They aren't 50%, highest tax bracket is 45% over 250001 EUR or 294440 USD. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_Germany#Income_tax https://en.wikipedia.or

They aren't 50%, highest tax bracket is 45% over 250001 EUR or 294440 USD. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_Germany#Income_tax https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_Germany#Income_tax Church tax could be another 9% if you are a member of a church. Compare to the US where top tax rate is 39.6% + 12.3% = 51.9% in California.