Thread: The United States is a Low Tax Country

We are one of the lowest tax developed nations on the planet. Here's a more thorough look at our tax situation than offered elsewhere on this forum:

Since that last post had a large graphic, let me continue on a second post.

Our taxes are lower than during Reagan. They’re lower today than they’ve been in 60 years. And they’re lower than they are in most developed countries.

The reason we have deficit problem is largely due to tax rates that are too low.

If you have data that proves otherwise, let's see it. But data that merely shows that the rich pay more than the rest of us in America doesn't prove anything except that the rich are really rich and the rest of us aren't. In nations with more equal distribution of income, their tax burdens are also more equal.

One reason I dont take the tea party seriously

Indeed.
In addition large parts of the national income are dangled up in rather unproductive oversized sectors.
Healthcare was consuming almost 50% more than in the rest of the OECD . The financial services are everywhere and the houseing market also destroyed alot of income.

Underfunding and inefficiant structures.

Chart 1.
In 1950 the top rate was 84% and yet 14.4% of gdp was collected. Today it's 35% and 14.8% of GDP was collected as taxes. A top tax rate more then twice the current one and it collected a slightly lower percentage of GDP.

Chart 2.
26.9% of 13 trillion dollars (U.S) is much more revenue then 49.3% of 300 billion dollars (denmark)or 39.5% of 2.7trilion (U.K.). Isn't there supposed to be a discount when you buy in higher volume?

Chart 3.
The top rate today 140% of the 1930 rate. In 1930 when the top rate was 25% the total revenue collected was 14.7% of GDP. Lower top rate yet virtually identical % of revenue.

Chart 4.
Capital gains in 1933 was 12.5%. Current short term rate is 35%, long term rate is 15%. Tax revenues in 1933 were 19% of gdp. This shows a correlation where more tax revenue would be collected with a lower tax rate.


Graph 10 shows how loopholes and deductions have "doubled" since 1982 and that is simply untrue. As the GDP today is twice that of 1982 the deductions and loopholes are virtually identical compared as a percent of GDP.

Commie/pinkos see 90% tax rate and they almost cum in their drawers. They blame the fall of the Soviet empire on the USA and Ronald Reagan. They know that the easiest way to get revenge is to tax the US Citizens to death. They are fascist and totalitarian. They want everyone to be slaves of the government.

I wonder, if it were proved without doubt that lower taxes resulted in a stronger economy and more jobs, would you still want higher taxes just as a matter of principal?

Overall the US is rather a low-revenue country than a low tax country.
It's not helpful to the discussion to portrait the picture of fundamental differences in taxation without looking at it in a more sophisticated way.

About Graph Nr.2:
I find that graph abit misleading, when you talk about taxation.
The graph shows "govenment revenue" rather than "tax revenue".

Most OECD Members have a so called Social Market Economy in which laws and regulations enforce a market enviroment that is beneficial for the national economy.
Typical for those economies is the supply of basic services (like healthcare, welfare, housing,...) to all citizens. Those Services are usally financed through social insurances, which are in many cases not tax funded.

To my knowledge the US is unique in not doing those things in an organized and universal fashion.

So, when you want to compare tax revenue as a share of GDP you have to look at it abit more differentiated.

For example in 2008:
In Germany government revenue as a share of GDP was 39%.
(if you believe the Heritage Foundation, it was 40.5%)
Of those 39% of GDP "government" Revenue, 19% were in form of social insurance contributions and 20% was tax revenue.

The United States had a total government revenue of 24% of GDP (Heritage Foundation 27%). To my knowledge this is all tax funded. If you exclude Social Security taxes that leaves the US with a tax burden of 17.5% of GDP (HF: 19.8%).

SIDENOTE:
How come US statistics just show Federal Revenue & Statistics.
The German Numbers show Federal, State and Local Government + Social Insurances...

[EDIT]
According to this site US Government Revenue in 2008 was 32.5% of GDP while spending was at 36.9% of GDP.

Originally Posted by CharlesDavenport

I wonder, if it were proved without doubt that lower taxes resulted in a stronger economy and more jobs, would you still want higher taxes just as a matter of principal?

I wonder, if it was proved without doubt that lower taxes resulted in huge deficits, a weaker economy and less jobs, would you still want lower taxes just as a matter of principal?

I wonder, if it were ever proven that spending more than you take in creates deficits, would people still take the simplistic approach of blaming either taxes or spending exclusively as a matter of principle?