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Only because the rich don't pay taxes in the US. As a middle-class American who lived and worked for a decade in Switzerland (and I made more money there), I c

Only because the rich don't pay taxes in the US. As a middle-class American who lived and worked for a decade in Switzerland (and I made more money there), I can confirm that I always paid less as a percentage in Switzerland.

harryh 11y ago
Switzerland has a 8% VAT.
- nitrogen 11y ago
  That's lower than a number of US cities.
  - saiya-jin 11y ago
    and only 2.5% on essentials like food
rayiner 11y ago
To the contrary. The top 10% in Switzerland make 23% of the income but pay 21% of the taxes. In the U.S. the top 10% makes 33% of the income but pays 45% of the taxes. See: http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2011/03/what-nation-has-most-progressive-tax.html http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2011/03/what-nation-has-most-....
- david927 11y ago
  That doesn't say that the top 10 accounts for 45% but that it should account for 45%. That's a big difference. The problem is that the US tax system is so complex that once you reach a certain level of wealth, it pays for you to have someone find those loopholes. Warren Buffet famously decried that he pays lower taxes than his secretary, for example: http://money.cnn.com/2013/03/04/news/economy/buffett-secretary-taxes http://money.cnn.com/2013/03/04/news/economy/buffett-secreta... Swiss roads have no potholes, there are no homeless, they have universal healthcare and a free university system. I've lived there and I paid less in taxes, and one big difference is that the wealthy pony up their fair share.
  - saiya-jin 11y ago
    - there are some homeless, but usually import from rest of europe that comes in spring and leaves in autumn, some beggars here and there. - universal PAID healthcare (except dental and eye care, that is extremely expensive and out of your pocket) - free university - only state ones, private are costly. - roads are better than elsewhere and drivers are actually nice :) wealthy pay, superwealthy just a bit due to special tax deals (which still benefits the country compared to them leaving for say Monaco or gazillion of other tax havens all around the globe).

harryh 11y ago

Switzerland has a 8% VAT.

nitrogen 11y ago
That's lower than a number of US cities.
- saiya-jin 11y ago
  and only 2.5% on essentials like food

rayiner 11y ago

To the contrary. The top 10% in Switzerland make 23% of the income but pay 21% of the taxes. In the U.S. the top 10% makes 33% of the income but pays 45% of the taxes. See: http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2011/03/what-nation-has-most-progressive-tax.html http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2011/03/what-nation-has-most-....

david927 11y ago
That doesn't say that the top 10 accounts for 45% but that it should account for 45%. That's a big difference. The problem is that the US tax system is so complex that once you reach a certain level of wealth, it pays for you to have someone find those loopholes. Warren Buffet famously decried that he pays lower taxes than his secretary, for example: http://money.cnn.com/2013/03/04/news/economy/buffett-secretary-taxes http://money.cnn.com/2013/03/04/news/economy/buffett-secreta... Swiss roads have no potholes, there are no homeless, they have universal healthcare and a free university system. I've lived there and I paid less in taxes, and one big difference is that the wealthy pony up their fair share.
- saiya-jin 11y ago
  - there are some homeless, but usually import from rest of europe that comes in spring and leaves in autumn, some beggars here and there. - universal PAID healthcare (except dental and eye care, that is extremely expensive and out of your pocket) - free university - only state ones, private are costly. - roads are better than elsewhere and drivers are actually nice :) wealthy pay, superwealthy just a bit due to special tax deals (which still benefits the country compared to them leaving for say Monaco or gazillion of other tax havens all around the globe).