Gone4Good
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2005
- Messages
- 5,381
davew894 said:You need to include taxes your employers pays on your behalf... another 7.65%, as this money would go to you if your employer didn't have to pay the feds or this money would be returned in the form of lower prices overall. Also be sure to include property taxes, gas taxes, landline and cellphone telephone taxes, electricity taxes, alcohol taxes, toll road expenses, vehicle registration taxes, homeowners insurance surcharges and taxes, water and sewer taxes, cable TV taxes and the like. Health insurance premiums really should be included as well if you are comparing the US tax burden to another industralized country. You should also consider the expenses you incur in the production of income that are not deductible. Anyone with a job has them. It's an expense that wouldn't be there if you weren't working (ie - a second car, lunches out, dry cleaning, extra haircuts, etc)... making it essentially function as a de facto tax. The rate is 50-60% for most.
Dude, most of this stuff is trivial in the US . . . certainly not enough to drive the 18% rate I calculated to 60%. Do you really think the average family pays $20K on miscellaneous charges like vehicle registration taxes? Do you really think any of this stuff is lower overseas with an 18%+ VAT and gasoline taxes that push the cost of petrol to something like $5 per liter?
And as far as the 50% of FICA and health insurance that companies pay, you can just as easily look at that as income.
Do people overseas not have expenses incurred in the production of income?
I know you are trying to make your point but you are really stretching with a lot of this stuff.