Posted on 11/22/2008 11:52:13 AM PST by KeyLargo
Where tax goes up to 60 per cent, and everybody's happy paying it
The British want taxes kept low, but Gwladys Fouché discovers that in Sweden high rates underpin a successful society
* guardian.co.uk, Sunday November 16 2008 00.01 GMT
Political parties have been vying to offer the biggest tax cuts as the credit crunch tightens its grip on Britain. In their view, low taxes are now the best way to get the economy going and to help out families.
Cutting or keeping taxes low has always proved popular with the electorate: in 1992 the Conservatives' election campaign slogan 'Labour's tax bombshell' made the most of the then shadow Chancellor John Smith's intention to increase the higher rate of tax from 40 to 50 per cent. Labour lost.
But is this the best way to proceed in the long term, and would UK taxpayers get better value for money if they paid more, rather than less?
One way to examine the issue is to compare state help provided by the British government to one which traditionally charges much higher taxes: Sweden. Swedes support the second-highest tax burden in the world - after Denmark's - with an average of 48.2 per cent of GDP going to taxes. Yet Sweden, along with equally high-taxing Denmark and Norway, tops almost every international barometer of successful societies.
Swedes' personal income tax can be as little as 29 per cent of their pay, but most people (anyone earning over £32,000) will pay between 49 and 60 per cent through a combination of local government and state income tax.
But for most Swedes paying high taxes is a benefit, not a problem. 'I am very happy to pay high taxes because I know I am getting value for the money later on,' says Valentina Valestany,.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Are these people nuts?
“If you make it.. we’re gonna take it!” The real B.O. motto.
“But he also points out that self-interest is at play: ‘The median voter is a woman who works for the public sector, and around two-thirds of the electorate draw most of their income from the state, either because they work in the public sector or draw benefits from it.’”
Boy, when that collapses it’ll be fun to watch. Basically the average swede is a liberal arts major that produces jack.
Sweden is a relatively small nation that is culturally homogeneous. They are 98% white and Lutheran. And to a certain degree, they are all related to each other. Think of them as a large extended family where the "altruism gene" comes into play.
That would never work here. We're too different internally. Only our Constitution holds us together.
They want to government to pay them, and they will be in the low income class for their entire lives with NO chance to increase their income or to be productive.
It is called be of the lower class for your life and the lives of your children and their children.
Amen to that. What do you say when libs point at Sweden and scream socialism works?
The great lie is that they are happy.
Swedes have one of the highest suicide rates in the world (maybe also due to weather?)
Swedes are not reproducing and if trends continue, they will not exist as an independent country in 50 years.
I know many Swedes who admire their country, but have left to seek opportunity elsewhere.
I thought so. Just seems to good to be true.
From my experience this item is pure fiction. I have relatives in Norway and numerous friends living in Scandinavia and each and everyone do their utmost to avoid taxes.
But socialism quashes innovation. When there is no economic incentive to take risk, the economy stagnates. The "efficiency increases" of invention that are the primary engine of economic growth come to a grinding halt.
Scandinavia and the rest of the socialist world are going to come to a stark realization in the coming years: "Those evil Americans sure were clever with all their economic innovation and invention back when they were capitalist. Now whose teet are we going to suckle off of?"
Yes but the Swedes get a lot of efficient services for the taxes they pay where-as we would get waste and corruption from our US civil service Zombots!
The tax thing wouldn’t be such an issue for most if we could be assured that we would get top bang for tax bucks payed. But that won’t happen.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Terrible place to try and do business with. Their white collar workers are unmotivated..since they all end up earning about the same thing. Why be a leader when you don’t get paid for it? Also..there are few really rich people, but they are really rich. It is a pretty dull place, because people are reluctant to spend money on eating out and drinking. Anything that can be used to make booze sugar etc. is taxed like alchohol to prevent bootlegging..I could go on.
LOL.
The problem is that a socialist welfare state requires a high birth rate so that those relying on transfer payments can milk a large, younger, productive population for the money. The Swedes have stopped reproducing, which is perfectly normal when a society transitions from agriculture to industry and also when a society transitions from industry to a post-industrial economy. But that means that in order to support the welfare state Sweden has to import a large group of people (Muslims) who reproduce like flies -- but who are also not Swedish and can never truly become Swedish. That breaks the model of homogeneity.
And that is why, in the long run, the Swedish socialist welfare state is doomed.
This Swede is very trusting about the socialist future. Just wait until that future is now, and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is just a pot. There will be no pot, and not even a window to throw it out of.
Just look how good our socialist promise called Social Security has worked out.
Exactly, and too many segments of our nation have no work ethic. Many factors make the Swedish model not feasible for the US. Besides, how do they know that socialism works best, have they tried another way?
Exactly. There is no way to compare societies whose populations are so unlike in size, makeup, and cultural components.
.
Just ask the Real Swedes who live in Malmo.!!
That’s true also, why do liberals always ignore these factors? It’s not that they don’t know how to find qualifiers, they try hard enough when it comes to gun control.
always love a little Crank Yankers!
I believe the Swedish welfare state emerged from the Depression (known as “the Slump” in much of Europe) and World War II. It’s a lot like the way the welfare state emerged in Britain and France.
Obamanomics....Swedish taxes on Ethiopian wages.
You nailed it. Very different culture there.
“Think of them as a large extended family where the ‘altruism gene” comes into play.’ “
And when that altruism fails, they move to Minnesota and elect people like Paul Wellstone, Jesse Ventura and Al Franken.
And speaking of Minnesota, Coleman’s lead just advanced to 147, from 120.
They barely live all thru live and when they retire they are free to barely survive from then on.
The really interesting thing is that Sweden has fairly low corporate tax rates - 28% right now, with plans to lower it to 26% in order to stimulate investment and job growth.
Several years ago I sold a $2 VHS on ebay to someone in Sweden. He told me the customs didn’t believe it was $2, and made him stand on line almost two hours to have the package examined.
When they opened it up and found it was indeed a used $2 video, they charged him a $15 “unwrapping” fee. He definately was NOT happy with the big brother government they have there.
"Socialism does work in Sweden because of the fact that everybody is related to everybody else."
“Swedes have one of the highest suicide rates in the world”
- In fact, it’s pretty average.
Lithuania: 68.1 Suicides per 100,000 people per year
Japan: 34.8
Sweden: 19.5
USA: 17.7
Italy: 11.4
Mexico: 7.0
Jamaica: 0.3
btt
Sweden, and the Nordic Countries, are the only places in the world where Social Democracy can exist, and work. All other countries with socialism, or social democracy fail beyond reason. Just look at most of Africa.
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