4/10    what are taxes in other countries like?
        \_ Mind narrowing down the choices?
           \_ more or less complicated than the US tax system?
        \_ Try Europe where in several countries you can take outgoing bribes
           off your taxes as a business expense.
        \_ Try Europe where in several countries you can take outgoing
           bribes off your taxes as a business expense.
        \_ In many great Euro-Peon countries the max tax rate is
           approx 70%. Very few people pay that much. The average
           Jacques or Hans usually hides his money from the tax
           man and pays very little. 20% or so don't pay any tax
           because they are unemployed.
                \_ You are misinformed.  First, Switzerland passed a law
                   a year ago forbidding deduction of bribes (paid in foreign
                   countries, of course) as business expenses.  I am serious.
                   Then, Germany and France have _income tax_ rates of ~50%
                   for middle income.  The smaller countries tend to be a lot
                   lower (I pay about ~15% income tax in Switzerland.)  EU
                   countries at large tend to be around 25-40% range.  VAT
                   (sales tax for you baboons) will be around ~15% (8% here)
                   and unlike the US, most Euro countries make the equivalent
                   of an IRA a mandatory part of social security (albeit
                   often privately managed) which gets figured into some
                   tax statistics.  Upshot?  Germany has high taxes, and
                   sucks.  UK has mid-taxes but is expensive and sucks.
                   France and Italy have high taxes but are cheaper and don't
                   suck, the rest of the countries have some variation on
                   those themes.  And n.b. that the US is the only country
                   stupid and arrogant enough to expect its peons to declare
                   income they earn in other countries for life.
                   Mail me for specifics.  -John
                   \- speaking of self-reporting ... does anyone even know of
                      anyone who returned the CA Use Tax thing that came with
                      the CA 540 packet? --psb
                      \_ The what?
                      \_ it's the law, partha.  you are required to report
                         that.  i'd think a philosophy loving guy like you
                         would understand that.
                   \_ when i was working in france, i thought it was amusing
                      that the company paid 100% of my salary in payroll tax.
                      options cashed in within 4 years were treated as salary
                      and subject to the payroll tax also.  regular employees
                      had to sign an agreement to not cash out their options
                      within 4 years.  boy did they get screwed when the
                      telecomm bubble went puff.
        \_ Tax rate is low and tax code simple in Taiwan and Singapore.