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by bwb5 hours ago |
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upvoteby fngjdflmdflg4 hours ago|
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>[Taxes] are already some of the highest as a percentage of GDP in the world.

Is this the right metric: "Tax revenue (% of GDP)"?[0]

If so, France ranks 28 at 23.1% of GDP. The highest non-island developed country is Denmark at 31.4%. Denmark's GDP per capita is 1.5x France. New Zeland's GDP per capita is similar to France and their GDP to tax rate is 29.6% which is the fifth highest. Does New Zeland face similar problems as France? I think I agree with your implication that simply increasing the tax to GDP ratio is not a magic bullet.

In general, the data here is really interesting. Germany and the US have a pretty similar value, both averaging at about 11% in recent years. I would have assumed that Germany would have a higher rate. I wonder if this data is misleading somehow or if my assumptions were just wrong here. I guess one variable missing here is government debt, which is not a tax but is still used to pay for government expenses.

[0] Global: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS?most_...

France over time: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS?most_...

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upvoteby vladvasiliu4 hours ago|
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I'm not familiar with the situation of New Zealand with respect to Australia (its neighbours). But the problem in the EU, is that there are a few countries (Ireland and the Netherlands inside the Union, and Switzerland which is right next door and enjoys many advantages and no constraints) which charge way less tax than the "central" EU countries. So companies have a tendency to set up their HQs in those countries.

I'm not one to cheer for absurd taxation (which is a French specialty), but I understand why this setup does ruffle some feathers in France.

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upvoteby nwellnhof1 hours ago|
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The 11% number for Germany (and probably the whole table) is completely wrong. I guess it only shows federal taxes which are about 40% of all taxes including state and municipal taxes. So total taxes are roughly 24% of German GDP.
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upvoteby concinds1 hours ago|
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The correct number is 48%, not 23%. I doubt even the US is that low.
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