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Both are progressive. Europe just has a lot of different taxes. Denmark has Income tax of 8%. Then they have local tax, which is average of 24%, then they have health care tax of 8%, state tax from 6-16% up to 57% total income tax.
they are progressive but there are degrees. In America the difference between the top rate and middle rate is greater then the difference in European tax rates.
Now these are the rates not what is actually paid. My totally off the top of my head guess is in Europe there are no or less loopholes to avoid the top rates as there are here in the U.S..
I am just saying it's a play of words. It is clearer to call it for what it is: a consumption tax.
Fine, just as long as everyone understands that lower- and middle-income earners pay a higher percentage of their income on a consumption tax than do higher income earners.
If everyone is clear on that, call it whatever you want.
Europe is going through a transformation. Leftists of Europe hate Europe for what it is. So be careful when you say you want to be like today's Europe.
thanks Golimar, interesting but really no different than many of our Liberals. They (Liberals) want to feel good about helping someone for the moment but don't consider the long term impacts to everyone else and the impacts on the future of the country.
Fine, just as long as everyone understands that lower- and middle-income earners pay a higher percentage of their income on a consumption tax than do higher income earners.
If everyone is clear on that, call it whatever you want.
But the richest still pay a higher tax rate in European countries than in the US, especially when considering that they are not as rich as the richest Americans to begin with. The top 0.1% of Americans are far richer than the top 0.1% in Europe and also pay a lower rate on that income in general. That's why they dont pay their fair share.
If the cap on income subject to payroll tax (the cap is highly regressive) was lifted like in Europe, get tough on corporations using their tax havens and evade their taxes, and introduce a Wall Street speculation tax so that the culprits of the economic crash can start paying up, and all of this revenue was used for the needs of the American people, in education, a better health care system and a more secure existence for the veterans, the disabled and for the elderly who have worked their whole life, I think very few people would object to also pay somewhat more to fund a national health care system and no longer have to worry about going bankrupt because of cancer treatment. What is not acceptable is to ask the most vulnerable people to start paying more when they are struggling far more than the lower and middle in Europe who dont have to worry about health care costs, education costs or retirement or losing their job because of a dying parent or giving birth to a disabled child.
I'd still like to know what rights Olaf Q. Norwegian has been deprived of?
He's much less likely to be in jail, and the risk of him being shot by law enforcement is certainly way lower than it is in the US. He can say out loud, any day of the week, that the government consists of idiots and that the King should be deposed. He has a multitude of parties competing for his vote. He lives in a country that's remarkably less corrupt than the US. He can start his own business, if that's his hankering. He can hike and camp on any land that isn't cultivated.
I'm not so sure what's so horrible? Granted, it's colder than f.ck and the winters are roughly 17 months long.
But the richest still pay a higher tax rate in European countries than in the US, especially when considering that they are not as rich as the richest Americans to begin with.
Only if income tax were compared. When European countries' VAT taxes and other regressive taxes are included, that's not true.
Only if income tax were compared. When European countries' VAT taxes and other regressive taxes are included, that's not true.
A higher sales tax just means an overall higher tax revenue from the rich when added to the revenue from the higher income tax and payroll tax the rich are subject to. Only if the high sales tax was offset with regressive income and payroll tax, like a low and flat income tax and a cap on taxable income would what you say be true.
Besides, it is not really relevant to simply compare tax rates without taking into consideration the much higher potential for tax revenue at the top 0.1% in America than in Europe because of the skewed income distribution in America.
A higher sales tax just means an overall higher tax revenue from the rich when added to the revenue from the higher income tax and payroll tax the rich are subject to.
Wrong. I already posted a link to a detailed analysis on consumption taxes and their impact on overall tax liabilities:
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