Are people in the united states being taxed to death like the
british tax payer,yet recieving a severe lack in services!
To put it bluntly being completely ripped off!
2007-02-27 21:37:53 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United Kingdom
I think it's only the UK, that gets ripped off.
2007-02-27 21:40:48 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Americans pay less in tax - much less - but you do have to factor in the cost of health insurance. My wife and I are at the top of the 15% band, so we are able to live quite comfortably. Social Security and Medicare (= NIC) takes another 7.65%. However, the big thing in the USA compared to the UK is the large amount of deductions you can take against your tax. It has been years since the UK allowed any mortgage interest relief. It has never allowed a deduction for Council Tax, unless you run a business from home. In the USA we get a deduction for property taxes. We also get a deduction on our federal return for income taxes paid to the state. So, with all that, although my marginal rate of tax is almost in the 25% band, I pay only 8% of my income in income tax.
The other advantage Americans have is in sales tax. VAT is still 17.5% I believe. Many states charge between 6 and 7% Sales Tax, although a few charge more. Alaska has no sales or income tax. Essential services such as gas, water and electricity are usuallytaxed at a lower rate, if at all. Some states do charge tax on groceries though. Here in NC it is 2%.
Now all the figures sound great, but the reality is that life in America can be fragile. If you do not have health insurance you must rely on charity care. If you do have health insurance and have a long illness, sometimes it caps out and you can end up bankrupt. Medicare is a poor substitute in retirement. If you can afford it, gap plans are available.
Prices on many goods are lower in the USA than in the UK and if you opt out of keeping up with the Joneses you can live quite comfortably on very little. See the tax rate table linked below for an idea of how heavily incomes get taxed. Tax on petrol is low here. As a result, If my calculations are correct, we pay about 30p a litre. How does that compare to the UK? Many decent cars can be had for less than 10,000 pounds - new. I drive a small car - a 2.2 litre engine. My wife does not drive anything too big - her's is a 3 litre engine. The small hatchbacks much-used in the UK for years as a runabout are only now being introduced into the USA to combat the "high" gas prices.
In short, the UK does get ripped off. The NHS really is crumbling now but you still pay through the nose for it and for a pitiful state pension. We pay less - much less - here for the same crappy health services (for those who need to rely on the state to pay the bill) and get superior retirement pensions. Those who have health insurance can have surgery on demand. My wife needed surgery last year. She decided to have it done in February and could have been on the Operating Table a month later. She deferred it for another month as I was in the middle of tax season at the time but was still able to get in on the day of her choosing.
My wife and I have talked about moving to the UK at some point. Frankly, the way things are going in the old country, I don't think that is ever going to happen
2007-02-27 22:31:48 · answer #2 · answered by skip 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Last year 'tax freedom day' was April 26 in the US,
3rd of June for the UK.
That is to say people in the UK spend over an extra month a year 'working for the government' in return for state healthcare.
Both way too much for my liking.
Spare a thought for the Swedes - 29 July - Nearly 8 months a year working to pay your tax!
2007-02-27 22:05:40 · answer #3 · answered by ShogiO 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
were all being ripped off maybe the UK more than the USA I don't smoke but I am sure we pay a lot more for cigarettes than the USA do it Costs around £5 a pack now equivalent to nearly $10 it the same every where I think
2007-02-27 21:43:07 · answer #4 · answered by Lynsey D 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In the U.K. for every pound you earn 93 pence of it goes back to the government in one form of tax or another but the U.S.A. does not have to pour billions into a massively corrupt E.U.Constitution in Strasbourg
2007-02-27 21:53:20 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes and its because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, wars cost lives and MONEY.
2007-02-27 21:42:33 · answer #6 · answered by McQ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
And you brits think the sheep are in Wales??
2007-02-27 21:49:24 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋