Heavily Taxed Norway, Has $1t Fund

[Benton]

(09-19-2017, 04:54 PM)michaelsean Wrote: So seriously you would be happy paying upwards of 70% of your income in taxes?

Depends on quality of life and ability to do business.

Right now, 35% of Americans pay virtually no taxes. No income tax, they have some form of assistance that's most likely paying any type of property or sales tax. So, when you bring in folks who pay income taxes, you've got (across the board) a rate of somewhere around 15%. Tack on sales taxes, property taxes, etc, and you're talking about an average that's probably closer to 25%. That's a rough guess, and if anyone can do better, go for it.

So, with an average total tax (everything from income to cigarettes) of about 25%, we have massive debt, unsafe infrastructure, low education numbers, poor health standards, high unemployment and increasing dissatisfaction with just about everything. Very few people are making a whole lot of money off the current system, which isn't working for anyone else.

I'm not in favor of 70% of your income going to taxes. On the other hand, I'm not in favor of 25% of my income going to taxes and it resulting in a steady decline. It also negatively impacts my ability to make that other 75% of the income, as a crappy and unhappy economy isn't good for any business.