for tuition, nor can they charge for curriculum materials such as work books, or hard materials, so long as they are neither destroyed nor taken home to be consumed (examples here would mean a workbook must be used as a textbook and returned in good condition, fair wear and tear excepted, or trade classes where the materials are surrendered and that muffin baked is not eaten or keyholder made not used at all). If a state school breaches this rule; contact your local Member of Parliament, better still write to Wellington and the Minister of Education (no stamp required), and have the Ministry sort it out. Trust me, they will, it’s their job.An emerging issue is over computers, schools recommend students to ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD). This can cause a problem as many cannot afford such devices. Some schools offer a few school laptops for students to use through the day, they are generally picked up and returned to the library. Personally I feel this is developing into a classic have and have-not scenario and the government is going to need to do something to address the issue. I’d ban all laptops until senior school arrives. Why? Using a pen or pencil is important still and students are increasingly lacking in handwriting.White boards have replaced black (chalk ) boards in schools, and this is another problem as well. The sound of chalk on a board is important, it means learning is taking place, a felt pen and the stink of ink cannot substitute (I'm a fuddy duddy).Uniforms may be compulsory and differ in cost. There has been a trend to introduce uniforms at primary schools, and uniforms are the norm at secondary level. These uniforms are becoming increasingly costly due to intricacy, schools do this to exclude poor people. However some of the best secondary schools in NZ do not have uniforms, examples here include Onslow College (Wellington) and Wellington High School. Many secondary schools do not have uniform at Year 13, examples here include Hutt Valley High School (Lower Hut, near Wellington) and Cashmere High School (Christchurch).Schools do not offer meals unless special circumstances prevail. Examples of where meals may be provided relate to boarders at the school, or in cases of widespread poverty or hardship.There are exam fees and sport costs to consider. State schools will generally provide the uniform, equipment and lower quality musical instruments. Schools do not always offer the best sports coaching, if serious consider private clubs which are often better. This applies to rugby in particular, and basketball. Elites may turn out for their school but they get trained by the clubs and local association. Get the idea?The education system awards University Entrance (UE) and access to tertiary training off a three level system called the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), levels 1, 2 and 3. Level 3 is the highest and what is required to gain entry to University. Some schools also offer Cambridge or IB, but these are not common. It pays to shop around. The selection of course preferences could have a bearing on which city you choose to live in.Not all secondary schools offer all courses, but some NCEA courses are required to gain entry to certain university 100 level papers; mathematics, chemistry and physics being examples.Universities have a strict pecking order but this is rarely addressed. My book Snob’s Guide to New Zealand takes a no holds barred look at this and ranks the colleges, ignoring international rankings. University study in NZ cannot be described as expensive and the degrees are recognised outside of the country.Freedom and OpportunityA lot is permissible, not that much impermissible. You have the freedom to go bust or talk trash, but you can’t shout fire in a crowded theatre. There aren't that many police and so some things which are actually offences go unpunished, examples would be urinating in a public place, or faking your qualifications on a CV. But just because many get away with it doesn't mean you will.Starting a business is fast and easy. You just start it. That was easy.WeatherIt’s changeable. The only location that has continental weather is central Otago, where the winters are cold and summers hot. It is a stone fruit growing region. Most of NZ is made up of coastal communities and so the weather is governed by the wind and tides. It is invigorating.Often overlooked is the nature of light in NZ. Light is much harsher, brighter, which makes photography harder and your eyes need looking after.I may edit this some more, and remain interested in your ideas.