Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

On the contrary! The overall tax burden of many European may be lower than that of the US when you compare like for like. That is, the cost of all taxes in Europe and the cost of all taxes and the fees paid for equivalent services in the US.

For most people, that's taxes in Europe vs taxes + health insurance premiums in the US.

Even if the combined totals are equivalent or higher in Europe, government-provided healthcare provides cost predictability that doesn't exist in the US. One year I might pay a much lower amount in the US, while the next year a single medical procedure could easily double my expenses.



That might be true for a lot of people, but not for wealthy people.


Also, lots of us taxes are hiding in plain sight as "mandatory services". "Gated Community" is basically a different version of social transfer tax. Health system is another huge "mandatory tax". Enormous debts to complete education, whos equivalent you can get for free in europe. If you sum it all honestly up, the us is a pretty bad deal.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: