Person from Germany here. The 42% is the top rate so that on 100 k$ the effective rate would be less than that. Healthcare costs come on top of that.
Free college is included.
45% is the top rate. 42% kicks in 57k income. 45% at 274k. You're right that the effective rate might be less for $100k, but not much. The curve is quite steep.
Who pays vat? Less than 10% of my monthly outgoings are on VATTable things, and most of that expenditure is because I bought a new car rather than a second hand one.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_Germany#/media/Fil...