U.S. Taxes Compared to Other Countries

Taxes Around the World

Many of us Americans complain about the high taxes we have to pay to the government.  But how bad off are we really compared to the rest of the world?  I did some research and found out things are not too bad here in the U.S.  People in Belgium pay between 25-50% to income taxes.  Japan imposes income taxes up to 50%, Netherlands charges up to 52%, but that’s still not the worst.  The highest personal income tax charged comes to 59% in the great country of Denmark. Wow, that is just crazy!

One thing that is found in common among most developed countries is the percentage of taxes paid by the wealthy.  In a recent study, it was found that the top 10% of income earners in the U.S. pay over 70% of the taxes.  At the same time, the bottom 50% of taxpayers pay only 2.89% of all income taxes.  This being said, many of the wealthy get around paying taxes.  Many people call this the Robin Hood routine where the government “steals” from the rich to feed the poor.

Although this may seem disproportionate for the high income earners, there doesn’t seem to be a better way to do thing, especially in times like the current recession.  There is simply no other place to get money from.  So, what is the moral of the story?  As a whole, U.S. taxes are not too bad, be prepared to pay more taxes if you make more money and make sure you’re informed on the best way to handle your income taxes no matter what tax bracket you’re in.