When counting your tax in the US add in your health insurance cost to compare to most of Europe.
Or if it's parts of Europe like Portugal where there is health insurance check the cost - looks like 14 euros to 90 euros a month:
Or if it's parts of Europe like Portugal where there is health insurance check the cost - looks like 14 euros to 90 euros a month:
Straight up if you actually do the math and count every tax paid directly a d indirectly someone making minimum wage has a effective tax rate above 60%
But you're right, the big taxation items in Europe are not the income tax, but the "social tax" and VAT. The first is added as a payroll tax (>30% in some places) and the second is basically a sales tax on every purchase (>20%). These two tax items alone add up to a crazy percentage of your income.
(Which is why wages haven’t grown that much while total compensation has grown much more)