That's only true if you take into account VAT as well though. But you're right, the big taxation items in Europe are not the income tax, but the "social tax" a

That's only true if you take into account VAT as well though. But you're right, the big taxation items in Europe are not the income tax, but the "social tax" and VAT. The first is added as a payroll tax (>30% in some places) and the second is basically a sales tax on every purchase (>20%). These two tax items alone add up to a crazy percentage of your income.