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> I'm not sure where this misconception comes from that the upper class of the US would be more highly taxed elsewhere In the relevant comparison cases, this d

> I'm not sure where this misconception comes from that the upper class of the US would be more highly taxed elsewhere In the relevant comparison cases, this does not appear to be a misconception. I am not an expert in global taxation, and with the caveat that tax rates have many complications ... some quick research suggests the following: A top-bracket earner from Texas would have a higher tax rate in 55 other countries, e.g. Aruba, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, DR Congo, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Morocco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Zimbabwe. (I skipped some) A top-bracket earner from California would have a higher tax rate in 11 other countries: Aruba, Austria, Belgium, Canada (the parts where people live), Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Japan, Portugal, Spain. (You might argue that "upper class" does not include "earners", which would be a good way to be technically correct but would miss the point.) Additionally, the capital gains rate is higher in 24 other countries, including most of the obvious ones. And the top corporate tax rate is higher in 133 other countries.

bpt3 1y ago
Yes, most people are thinking about individuals in high income tax states because that's where most high earners live (CA, NY, MD, CT, NJ all come to mind immediately). So we'll go with your CA example given the site we're on. Only 11 countries have a higher tax rate, and how much higher is it for them vs. how much higher it would be for the median income household in the state? Also, that CA resident has to pay a 13.3% state capital gains tax, pushing it over 30% (in the best case) in total for high earners, which is higher that the vast majority of developed nations. Corporate income taxes are a separate beast to some extend, but until recently the US had the second highest rate in the world.

bpt3 1y ago

Yes, most people are thinking about individuals in high income tax states because that's where most high earners live (CA, NY, MD, CT, NJ all come to mind immediately). So we'll go with your CA example given the site we're on. Only 11 countries have a higher tax rate, and how much higher is it for them vs. how much higher it would be for the median income household in the state? Also, that CA resident has to pay a 13.3% state capital gains tax, pushing it over 30% (in the best case) in total for high earners, which is higher that the vast majority of developed nations. Corporate income taxes are a separate beast to some extend, but until recently the US had the second highest rate in the world.