In NYC, earning about $100k a year, the effective rate is ~28% tax (ie, you pay $28k tax a year), including federal (~15%) and state (~5%), social security etc.
In the UK, for £100k, it looks like it’s 27.4%.
So very similar levels.
So you pay zero on the first £12,570 of earnings. Basic rate of 20% from £12,571 to £50,270 of earnings. And then 40% on £50,271 onwards.
(We have additional rate over £150,000 of 45%).
It's important to remember you don't pay a flat %age on your income. It's worked out as a precentage of income you earn inside the thresholds
You also forget a major part of tax levied on workers but not on owners - national insurance.
That doesn't include VAT (or whatever it's called in America), tariffs, excise duties though, does it? It'd be curious to see a comparison between countries that would cover all those things (like how much you earn, and how much you actually pay for some average set of goods).