[hnaparst]

The author is seriously mistaken. The total tax burden in Sweden is among the highest in the world. To see how this works, suppose that an employer wants to pay an employee $100. The first thing they have to do is pay the employer tax of $31.42. Then the employee has to pay their income tax on the $100, which can be as high as 55%. So of the $131.42, the employee gets $45. Then, they can consume that $45, but for everything they buy, they have to pay 25% sales tax. So of the $45, $9 goes to sales tax. So really, they get to spend $36 of the $131.42. Really, the tax on income is about 72.58%. Some calculations put it as high as 76%. Read skattebetalarna.se for details.

Basically, the government keeps all the money. Swedes have no money. I lived there for 10 years. Swedes are always struggling paycheck to paycheck. There is less income inequality than in the U.S. The medical system is very bad. People have no desire to work because it is difficult to get ahead because of the high taxes.

[bjelkeman-again]

That is misinformation. It doesn't work like that. You are taking the highest marginal rate, and applying it to the full amount. The tax burden increases on a higher income, but the the higher rates only apply to a portion of the higher income.

The VAT isn't 25% on everything. 6% is on books, magazines and newspapers, culture evens, national transport. 12% on food, restaurants, hotel and artwork sold by the artist.

https://www.verksamt.se/starta/skatter-och-avgifter/moms/oli...

Effective income tax isn't as high as the picture you paint. http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/09/effective-...

[hnaparst]

I lived there for ten years. I ran businesses, paid taxes, and even filed taxes for the companies I ran. It is not misinformation. What is misinformation is Americans claiming that they know about what is going on in countries they have never lived in.