In Germany we have "cold progression", so stacking tax brackets. If you earn 35.000€ it's something like (random numbers): 0-9000€ [0%] -> 0€ 9000-20.000€ [10

In Germany we have "cold progression", so stacking tax brackets. If you earn 35.000€ it's something like (random numbers): 0-9000€ [0%] -> 0€ 9000-20.000€ [10%] -> 1100€ 20.000-40.000€ [15%] -> 3000€ Total = 4400€ So if you're in the 15% bracket you pay 4400€ which is actually 12.5% in total, and not 5250€ (15%) as some people seem to believe.