I'd rather see a return to the Eisenhower top marginal income tax rates, first, but if the upside is free healthcare (freeing up 1/6th of the U.S. economy), yes -- I am all for any VAT needed over and above taxing the rich as they should be.
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You guys in USA have no idea how lucky you are.
Here are the taxes on my salary:
- 17.2 % on top of gross salary for new employment and development of safety at work and insurance, paid by the employer
- 15 % from my gross salary for health care (free for all in my country - this is the only thing good compared to horror health care in the USA)
- 5 % from gross salary for pension fund (for my retirement, if I live enough and if the global economy does not collapse meanwhile)
- 15 % from gross salary for payment of social retirement for those currently retired
- 15, 25, 35 % income tax respectively from gross salary depending on the achieved salary cap
- 4 % of so called crisis tax from net salary - imposed just last month
- as I said, 23 % VAT on all goods and services with no exemptions
...
and the rest is ALL MINE! I think if you put five monkeys in a cage to lead fiscal policy in this country they would invent a better system.