the most taxed nations on earth

[Penguin]

This statistic is bull - at least if you refer to the headline: "The Most Heavily Taxed Countries In The World"
as they state themself:

"These taxes may not include local taxes, municipal taxes, city taxes, or VAT. They are, as stated, statutory income tax rates."

so no real comparision is possible.
for example: the income tax I have to pay every month is only 30% of the whole sum which goes off my income. The german bureaucracy has two words for taxes: one is Steuern(taxes) - the other is Abgaben (dues, charges), both are compulsary. So you don't call it taxes, but it leaves the same hole in your pocket.

On the other hand it's also what you get for your money. In the nordic countries you have high income taxes and high VAT, but not many other taxes - you don't have to pay medical insurance or pensions extra, like we do. So while it first looks like the Swedes or Danes pay much more like we do, in the end we pay the same - but the Scandinavian taxpayer gets more benefits back from the state than us Krauts.

@tyrant: you don't pay sales tax on an income - only when you spend it - and then only if you spend it for domestic goods that have no VAT exceptions

[nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by Penguin

This statistic is bull - at least if you refer to the headline: "The Most Heavily Taxed Countries In The World"
as they state themself:
so no real comparision is possible.
for example: the income tax I have to pay every month is only 30% of the whole sum which goes off my income. The german bureaucracy has two words for taxes: one is Steuern(taxes) - the other is Abgaben (dues, charges), both are compulsary. So you don't call it taxes, but it leaves the same hole in your pocket.

On the other hand it's also what you get for your money. In the nordic countries you have high income taxes and high VAT, but not many other taxes - you don't have to pay medical insurance or pensions extra, like we do. So while it first looks like the Swedes or Danes pay much more like we do, in the end we pay the same - but the Scandinavian taxpayer gets more benefits back from the state than us Krauts.

@tyrant: you don't pay sales tax on an income - only when you spend it - and then only if you spend it for domestic goods that have no VAT exceptions

I think ore-gone plays the same game? We don't have "taxes", we do have plenty of fees!

[tater]

Below a certain income it is pretty safe to assume virtually all money is spent, so adding in sales/VAT taxes seems reasonable.

tyrant, 100 grand in Canada puts them in the top 5%—RICH, not middle class (caveat: the canadian stats page I found said that 89 grand put you in the top 5%, but the data was 2004).



That's the trick. Pols say "tax the rich!" and the people hearing it think, "yeah, tax those rich bastards, not the middle class like me!" They don't realize THEY are rich to the pols.

[Happy Times]

Originally Posted by Penguin

On the other hand it's also what you get for your money. In the nordic countries you have high income taxes and high VAT, but not many other taxes - you don't have to pay medical insurance or pensions extra, like we do. So while it first looks like the Swedes or Danes pay much more like we do, in the end we pay the same - but the Scandinavian taxpayer gets more benefits back from the state than us Krauts.

What a middle income earning Finn pays from his every paycheck automatically.

29% divided as follows.

54% Communal income tax
21% State income tax
14% Pension fee
4% Church tax (Yes they have the right to tax you if you belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland.)
7% Unemployment fee and medical insurance fee.

After this comes the high VAT, gas tax, energy tax, car tax, property tax etc...

[nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by Happy Times

What a middle income earning Finn pays from his every paycheck automatically.

29% divided as follows.

54% Communal income tax
21% State income tax
14% Pension fee
4% Church tax (Yes they have the right to tax you if you belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland.)
7% Unemployment fee and medical insurance fee.

After this comes the high VAT, gas tax, energy tax, car tax, property tax etc...

interesting. Church tax wtf?
http://www.taxrates.cc/html/finland-tax-rates.html

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by Happy Times

What a middle income earning Finn pays from his every paycheck automatically.

29% divided as follows.

54% Communal income tax
21% State income tax
14% Pension fee
4% Church tax (Yes they have the right to tax you if you belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland.)
7% Unemployment fee and medical insurance fee.

After this comes the high VAT, gas tax, energy tax, car tax, property tax etc...

interesting ., didn't know about the finnish system, I only know the swedish and a littlwe about the danish one. Though I assume that the income tax and VAT goes also towards pensions, medical and unemployment, otherwise I couldn't explain the huge difference to Germany in these areas.

Here it's about:

37% in total, divided into (may not add up to 100 for rounding reasons):

37% income tax (federal + communal)
2% "Solidarity surcharge" (for East Germany - yes, still 20 years after the reunification )
3.7% church charge
22.5% medical insurance
38% pension insurance
4% unemployment fee
3.5% fostering fee (for old people's care - not included in the medical)

VAT is 19% on most goods, 7% for some stuff, like groceries, train tickets or books

in the end we pay as much as the Finns, but get as much as the Americans - somehow in the worst of both (tax) worlds...