Mauricio Giovagnini wrote:

>> From
>> http://www.greaterzuricharea.ch/content/05/downloads/oecd_tax_revenue200=
3.pdf
>> (tax revenue as percentage of GDP, in 2003):
>>
>> USA 25%
>> NZ 35%
>> UK 35%
>> Germany 36%
>> Sweden 51%

> Michael Schumacher, the 7 times F1 world champion earned about 50
> millions per year in the last 5 years.  35 only is his "annual income as
> a pilot" , the rest comes from publicity and other contracts. =

> =

> He decided to move to Sweden because he said that German taxes were
> really a lot, so we should analyze what is this 36% to 51% being
> considered. =


Without considering the doubt about what exactly is included in those
numbers and assuming that they contain all local, state, federal, health,
... in short everything that's collected by any government in the country,
there's always the thing that they are average numbers, not individual
numbers.

For example, a typical self-employed (sole proprietor) in the USA pays more
taxes than her equivalent in Germany ("Selbst=E4ndige"). This is due to the
fact that a US sole proprietor is required to pay social security, whereas
the German Selbst=E4ndige is allowed to handle this part as she pleases --
pay into the government system, use a private insurance, pile up huge
savings, do nothing at all... This more than offsets the lower income tax
in the USA for most.

Gerhard

-- =

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