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I'm not a tax expert but how are you sure that the tax burden for this income bracket is not _more_ in the United States? Sweden may have ~60% income tax but ho

I'm not a tax expert but how are you sure that the tax burden for this income bracket is not _more_ in the United States? Sweden may have ~60% income tax but how much of the back-end tax finagling occurs in Sweden compared to the United States? Again, it may very well be more than the claimed 90% tax rate. I also realize the professor has a vested interest (for several reasons) in knocking the tax cut expiration. But the United States tax system is complex beyond belief and I think any comparison with other countries is never simple. Edit: Or higher than the 'real' tax rate if the professor is pushing the numbers in his favor (likely).

tptacek 16y ago
Without doing the research to prove it, I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that the tax burden on the top 1% of earners in the 26 countries I cited with higher average tax burdens is more onerous than the tax burden on the top 1% of earners in the US, because most (all?) of them have more steeply progressive tax systems. The "complexity" of the US tax system is orthogonal to the issue we're discussing.
- hammerdr 16y ago
  Without doing the research to prove it http://www.photius.com/rankings/tax_burden_country_ranks_2009.html http://www.photius.com/rankings/tax_burden_country_ranks_200... You'll notice that US/NYC is 21 and US/IL (where I'm at) is 35. You should also notice that many of the >35 burdens have a large VAT/Sales Tax which has less impact on the top 1% of earners. Again, I'm not an expert in these matters. And, in any giving country the professor may be paying more in taxes. However, to systematically dismiss the tax burden of the United States because we have a low income tax isn't taking the full picture into account.
  - tptacek 16y ago
    Top earners who live in NYC (not NY, mind you, but NYC, which has a harsh city tax) are marginally (#21 instead of #26) worse off in this analysis, but the entire rest of the country is significantly (#35 instead of #26) better off. Despite the fact that you've provided evidence that enhances my argument and not yours, I'm willing to stipulate that it's a wash.
- vetinari 16y ago
  AFAIK, Slovakia has flat 19% income tax (including income from dividends and capital gain), so I wouldn't be so sure about US having the least onerous tax systems of all named countries.
  - tptacek 16y ago
    I provided a ranked list of average tax burden, not income taxes. The tax burden includes personal income tax, corporate taxes, social insurance, property tax, and goods and services taxes. This seems like the appropriate comparison to draw, since it's the metric Mankiw himself evokes.

tptacek 16y ago

Without doing the research to prove it, I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that the tax burden on the top 1% of earners in the 26 countries I cited with higher average tax burdens is more onerous than the tax burden on the top 1% of earners in the US, because most (all?) of them have more steeply progressive tax systems. The "complexity" of the US tax system is orthogonal to the issue we're discussing.

hammerdr 16y ago
Without doing the research to prove it http://www.photius.com/rankings/tax_burden_country_ranks_2009.html http://www.photius.com/rankings/tax_burden_country_ranks_200... You'll notice that US/NYC is 21 and US/IL (where I'm at) is 35. You should also notice that many of the >35 burdens have a large VAT/Sales Tax which has less impact on the top 1% of earners. Again, I'm not an expert in these matters. And, in any giving country the professor may be paying more in taxes. However, to systematically dismiss the tax burden of the United States because we have a low income tax isn't taking the full picture into account.
- tptacek 16y ago
  Top earners who live in NYC (not NY, mind you, but NYC, which has a harsh city tax) are marginally (#21 instead of #26) worse off in this analysis, but the entire rest of the country is significantly (#35 instead of #26) better off. Despite the fact that you've provided evidence that enhances my argument and not yours, I'm willing to stipulate that it's a wash.
vetinari 16y ago
AFAIK, Slovakia has flat 19% income tax (including income from dividends and capital gain), so I wouldn't be so sure about US having the least onerous tax systems of all named countries.
- tptacek 16y ago
  I provided a ranked list of average tax burden, not income taxes. The tax burden includes personal income tax, corporate taxes, social insurance, property tax, and goods and services taxes. This seems like the appropriate comparison to draw, since it's the metric Mankiw himself evokes.