[alimw]

> 1. We are taxed on income heavily in the US.

I was surprised at this so I looked it up. From the article [1] it looks as if income tax in the US is lower than in most of Europe. But yes, higher than Russia, Saudi Arabia or Mexico.

[1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26327114

[Broken_Hippo]

To be fair, though, that tax includes the health care. At least in Norway, anyway, and many countries on the list.

And to me, it makes a huge difference. Some folks in the midwest pay about as much per month on health insurance as they do on rent: It isn't a minor expense. Even with employer-subsidized insurance, it is easily a few hundred per month, plus they have to pay the deductible before it kicks in. $5,000 after the monthly fee when you make 50k per year is quite the expectation. (the deductible is 10% of your income at that point).

[tedmiston]

There are a couple issues with that article.

1. "For each country, they calculated how much a high earner on a salary of $400,000..."

That number is way higher than programmer salaries. Most programmers are high earners but not that high.

2. It assumes a constant salary amount in any country, but this isn't reality.

If someone makes $250k as a programmer in the US, it might equate to $100k–125k in another country. US tax rates are tiered (see "Marginal Tax Rate" at [1]), so someone that makes $250k pays more than double the taxes of $125k.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax_in_the_United_State...

[alimw]

If you scroll down a bit further, you should find that both your points are addressed in the second set of figures. US tax rates looking even lower there.

[tedmiston]

These percentages are misleading because they don't paint the full picture. Especially considering insurance and rent.

It's a very apples to oranges comparison.