Weekend Question 1: How Miserable Does the Tax Man Make You?

Answer: It of course depends on where you live, and how well off you are.

Forbes has a well-done chart of “tax misery” for well-to-do in most major countries in the world. It also notes the changes for the better or worse from last year to this year (click on the image for a larger version and to see the full Forbes article; if/when Forbes puts that image behind its subscription wall, go here instead to see the full image):

Some thoughts:

• Not surprisingly, France is worst, but what is surprising is that it’s still the worst even after its misery level came down 8 points in 2006. Just imagine how tax-miserable well-to-do French were in 2005.
• China being second-worst surprised me, especially with its posturing as attempting to meld capitalism and communism (good luck).
• Germany’s misery went up over 13 points this year, thanks to that country’s equivalent of a RINO (Republican In Name Only), supposed conservative Angela Merkel. This does not bode well for Deutschland specifically, or the EU economy overall.
• How about that 21-point difference between USA-Texas (94.6) and USA-New York (115.7)? That level of difference explains a lot of the Blue State to Red State migration we’re seeing among upwardly mobile people.
• Many of the other countries that are the most miserable are the usual EU suspects, but there are exceptions, like Ireland and the Baltic States, which not surprisingly have the economies that are in the best shape in the EU.

Fine. How miserable is it for the average person in various countries? Let’s look at another Forbes chart; it’s a little older, based on 2003 and 2004 data, but recent enough to be relevant (it is split into two for space reasons here; click on image for a larger version and to see the full Forbes article; if/when Forbes puts that image behind its subscription wall, go here instead to see the full image):

What’s interesting, and pretty obvious, is that the countries with the highest tax rates as a percentage of GDP are the ones limping along at 1.5% - 2% annual growth, while the ones with lower overall rates are countries zipping right along at 4%-plus (with the annoying exception of Mexico, whose economy is distorted, and probably hampered, by the illegal drugs trade and remittances from abroad). Why am I not surprised?