What follows is a copy/paste from the kind of email I've been getting for years from some of my former coworkers. Long ago I've given up replying back time and time again after fact checking what they send. Ten years on and these same people continue to push the forward button having no idea how ignorant it makes them look. At this point I'll assume they, like many others, are hopelessly lost in their beliefs. Apparently facts mean nothing to these people. If there's a cure for ignorance I haven't found it!
Skip Down To My "Final Thoughts"
I'm not going to waste a full day on this nonsense. What I will do is provide a couple of links that speak otherwise. If anyone has further interests I urge them to follow through on their own because this post would become too large going through them all as if it isn't already.
Taxable income above your Personal Allowance
Basic rate 20% £0 to £31,785
People with the standard Personal Allowance start paying this rate on income over £10,600
Higher rate 40% £31,786 to £150,000
People with the standard Personal Allowance start paying this rate on income over £42,385
Additional rate 45% Over £150,000
Example: You have £35,000 of taxable income and you get the standard Personal Allowance of £10,600. You pay basic rate tax at 20% on £24,400 (£35,000 minus £10,600).
Standard 20% Most goods and services
Reduced rate 5% Some goods and services, eg children’s car seats and home energy
Zero rate 0% Zero-rated goods and services, eg most food and children’s clothes
The standard rate of VAT increased to 20% on 4 January 2011 (from 17.5%).
Some things are exempt from VAT, eg postage stamps, financial and property transactions. The VAT rate businesses charge depends on their goods and services. You can check the rates of VAT on different goods and services HERE
If you follow through with the link above (like I did) I couldn't find any item that was taxed at the 20% rate to consumers
Therefore I find the average schmuck is paying no where close to the 67.5% income tax rate the email claims they do.
FRANCE: Income Tax Rates (2015)- Up to 9,700 Euros 0% It's 45% on those earning over 152,108 euros before deductions. The VAT is similar to the one in the UK. Currently the euro is worth about $1.14 US. For someone earning between 26,971 and 71,826 euros their income tax rate would be 30% before deductions. Combined these would be nowhere near the 59.6% claim in the email for the average wage earner. In fact someone in the middle of that tax bracket would be paying around 25% in France.
DENMARK: Income tax- "Under the Danish tax system, it is possible for a high-wage earner to pay up to 51.5% of their total income after gross tax, giving a total of 57% of total income." Unlike England or France Denmark's 25% VAT is nearly on everything with several reductions limited to only a few things. While the email's 83% may be correct stating the ultimate maximum taxes it misses the mark entirely
A 2014 politifact article says . "According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American fast food worker makes about $9 an hour. Compare that to the $20.70 paid in Denmark. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the average tax burden in Denmark is 38.2 percent, while in America, it is 31.3 percent. So taxes are about a fifth higher. Most people, if given the choice, would accept a 20 percent hike in taxes in exchange for making twice as much."
If even one dare speak of such things in this country they're labeled "socialist" as are those countries. These emails are one way to keep people in line and not speak of such things for fear they will be labeled too. Heaven forbid people should investigate this for themselves.
Heaven forbid the true facts should come out. There sure are a lot of people who think we have something special going above those 400 million others living in 18 Western European nations who have access to such things. Course when people have their heads up their asses there's no way they can see much else beyond the kind of shit they continue to send me in email. Does anyone seriously believe European workers would put up with this? Of course they wouldn't !
We could change things in the incoming elections by electing someone (Bernie Sanders) who wants to bring some of these programs to the United States. However if history is any indicator voters will once again shoot themselves in the foot. Rather then thinking the larger picture or checking these things out, Americans have the tendency to play into the hands of candidates who reach out to shake their hands while reaching into their back pockets.
ADDITIONAL READING MATERIAL FOR CONCERNED VOTERS
The Great Wall Of Trump Would Be the Ultimate Eminent Domain Horror Show
Donald Trump’s Great Wall of eminent domain
FTC accuses Endo of paying rivals to delay release of generic drugs in order to protect its profits
More Than $47,000 for Emergency Transport to a Hospital—Is This Health Care?
Can We Control Healthcare Cost By Utilizing Medicare? (An Argument For National Healthcare)
Bernie Sanders on Healthcare
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