[extropy-chat] Europe vs America (was Depressing thought....)

[BillK]

On Wed Nov 12, 2003 09:06 am Randy wrote:
> I am a numbers/stats kind of guy, so if you do not mind, before we
> proceed further, I would like to establish as precisely as possible
> just what it is that we are talking about here when it comes to living
> in France/western Europe, or the USA. These numbers and financial
> situational comparisons fascinate me. I would like to write a book
> about this subject, as there is nothing that descibes this adequately,
> that I can find anyway.
>

The main trouble with published reports is everyone has their own agenda
and the statistics are so complex that half-truths are the norm.
Lies, damned lies and statistics really does apply in this field.
Any two countries with the same nominal income tax rate can, in fact, be
totally different, once benefits, allowances, enforcement, etc., are
included. ('Enforcement' because the official tax rate doesn't matter if
you never actually pay it - ask any Italian ;) )

Try the Worldwide Tax & Finance site:
<http://www.worldwide-tax.com/>

The OECD publish many economic reports:

Try - Tax systems in EEC countries 27-Aug-2002
<http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/15/57/2968128.pdf>

http://www.oecdwash.org/DATA/online.htm
<http://www.oecd.org/home/>

International tax burden comparison
<http://www.canaht.com/local/burdenComparisions.asp>


'Country Ranks' is interesting. It ranks countries by many categories.
e.g. GDP, Inflation. Death rate, unemployment rate, etc.
Obviously, tax rates are only one factor in country preference.
<http://www.photius.com/rankings/index.html

The Freedom Index should also be consulted:
http://photius.com/rankings/press_freedom_index.html
A higher tax rate might be preferable to less freedom?


Best of luck in your analysis. You'll probably need an AI to help!

BillK