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This is ridiculous. Any American (or Australian for that matter!) who whines about their taxes should come and work for a few years in Europe. In Belgium, on an
by liedra 16y ago
This is ridiculous. Any American (or Australian for that matter!) who whines about their taxes should come and work for a few years in Europe. In Belgium, on an entry-level salary (for a post-doc academic position) I was being taxed at over 50% (my communal tax was at 8%):
"For 2010, marginal income tax starts at 25%, rises to 30% over EUR 7,900, 40% over EUR 11,240, 45% over 18,730 EUR with a top limit of 50% for incomes above EUR 34,330.
Residents also pay communal and regional taxes at rates between 0% and 8.5% of the total income tax payable. The most common rate is 6%." (source: http://www.expatica.com/be/finance_business/tax/taxation-in-belgium-8618_8286.html http://www.expatica.com/be/finance_business/tax/taxation-in-... )
Throw in a 21% VAT on top of that and watch most of your income go to tax.
Mind you, Belgium is one of the heaviest taxers, but coming from Australia, where it is significantly less hard-hitting (top tax bracket is 30% for 180k AUD, then 45% for every $1 after), it was astonishing. I don't think I got what I paid for in Belgium either, to be honest, but that's a different issue ;)
- houseabsolute 16y agoWhile it may be true that Europeans are taxed more heavily than Americans, that does not necessarily mean that Americans being taxed more heavily is a good thing to happen. Your argument seems to boil down to, "You think that frying pan is hot? Join me in the oven then you'll really have good reason to complain." Thanks, but what if the best thing is to sit near the AC instead? I'm not claiming, by the way, that it would or wouldn't be better to tax American rich more, I'm just saying the argument you made is not a very good one.
- liedra 16y agoWhereas I'm all for experiencing how others live, and thereby gaining a greater appreciation and experience of how the world works :) My argument isn't that Americans should be taxed more, just that Americans should come and see how the rest of the world works before having a good old whinge ;) (which is basically the theme of all the objections to this article -- I'm just expanding it out from rich/poor). 'tis the same with socialised medicine -- if those against it lived in Europe/Australia/Canada/etc. for a bit and saw how well it worked and how well loved it was in these countries, they'd probably have a different idea about it for their own.
- houseabsolute 16y agoOK, I see your point, and I think it is a fine one. Not very practical because of immigration policies and whatnot, but definitely of an idealism that I can subscribe to.
- c1sc0 16y agoFellow Belgian here. Left the country 4 years ago & honestly I'm not sure if I ever want to go back. I'm raving mad about the political insanity. Despite the high tax levels, we managed to become a country that is virtually bankrupt & instead of tackling the problems we decided to focus on bullshit politics instead. I am not getting my money's worth and am actively pulling out, even if it saddens me because I used to like the country & the people.
- qw 16y agoI live in Norway and only pay 33% of my salary in taxes. If I had bought a house instead of renting an apartment, I would have been able to deduct a lot more from my tax.