Thursday, June 03, 2004

Freedom is for suckers?

Eamonn Butler in the Wall Street Journal Europe (link requires registration and fee) compares "Tax Freedom Day" in the UK, the Eurozone and the US. Tax Freedom Day is the day when you have finished working enough to pay your taxes. It is derived by measuring the total tax take of the country by its total income to derive a percentage, then translating that percentage to a day of the year. If the government takes 25% of the total national income in taxes, then Tax Freedom Day is around April 1 or 2 -- 90-91 days into the year.

In the US, Tax Freedom Day was April 11, the earliest Tax Freedom Day since 1967; in the UK it was May 28. In the Eurozone it is around June 28. In Sweden, July 29.

What's the point? The US predicted 2004 growth rate is 4.5%; the UK rate is 3.0%; the Eurozone = 1.7%. Notice anything? Indeed, the fastest growing economies of Europe (Ireland, parts of Eastern Europe) are the ones with the lowest and simplest tax rates. Remember this when you hear Europeans criticizing America for not taking care of its people: (1) the US growth rate far outstrips that of Europe, thereby providing numerous opportunities for Americans; (2) that growth rate is reflected in US per capita income ($35,400) -- compare that to the UK ($25,510), Sweden ($25,970) France and Germany ($22,240 and 22,740) [stats taken from World Bank 2002 data]. Seems like Churchill is right: socialism is characterized by equal sharing of misery.

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