I’ve written over and over again about how European-sized welfare states require big tax burdens on poor and middle-income taxpayers.
Simply stated, there aren’t enough rich people to finance big government. Especially since they generally have the ability to avoid confiscatory tax burdens.
As a general rule, this means ordinary European taxpayers are suffocated with high payroll tax burdens, onerous value-added taxes on consumption, and income taxes that impose high rates on modest incomes.
But let’s also not forget that politicians in Europe also pillage motorists.
The Tax Foundation recently released a survey showing gas taxes in various European nations.
…the European Union requires EU countries to levy a minimum excise duty of €0.36 per liter (US $1.61 per gallon) on gas. …The Netherlands has the highest gas tax in the European Union, at €0.79 per liter ($3.53 per gallon). …All EU countries also levy a value-added tax (VAT) on gas and diesel.
Wow, this is like the perfect storm of bad European policy, with tax harmonization (minimum-tax requirement) and a version of double taxation (motorist pay both VAT and gas tax when they fill up).
No wonder French motorists launched a yellow vest protest after Macron proposed another tax hike.
Here’s the map, which should have shown the prices in dollars. Just keep in mind that the average European pays almost $2.50 in tax on every gallon of gas.
I’ll close by noting that Europeans don’t get better roads for all that money.
For all the sturm and drang about supposed problems with infrastructure in the United States, it’s worth noting that our gas taxes are much lower and we consistently get above-average scores in various infrastructure rankings.
[…] with taxes already very onerous in those countries, much of that new spending was financed with […]
[…] with taxes already very onerous in those countries, much of that new spending was financed with […]
[…] not forget other nations have bad policy as well. I have written many times, for example, about the stunning greed of many European nations (including effective tax rates of more than 100 […]
[…] it is impossible to have a European-sized government without massive tax increases. And since there aren’t enough rich people to finance big government, that inevitably means […]
[…] reminds people that “free” government in Europe is actually very, very, expensive for ordinary […]
[…] that’s not the case. As illustrated by this unfortunate Spaniard, ordinary people in Europe get fleeced by their […]
[…] that’s not the case. As illustrated by this unfortunate Spaniard, ordinary people in Europe get fleeced by their […]
[…] it is impossible to have a European-sized government without massive tax increases. And since there aren’t enough rich people to finance big government, that inevitably means […]
[…] it is impossible to have a European-sized government without massive tax increases. And since there aren’t enough rich people to finance big government, that inevitably means […]
[…] made this same point, over and over […]
[…] And that means a big value-added tax, as Krugman notes. And it almost certainly also means big energy taxes, higher payroll taxes, and much higher income tax rates on middle-class […]
[…] And that means a big value-added tax, as Krugman notes. And it almost certainly also means big energy taxes, higher payroll taxes, and much higher income tax rates on middle-class […]
[…] And that means a big value-added tax, as Krugman notes. And it almost certainly also means big energy taxes, higher payroll taxes, and much higher income tax rates on middle-class […]
[…] it is impossible to have a European-sized government without massive tax increases. And since there aren’t enough rich people to finance big government, that inevitably means […]
[…] it is impossible to have a European-sized government without massive tax increases. And since there aren’t enough rich people to finance big government, that inevitably means […]
[…] it is impossible to have a European-sized government without massive tax increases. And since there aren’t enough rich people to finance big government, that inevitably means […]
[…] is that difference between Europe and the United States is not the taxation of the rich. The real reason that America has the most progressive tax system is that European nations impose much heavier taxes […]
[…] is that difference between Europe and the United States is not the taxation of the rich. The real reason that America has the most progressive tax system is that European nations impose much heavier taxes […]
[…] is that difference between Europe and the United States is not the taxation of the rich. The real reason that America has the most progressive tax system is that European nations impose much heavier taxes […]
[…] is very honest about the implications. You can tax the rich, but the rest of us need to have our wallets […]
[…] like we’ve seen on the other side of the Atlantic, there’s no way to finance a European-sized welfare state with […]
Denmark is the highest taxed developed country in the world but is also ranked as the happiest nation. The difference is that Denmark doesn’t spend all their money on military budget increases every year like USA does. They spend their money on their citizens. Also they are not a corporation welfare country like USA. This is just another article trying to convince people who never travelled to other countries how lucky they are to live in USA. Actually most of the people are miserable here.
environmental policies in the E.U. have made household energy costs sky rocket adding to the financial woes of poor and middle class Europeans… the stress isn’t just from taxes… and the consequences go way beyond personal discomfort…
“ENVIRONMENTALISTS KILLED MORE EUROPEANS THAN ISLAMIC TERRORISTS”
“The latest heat wave shows what living in a society run by environmentalists looks like.”
August 19, 2019 Daniel Greenfield
https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/274456/environmentalists-killed-more-europeans-islamic-daniel-greenfield
it’s worth noting that household energy costs in the E.U. are extremely high…
in 2016 Europeans spent between 26.9 and 39 cents per kilowatt-hour on electricity… Americans only spent 10.4 cents per kilowatt-hour… the European prices are a result of policies and taxes associated with their green energy programs… every year poor and vulnerable Europeans freeze to death or die from heat exposure… simply because they can’t afford to heat and cool their homes… they are the first causalities of the global warming hoax… but they aren’t dying because of the climate… it’s government policy that’s killing them…
The average gas tax in the US is $0.48 per gallon per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_tax#United_States.
[…] https://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2019/08/19/another-chapter-in-europes-book-on-how-to-squeeze-l… […]