Re: Weasels vs. transparancy / traffic cameras

From: Rob Sweeney (rjs@rsie.com)
Date: Mon May 22 2000 - 12:10:55 MDT


* Michael S. Lorrey <mike@datamann.com> [000522 13:30]:
> Charlie Stross wrote:
> > Well, speaking as a non-accountant, I'm in the top income tax bracket --
> > paying 40% on taxable income about 28K (pounds, not dollars). I don't have
> > any recent figures to hand, but the last ones I saw suggested that the
> > gross proportion of income we pay in tax here is about 39%, compared with
> > 38% in the USA and >40% anywhere else in the EU. (Sweden, with the highest
> > rate, was around 55%.)
> &28,000 equals, at a current exchange rate of 1 to 1.48, an income of $41,440.00.
> Assuming you are single, you have an initial deduction of $5700.00. Thus your taxable
> income is $35,740.00. With no other deductions or writoffs, your tax would be the
> following: [...]

One thing that's different (I believe) between the US taxation system and
that in the UK is the state (and in some places local) tax component we
have. Here in lovely NYC - about the most taxed place in the US - we
pay an additional 10% above the Federal rate in combined state and local
income taxes - plus a host of other taxes (among the highest local
sales tax rates in the nation, for example). This brings the tax burden
on many Americans up to - and in some cases beyond - European levels.

Most European jurisdictions don't seem to have the notion of multiple levels
of government - often with overlapping functions - that we have in the US -
local, county, state, federal, all with taxation authority.
/rs



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