Do you feel like you pay too much in taxes right now? Tell that to the Belgians and Germans and see what they say!
Read more: This tool calculates how the Trump tax plan will impact you
Where does the U.S. rank in world taxation rates?
Every year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) looks at the level of tax burden across 35 developed countries throughout Europe, Asia, the Americas and elsewhere in the world.
Surprise, surprise…but America does not top the international list!
Here’s a look the top five most taxed countries this year:
#1: Belgium’s overall tax rate is 54%
#2: Germany’s overall tax rate is 49%
#3: Hungary’s overall tax rate is 48%
#4: France’s overall tax rate is 48%
#5: Italy’s overall tax rate is 47%
America, meanwhile, has a 32% tax rate. That makes it #25 on the list.
On average, a single U.S. worker had gross earnings of $52,543 last year. Out of that, he or she paid $13,649 in payroll taxes, federal income tax and state and local government taxes (where applicable.) Employers then kick in another $4,020 in payroll taxes for that worker.
The OECD measures “personal income taxes and social security contributions paid by employees, social security contributions and payroll taxes paid by employers, and cash benefits received by in-work families,” according to the group’s website.
What it doesn’t account for is sales and value-added taxes, property taxes, and taxes on investment income and gains.
These countries have the lowest overall tax rates
If you want to pay as little tax as possible, you might consider a move to New Zealand where the average tax for a single person is 17.9%.
Or better yet, move to Chile where it’s just a tiny 7%!
Check out Clark’s tax reform plan
Clark has long talked about tax reform in our country.
“What we’re currently doing with tax policy in the United States is broken,” the penny-pincher says. “If I were your emperor, I would clean-sheet the tax code in America and institute a 15-25-0 plan.”
- The first so many dollars of income you earn would be taxed at 15% (or 10%) — the exact number would depend on economists doing math to see which rate would generate enough tax to be neutral with our tax levels today.
- If you are a big income earner, your income will be taxed at 25% after a certain point.
- There would be no corporate tax at all.
- No deductions, no credits, no exemptions, nothing. Just a plain, simple tax.
Why would the consumer champ eliminate all consumer tax?
“Taxing corporations just rewards those that funnel the most money to political parties, thereby funding the corrupt machine that is now Washington,” Clark says. “Besides, whatever corporate tax they pay is passed on to you anyway as a customer. So I want to eliminate it entirely.”
What do YOU think of Clark’s tax plan? Write in and let us know!
Read more: Here’s why you may be getting a tax break
