These comparisons are hard to make sense of because of the different services provided by these governments. For example, health care is a government benefit in most European countries, paid for by their "higher" tax rates.
The US has the worst of both worlds currently. Relatively high taxes and a wildly inefficient government.
We spend $7 trillion per year in government expenditures, at all levels, and can't even seem to maintain basic infrastructure (we could, but our government is really terrible).
We spend $7 trillion per year in government expenditures, at all levels, and can't even seem to maintain basic infrastructure (we could, but our government is really terrible).