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I believe that the income tax paid in California is higher than in the UK for the median household. Now correct me if I am wrong, I have only filed tax in the

by koyote 8y ago

I believe that the income tax paid in California is higher than in the UK for the median household. Now correct me if I am wrong, I have only filed tax in the US for a single tax year so I might be missing something. But for the median household income in California of around $66,529, you would be paying an effective tax rate of around 24%. (using this website: https://smartasset.com/taxes/california-tax-calculator#wWyPf1PomS https://smartasset.com/taxes/california-tax-calculator#wWyPf...). And yes, I realize this is excluding deductions. In the UK, the median household income is £27,300 and you would have an effective tax rate of around 19.6% (https://www.uktaxcalculators.co.uk/ https://www.uktaxcalculators.co.uk/), also excluding deductions. Of course higher salaries attract higher taxes in the UK, but if the above is correct, then the average person should be paying less tax in the UK than in California.

BeetleB 8y ago
>And yes, I realize this is excluding deductions. That's a big disclaimer. I'm not going to argue for a hypothetical. I actually ran the numbers once. My state's income tax rate is high, but lower than CA's. For my income (above median), one year I actually calculated my tax for CA (as in actually got the forms and filled them out).[0] Despite the lower tax rate, the my state's income tax was higher. The reason? CA has a lot more deductions for people of my income or lower. CA can get you in all kinds of other taxes, but not income tax. Also, just checked. Other than the deductions, for single people, you hit the second highest bracket at a little over $8K in my state. To get to that same bracket in CA, you have to earn over $50K. CA tax rates are low for lower income people. [0] It's a long story why I did this - it was not fun at all.
- rusk 8y ago
  > I'm not going to argue for a hypothetical. Huh? But you said: > [their] complaint is primarily that if a system is too simple, it's much easier to raise taxes. which sounds pretty hypothetical to me! In fact this whole discussion is hypothetical! > The reason? CA has a lot more deductions for people of my income or lower. CA can get you in all kinds of other taxes, but not income tax To me, this sounds like a pretty good justification for a simpler tax system ...
- koyote 8y ago
  Of course, it's very difficult to directly compare such things for a single individual, never mind the median individual (you'd have to account for the fact that the UK taxes include medical insurance as well as a pension on one side and lower sales tax in California on the other side, and so on...). My point was that taxes in countries where the tax return is automatically performed by the government aren't necessarily higher than in parts of the US. In other words, OP's comment above was nothing more than FUD.
leetcrew 8y ago
not sure what point you are trying to make here. you single out one of the highest income states in the US and say the median household would pay less tax than the median family in the whole UK. sure, but families that made the equivalent of $66,529 in pounds (£51,699 at current exchange rate) would pay about 27% in taxes according to your calculator with the default settings. not sure what conclusion I'm supposed to draw from this.

by koyote 8y ago

BeetleB 8y ago

>And yes, I realize this is excluding deductions. That's a big disclaimer. I'm not going to argue for a hypothetical. I actually ran the numbers once. My state's income tax rate is high, but lower than CA's. For my income (above median), one year I actually calculated my tax for CA (as in actually got the forms and filled them out).[0] Despite the lower tax rate, the my state's income tax was higher. The reason? CA has a lot more deductions for people of my income or lower. CA can get you in all kinds of other taxes, but not income tax. Also, just checked. Other than the deductions, for single people, you hit the second highest bracket at a little over $8K in my state. To get to that same bracket in CA, you have to earn over $50K. CA tax rates are low for lower income people. [0] It's a long story why I did this - it was not fun at all.

rusk 8y ago
> I'm not going to argue for a hypothetical. Huh? But you said: > [their] complaint is primarily that if a system is too simple, it's much easier to raise taxes. which sounds pretty hypothetical to me! In fact this whole discussion is hypothetical! > The reason? CA has a lot more deductions for people of my income or lower. CA can get you in all kinds of other taxes, but not income tax To me, this sounds like a pretty good justification for a simpler tax system ...
koyote 8y ago
Of course, it's very difficult to directly compare such things for a single individual, never mind the median individual (you'd have to account for the fact that the UK taxes include medical insurance as well as a pension on one side and lower sales tax in California on the other side, and so on...). My point was that taxes in countries where the tax return is automatically performed by the government aren't necessarily higher than in parts of the US. In other words, OP's comment above was nothing more than FUD.

leetcrew 8y ago

not sure what point you are trying to make here. you single out one of the highest income states in the US and say the median household would pay less tax than the median family in the whole UK. sure, but families that made the equivalent of $66,529 in pounds (£51,699 at current exchange rate) would pay about 27% in taxes according to your calculator with the default settings. not sure what conclusion I'm supposed to draw from this.