>>>>>>>>>AT least in GB there's no law against "jay-walking" :-)
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Sure, we are "based" on a lot of different thought. But, we have more freedom in our country than others. In Tennessee, there's no law against owning guns.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>AH! freedom to get blown away by your neighbour over a boundary dispute, freedom for a traffic cop to get shot when the perp winds down his window! Why didn't you say so!?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>What are the other freedoms that we Europeans don't enjoy?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I think we have less taxes than you, at least according to George Harrison.
>>>>>
>>>>>Ours is like 20-22% on the first £4,500 - £32,000
>>>>>and 40% on everything over that.
>>>>>
>>>>>or something like that. On top, we pay national health insurance.
>>>>
>>>>Does it include local taxes, if you have any?
>>>
>>>No, they depend on the area you live and the value of the house. At present, for me, that's some £1,000 or so a year.
>>>Please note, the 40% tax is ONLY on those earning ABOVE the higher tax threshold, not on the WHOLE amount, just cos you've gone over it. And it only applies to your TAXABLE income. So, I got the figures above wrong (changed with the last budget):
>>>
>>>1st £5,035 - tax free
>>>Next £33,300 - 22%
>>>All earnings over £38,330 - 40% (That's like some $70,000-odd)
>>>
>>>What's the score in the US then?
>>
>>It's income-dependent and there are many local taxes to blur the picture. I live in high-tax area (maybe, the highest, but Californians may disagree). Federal income tax, the same in any part of USA, is progressive: one may get first 10-15K free, then 10% band, 15% band etc. The highest rate is about 32%, probably (it changes every year). I don't know exactly these numbers because I pay AMT (alternative minimum tax): 28% from all earned income. Plus we have social taxes that usually comprise 7.6% from all earned income, though actual formula is more complicated. Besides that I pay local taxes that go up to 12%, and some other taxes that get so exotic that it's difficult to describe.
>>Basically, normal person cannot file own taxes and have to go to an accountant who cannot do it either without help of specialized software packages that need to be updated every year, and this provides jobs for many software developers.
>
>Our tax is payed via PAYE (Pay as you earn). Your salary is known, then the tax-free part is put aside, then the tax on the remainder is split into 12 equal parts, and that is deducted each month. No filing - that's just for self-employed people.
>
Do you mean that salaried folks don't file tax returns? What are they doing if they have external income (banking interest, capital gains etc.)?

>Our local taxes aren't taken from the salary though, that's a separate bill from the local authority (called "Community Charge"), and you have to arrange to pay that by DD.

If I understand correctly you have value-added tax (VAT) hidden in goods/services prices, so making them higher than in US.