This is a profoundly stupid story:
Taxpayers still smarting from their recent tax bill might be reluctant to believe this, but the U.S. is nowhere near the top of the list when it comes to income-tax rates, according to a new report comparing tax rates in 30 countries.
In Belgium, a single worker with an average wage paid about 42% of it to the tax man in 2005, with about 28% going to income tax and 14% to the country's Social Security system, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
In Germany, too, workers are hit with a 42% combined income- and Social Security-tax hit, while in Denmark, an average worker pays 41%.[...]
Meanwhile, in the U.S., a worker earning an average wage owes about 24% to income tax and Social Security combined.
It's all true, but in the most limited way possible. Imagine you live in Belgium, make $45,000 a year, and pay 42% in taxes, for a total bill of $18,900. Included in that total is health insurance, generous old age supports, and so forth. Now imagine you live in the US, making $45,000 a year, and paying 24% in federal taxes. Total bill? $10,800. That doesn't include state taxes, of course, so tack on another $4,000 in sales tax and so forth. We've not mentioned gasoline taxes, or various other user fees that state and federal governments deploy to make up the shortfall between our tax rates and our spending, so let's ad on another $800 there. You're also paying health premiums, which are $4,024 (much of that coming out of your salary increases, to be sure) a year. So now we're at $18,824. And we've not gotten into what you're going to pay out of pocket in old age, nor the lack of decent unemployment insurance, nor health care deductibles, etc.
The point here isn't an exact comparison between the Belgian and American worker, but the uselessness of comparing tax burdens. The question is how much the average American pays for health care/social security/whatever in total, not how much they pay to the government. In the end, it's all your money, and whether you note that the check is going for premiums or taxes, it's still cash you can't spend.
