Hacker News Reader

According to Wikipedia, the German and French personal tax rates are in the area of 50%:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_rates_around_the_world

This doesn't include VAT and increased taxes in other areas, so personal income tax might be 50%, but you are actually paying a much higher rate.

You're making numbers up and don't actually know what the aggregate taxes for an average consumer in France, Germany and the US are.

..and you are basing an individuals total tax rate based on income tax alone, which doesn't account for the many other taxes that someone has to pay.

I suppose if you made money, didn't live in a house, and didn't spend your money in any way, your tax rate would be 50% in France. This just isn't the case for the average consumer.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com