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Comment by nnnmnten | Hacker News Reader

Here in Denmark the highest tax bracket applies to almost 10% of the Danish population. The Top 1%, Top 0.01% and billionaires are not taxed more than the Top 10%.

I belong to the Top 10% and I'm fine with that.

Why do Americans focus so much on the "ultra-rich" and the billionaires when you can build a successful welfare state by just taxing the Top 10% a little more?

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> Here in Denmark the highest tax bracket applies to almost 10% of the Danish population. The Top 1%, Top 0.01% and billionaires are not taxed more than the Top 10%.

Because in America, the top 0.01% makes their wealth through investment income, which is taxed at a lower rate. So, the top 0.1% pay a considerably lower rate than the balance of the top 1%.

It could be because income inequality is much higher in the US.

Its because those that control the majority of the money also control the majority of the power. Us plebs don't have the power to fix the tax code. The US tax code is a mess and its very unbalanced, where the folks in the upper middle pay all of the taxes with the outliers on either side paying very little (on a percentage basis).

I know a few folks in the top percentiles that feel like they pay the same number of dollars or more than everyone else - they see this as fair. They seem to miss the fact that they get to keep a larger percentage of their money every year. If you get to keep more of your money every year than everyone else then its easier to build your wealth at the expense of everyone else.

In America the top 1% control about 40% of the money, with most of that, as this article shows going to the wealthiest. In Denmark its roughly 20% of the money to the top 1% - the lowest inequality of any of the OECD nations. At the same time we have political movements dedicated to wrecking our social safety nets in an attempt to get us back to "The Jungle" style nastiness - often funded by that same fraction of a percent at the top.

So, some bitterness there. :D

Or, more simply, your country doesn't have anywhere near the same systemic and cultural issues the US does currently.

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