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"US tax revenue per-person is pretty much in the middle of western Europe." Not really. The OECD average is 36%, Americans pay 28% and no western European sta

"US tax revenue per-person is pretty much in the middle of western Europe." Not really. The OECD average is 36%, Americans pay 28% and no western European states pay less. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tax_revenue_as_percentage_of_GDP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tax_revenu... In nominal terms the US may be higher, but I don't really see that that proves anything. The main problem is of course that so much has to be paid for by the individual in the US that is efficiently taken care of by the state in Europe, so comparing tax rates misses a big part of the issue.

anamax 16y ago
>> "US tax revenue per-person is pretty much in the middle of western Europe." > Not really. The OECD average is 36%, Americans pay 28% and no western European states pay less. Yes really. American's pay 28% on a larger number, so the amount of money per person is basically the same. BTW - you're ignoring corporate taxes, which are a significant fraction of revenues. They don't actually change the equivalence but they do increase the "revenues per person-year" number. > nominal terms the US may be higher, but I don't really see that that proves anything. Actually, it does. > The main problem is of course that so much has to be paid for by the individual in the US that is efficiently taken care of by the state in Europe, so comparing tax rates misses a big part of the issue. I'm not comparing tax rates. I'm comparing tax revenues per person. You're pointing out that western Europeans get more for the same amount of money. Combining those two facts tells us that a tax dollar goes further in western Europe than it does in the US. If the US govt wants to provide the same benefits, it either needs more money per person than European govts or it needs to take the relevant amount of money from its other expenditures.
e40 16y ago
Does that 28% only include federal taxes and not state? If so, it's not realistic.
- gahahaha 16y ago
  The article lists countries by total tax revenue as a percentage of gross domestic product. If it was just federal taxes it would be worthless. They actually specify "all levels" for the US on the list so it should not be possible to believe otherwise.

anamax 16y ago

>> "US tax revenue per-person is pretty much in the middle of western Europe." > Not really. The OECD average is 36%, Americans pay 28% and no western European states pay less. Yes really. American's pay 28% on a larger number, so the amount of money per person is basically the same. BTW - you're ignoring corporate taxes, which are a significant fraction of revenues. They don't actually change the equivalence but they do increase the "revenues per person-year" number. > nominal terms the US may be higher, but I don't really see that that proves anything. Actually, it does. > The main problem is of course that so much has to be paid for by the individual in the US that is efficiently taken care of by the state in Europe, so comparing tax rates misses a big part of the issue. I'm not comparing tax rates. I'm comparing tax revenues per person. You're pointing out that western Europeans get more for the same amount of money. Combining those two facts tells us that a tax dollar goes further in western Europe than it does in the US. If the US govt wants to provide the same benefits, it either needs more money per person than European govts or it needs to take the relevant amount of money from its other expenditures.

e40 16y ago

Does that 28% only include federal taxes and not state? If so, it's not realistic.

gahahaha 16y ago
The article lists countries by total tax revenue as a percentage of gross domestic product. If it was just federal taxes it would be worthless. They actually specify "all levels" for the US on the list so it should not be possible to believe otherwise.