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I don't see it that way. I am very committed to this country (US) and in fact I am also pursuing the citizenship process as a sign of long term commitment to i

I don't see it that way. I am very committed to this country (US) and in fact I am also pursuing the citizenship process as a sign of long term commitment to it. The option of going back to EU is certainly something I keep in mind considering my European citizenship, but I don't necessarily look forward to it, at least not more than, say, all the hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people planning to move abroad or to a different state when they want to retire and/or switch gears in life. I hope to be a productive member of this society for many decades. Also, I am paying a massive amount of taxes to the US (effective tax rate in a coastal city can easily get to 40%+ on a tech salary), so I'm not taking advantage of anything at all. By your logic, I should also question my moral integrity because I am not planning to ever have kids (personal reasons), so I am effectively relying on others to spend their own money/time to raise new human beings that will provide services to me and pay for my social security when I'll be old, which doesn't make any sense.

seanmcdirmid 7y ago
A single person making $200k/year in San Francisco will pay an effective rate of 34% in federal, state, and payroll taxes. Only your marginal rate is above 40%, but income taxes are of course graduated. You don’t hit 40% until about $400k (in SF at least). So ya, if you are paying 40%, you are definitely in the 1%.
- deanmoriarty 7y ago
  Yes, 400-500k is about the right range of compensation in SF for a senior software engineer working at FAANG, and that's about my number. Also, I'm single and renter so I get no tax benefits at all. But I'm not complaining about having to pay those taxes, it's a very reasonable price to pay for the massive opportunity being given to me, which I appreciate even more coming from EU, as I was saying before.
  - seanmcdirmid 7y ago
    Got it, people often mistake their marginal rates for their effective rates and think they are paying much more than they really are. The jump of only 6% seems a bit small actually for an extra $200k in income, but thats America.

seanmcdirmid 7y ago

A single person making $200k/year in San Francisco will pay an effective rate of 34% in federal, state, and payroll taxes. Only your marginal rate is above 40%, but income taxes are of course graduated. You don’t hit 40% until about $400k (in SF at least). So ya, if you are paying 40%, you are definitely in the 1%.

deanmoriarty 7y ago
Yes, 400-500k is about the right range of compensation in SF for a senior software engineer working at FAANG, and that's about my number. Also, I'm single and renter so I get no tax benefits at all. But I'm not complaining about having to pay those taxes, it's a very reasonable price to pay for the massive opportunity being given to me, which I appreciate even more coming from EU, as I was saying before.
- seanmcdirmid 7y ago
  Got it, people often mistake their marginal rates for their effective rates and think they are paying much more than they really are. The jump of only 6% seems a bit small actually for an extra $200k in income, but thats America.