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The best way I've found to compare taxes between countries with very different tax regimes is by comparing tax revenue as a percentage of GDP. Wikipedia has a n

The best way I've found to compare taxes between countries with very different tax regimes is by comparing tax revenue as a percentage of GDP. Wikipedia has a nice table: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tax_revenue_to_GDP_ratio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tax_reven... Denmark tops the list, at 50.8%. Sweden comes in 4th, with 45.8%. The US is fairly far down and lower than almost all developed countries, at 26%.

wav-part 10y ago
Tax Revenue USD/Capita: https://data.oecd.org/chart/4Ont https://data.oecd.org/chart/4Ont Welfare Spending USD/Capita: https://data.oecd.org/chart/4Ons https://data.oecd.org/chart/4Ons
- isostatic 10y ago
  In 2013, the United States spends $9350.80/head on social programs. The United Kingdom spends $8116.20/head. Yet it's the UK that has healthcare free at the point of use. Where does that social spending go in the US? Why is it so inefficient?
  - mcv 10y ago
    That's exactly it. In many cases it seems Americans pay just as much as Europeans, but get much less value in return. They pay more for healthcare than anyone else, yet have shorter life expectancy. They even pay a lot of socialized healthcare (Medicare) which isn't accessible for most people. They pay for public education but complain about the poor quality. For higher education, the options are to go deep into debt or opt for a low-pay career. They pay for police that's likely to shoot them and take their stuff. And then they pay for an excessive military and government corruption. (Alright, slight hyperbole, but only slight.) I think dogmatic belief that laissez-faire capitalism is always more efficient, has prevented them from looking for efficiencies elsewhere.
madarco 10y ago
But then you don't account for fiscal evasion. For eg. in Italy the taxes on the lower wages are higher due to the impossibility to evade (they are detracted from the salary by the employer)

wav-part 10y ago

Tax Revenue USD/Capita: https://data.oecd.org/chart/4Ont https://data.oecd.org/chart/4Ont Welfare Spending USD/Capita: https://data.oecd.org/chart/4Ons https://data.oecd.org/chart/4Ons

isostatic 10y ago
In 2013, the United States spends $9350.80/head on social programs. The United Kingdom spends $8116.20/head. Yet it's the UK that has healthcare free at the point of use. Where does that social spending go in the US? Why is it so inefficient?
- mcv 10y ago
  That's exactly it. In many cases it seems Americans pay just as much as Europeans, but get much less value in return. They pay more for healthcare than anyone else, yet have shorter life expectancy. They even pay a lot of socialized healthcare (Medicare) which isn't accessible for most people. They pay for public education but complain about the poor quality. For higher education, the options are to go deep into debt or opt for a low-pay career. They pay for police that's likely to shoot them and take their stuff. And then they pay for an excessive military and government corruption. (Alright, slight hyperbole, but only slight.) I think dogmatic belief that laissez-faire capitalism is always more efficient, has prevented them from looking for efficiencies elsewhere.

madarco 10y ago

But then you don't account for fiscal evasion. For eg. in Italy the taxes on the lower wages are higher due to the impossibility to evade (they are detracted from the salary by the employer)