In any comparison of living standards, income and taxes between nations the distribution of income is a critical factor. In this regard the average values are useless. The median is a somewhat more useful number, but even that is inadequate. Per capita figures are completely useless for this purpose (not for all purposes of course). The article states that GDP per capita in the US is 47,440. That's impressive. How is it distributed however. I would be much more interested in the distribution of income than in the per capita output. Income distribution in the US is very much skewed, whereas in some other countries it is much less so. To illustrate, suppose in a country of 100 million, one person in a hundred makes a million a year, and 1 in a thousand makes 20 million per year. All the rest make $10,111 per year. The per capita (or average per person) income in that country is $40,000, yet there are 98.9 million people living on 10K per year. Another important number is balance of payments. This speaks to economic sustainability. The personal and corporate savings rates are important as is the Debt to GDP ratio. The crime rate is important as is the literacy rate and mean level of education. The total tax burden including the inflation tax is the only tax number that matters, and that figure must be viewed in comparison with the level of entitlements received. The article is devoid of meaningful information that would allow someone to make an apt comparison between the United States and other countries. It is a useless article.
nah dont be sorry lot of people ty to no avail just like you . you have nothing to feel ashamed about. its like god said yeah i talk to him to . he said yeah trader666 is a moron his heart is in it but his intellict isnt ... hes cool fun but his reality skills common sense logic arnt ...around yet.. in the meantime enjoy family guy a talking baby is more amusing
This picture is misleading. Healthcare taxes are not included. Offshore evading is not included. Corporate tax in the US is high, but then why did GS pay less than 2% in corporate tax in 2008? I mean, the USA bails out the banks, but the banks barely pay USA corporate taxes, because they have these neat offshore constructs.
No matter how one looks at it, there's no rational argument that can be made for the U.S. being anywhere near the top of the list of highest taxed nations. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_rates_around_the_world#Graphs http://www.forbes.com/global/2006/0522/032a.html
On that i must agree. On the other hand, however, The US may be near the bottom of the list of value received for taxes paid.