1. 25% Corporate
Income Tax
2. Dividend is paid, corp coughs up 5% more in dividend withholding tax
3. Individual receiving the dividend pays progressive Personal Income Tax, usually 20% effective rate
4. Individual spends the earnings on goods and services, paying VAT, usually at 20% effective rate
70% Is gone!
I do not disagree that EU is high-taxed and overregulated... However your numbers do not make sense, you cannot just add these percentages up. They are percentages of different amounts. In your example let's say company profits 1000 and decides to pay out everything through dividend. First corporate tax really is 25%, then withholding divi tax would be 0,05*0,75=3,75% from the initial amount, personal income would be 0,2*0,7125=14,25% from the initial amount, VAT would be 0,57*0,2=11,4% of the initial amount. So the total tax burden in your example is 54,4% (which actually matches some Western European countries very closely). For most people this amount can be deducted by some fixed amount/discount.
You have the money in a "shitoles" country..... Stress, gangsters, corruptions, instability etc.... 50% and more taxes is scam but 30% (with the dividend system9 probably is still fair for all the benefits (
safe place, Western EU, buy properties, live stress free as it is no hidden money ec)
I wonder what is more "risky" these days. Living in France, paying 60% tax, going on a strike occasionally and pretending the world is fine? Or deciding to get out and choosing another country to live in?
You mention "stress", isn't that what is necessary in live? So many people choose to live a stress-free life and end up in some corporation doing some bulls**t like selling insurance. You need some stress in your life, and I even think that living in an "instable" country can open eyes to you. I'm not saying you should move to Tajikistan and spend rest of your life there but getting out of your nice and comfy country can really be eye opening. Do you know how many Americans never even travelled outside the US?
seems like you don't realize the whole picture - there is no country in EU where the state takes less than 50% from your business profit (corporate tax +
dividends tax + VAT on consumption) + many other more hidden taxes (fuel, properties, alcohol, ...)
on average I'd say it's like 70% effective taxation (much more in ridiculous countries like France for example)
Effective taxation is not 70%, even in Denmark, France or Sweden it is more like 50-55%. Yes, it is ridiculously high but not that high. Remember the Laffer curve, if you increase taxes too high, people will tell you to f**k off. I think there are some low-tax countries (Andorra,
Monaco, actually even Switzerland is relatively low-tax). I admit it's true that low-tax countries often have hidden fees which you only notice after you actually live there.
this money is involuntarily taken from you, used for financing stuff you wouldn't ever buy or support and in return you're given something insanely overpriced what you mostly don't need and paying these thing for those who can't afford it (the magic words are "solidarity" and "equality") you're living in an ilusion of stability, order and safety that works only because there is a state monopoly for violence and printing valueless papers called money
not everyone can leave but if you can just run as soon as possible because soon they will not let you go for free
This is how it worked for the past at least 5000 years, someone has rule over a territory (pharaoh, king, nobleman, a "democracy") and uses repressive forces to enforce his interests. Only in the past it was more honest (a sheriff/reeve came to your house and took some
gold coins), now it is more
unostentatious (inflation, insurance, sector tax, solidarity tax, currency interventions, subsidies, wealth transfer tax, inheritance tax) so people don't realize it. I don't know any good solution or substitution for this system. I guess a country/national state is still better than tribes and lords fighting with each other...
However, a change may be coming (just look at
Bitcoin and other stuff), yet there are people believing in the fairness and rightness of the system and these will be most threatened (there is a "social contract between state and citizen", "state will take care of you", "state will protect you", "you will have retirement", "we will protect you from your idiocy").
Actually it's exciting that today you really can leave and go elsewhere because in 99% of the history you didn't have such options or they were very limited.
it's all about life balance and personal comfort
they are at the bottom of the world safety rating. no one likes paying taxes but sacrifice life and health for the sake of 20% is not the best solution
I find it ridiculous that people have these opinions about other countries (be it Panama, Belize, Brazil, Georgia) based on a rumour or a Wikipedia statistics. If you behave like a retard, you can get into trouble in Sweden as easily as in Panama. Why exactly would it be an unsafe country? Nothing is about "comfort" or "life balance", these are meaningless middle-class buzzwords. You shouldn't expect to just live in comfort and that's it. Yes, it is possible but will that be a life worth living?
