Report: Most Heavily Taxed Nations Are the Happiest

MarketWatch:

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says people in Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands are the most content with their lives. The three ranked first, second and third, respectively, in the OECD's rankings of "life satisfaction," or happiness.

There are myriad reasons, of course, for happiness: health, welfare, prosperity, leisure time, strong family, social connections and so on. But there is another common denominator among this group of happy people: taxes.

Northern Europeans pay some of the highest taxes in the world. Danes pay about two-thirds of their income in taxes.

Read the whole story: MarketWatch

Comments

[flossophy]

@ AmandaBC

... so that gives Castr0 the right to turn Cuba from a prosperous paradise into a human wasteland and personal pris0n? Look at what you're defending.­.. that country is decades behind the Dominican Republic. They have NO human rights, civil rights, political liberty or economic liberty...

Think of how silly your position is... you defend this crime against humanity called 'Cuba'.

And the US is the big meanie in this arrangemen­t...

[cobobs]

Stop the embargo then, it is like cheating the scale and then comparing adversely to the likes of Dominican Republic. One thing the commies did very well in places like China and Cuba was that they raised the level of education significantly, so once the impediments to entrepreneurial activity came off, China became a monster economic power. I am willing to bet that Cuba will dwarf other countries in S.America and the Caribbean once the economic repression is lifted.

[PhilipTaylor]

Why are we so UNHAPPY compared to these Countries?

It has been 120 days for 0bama and Where Are the Signs of CHANGE?

1. Where are the NEW Manufacturing jobs? Solar, Wind, Thermal, etc.
2. Where is the Credit F1ow to Main Street?
3. Where are the New Regulations?
4. Where is funding for Homeowners in trouble?
5. Where is funding for Small Business - dr0pping fast?
6. Where are the invest!gations of Wall Street Ex_cutives?
7. Where are the invest!gations of Mi1itary Cr!mes?
8. Where is our $13 Trillion in Government Funds given to Wall Street?
9. Where is the Stimu1us at 6% so far?
10. Where is "BOTTOM-UP" help for the Middle-Class?
11. Where is the removal of the corrupt link between Wall Street+C0n­gress+Ex_c­utive Br@nch
12. Where is Campaign Ref0rm?

[PhilipTaylor]

Sorry for repost due to moderation!

So Low TAXES do not equal HAPPINESS and High Taxes do not equal SADNESS!

[emily00011]

it isn't about taxes at all. They are not the deciding factor, but the cultural outlook is.

[BritishColumbian]

Where is your gridlocked, bizarre Congress to pass the legislation to support these? You have a system that is in constant camapign, the closest form of an "aristocracy" than anyother democratic nation with your "bushes" and Kennedys", families passing their seats onto their children, people serving for over 40 years living out decades of fueds and disagreements.

Tell tell me the last time your gov't passed any major reform?

[freethemarkets212]

Bottom up does not work,and there is no such thing as trickle down.Wall Street are all Democrats(NOT all ,but most)The bailout money is Campaign payback.Yo­u have been duped.The stimulus is a social engineering project,designed to bloat the poor population­.So far all the cash went to Welfare.Ob­ama s policies are the same ones that have destroyed CA.

[PhilipTaylor]

Why are we so UNHAPPY compared to these Countries?

It has been 120 days for Obama and Where Are the Signs of CHANGE?

1. Where are the NEW Manufacturing jobs? Solar, Wind, Thermal, etc.
2. Where is the Credit Flow to Main Street?
3. Where are the New Regulations?
4. Where is funding for Homeowners in trouble?
5. Where is funding for Small Business - dropping fast?
6. Where are the investigations of Wall Street Executives?
7. Where are the investigations of Military Crimes?
8. Where is our $13 Trillion in Government Funds given to Wall Street?
9. Where is the Stimulus at 6% so far?
10. Where is “BOTTOM-UP” help for the Middle-Class?
11. Where is the removal of the corrupt link between Wall Street+Con­gress+Exec­utive Branch
12. Where is Campaign Reform?

[PhilipTaylor]

Where is Single-payer now declared by Pelosi and Baucus as off the Table? Obama?

[EducatedObserver]

I am not surprised to see the countries which made the top ten. For not only are they - relative to some other First World nations - highly taxed, but they also boast fairly low crime rates.

It is for this reason that I was astonished that the US managed to score so high up on the list.

[bygollymissmolly]

A common thread you will find in the countries where people are happy is that their government considers the people of their nation to be an asset and not a liability. They feel that the people in their country DESERVE basic rights like good health care, good education and assistance when something bad in their lives happens.

Unfortunately this country considers the basics in other countries to be a privilege and not a right. This country has no respect for the people that make this country what it is. If you are not rich, you don't count.

[bygollymissmolly]

Wow countries with a socialist bent are the happiest countries on earth. What's wrong with those people. They should be outraged that they pay 50-75% of their incomes in taxes. How dare they be happy.

My sister moved to England about 20 years ago with a man she met here. After about 8 years her relationship went south on her and she looked into returning to the USA. She opted to stay in England. When she lived here she was a hostess in a restaurant or a waitress, depending on how much income she needed. She had a crappy health plan and no ability to save for her retirement. England put her daughter through college and her daughter now has a well paying job with Kodak in London (Kodak helped pay for her college). My sister works in a local Safeway and between her earnings and the benefits she gets from her taxes, she lives comfortably and she doesn't have to worry about her retirement or not having health care. If she is unemployed, she will receive a supplemental income until she finds work (not for a limited time). She is more than happy to pay 50% of her income in taxes for what she is getting in return.

[LiberalDemIda]

Holland nummer DRIE! (number THREE!)

No wonder the Ntherlands have the most Dutch immigrants of all immigrants that return to their native country to retire. Apparently, it lengthens their lives as opposed to living in the USA. Happiness does that.

[Myshkin57]

I love the Netherlands, and not for the "bars" (in fact, the only time I ever spent in Amsterdam was in the airport and driving out of it). The people are great and the country is beautiful.

[dobberdoss]

Ever been to the top three countries on this list? They are the most boring inbreed bunch of people around who's lives simply revolve around having children and a mortgage and no other inspirations in life. They are tax cattle for their own governments and particularly their repugnant royal families and too stupid to know otherwise as they hardly ever travel outside their own country. They have the lowest passport application levels in the world.

[LiberalDemIda]

I've not only BEEN to those countries, I've LIVED there. Having kids and mortgages are NOT what they aspire to. Excellent education and careers ARE.

Methinks you're referring to the poverty-ridden, clueless, bubble-thumping South of the US. That being the case, you're spot on.

[OneTop]

You're right. :)

Sounds more like dobberdos was attempting to describe Texas?

[FormerReaganite]

That sounds like the country to live in. Where education means more than guns and he-man wrestling!

[Telemachus]

Gotta hand it to you there. Nothing more exciting than sudden job loss, bankruptcy, foreclosure, homelessness, and death from preventable illnesses. Unless it's the road rage and random shootings. Yes, America is interesting, where's my passport?!

[cdnnewsjunky]

I can see your point of view, considering your government hands out all your tax dollars to Haliburton and other military industries and finances unnecessary; and in some cases illegal; wars around the globe, not to mention bankers and the upper 10% of your income earners.

The thing is the key word is "socialist" as in society as in the money is spent on, gasp, get ready for it, the people! Amazing eh? What a crazy society that must be!

[Myshkin57]

I don't know what Europe you've been to, but it's not the one I was in.

[harobamason]

Obviously you have new been to the top 3.

[RageCage]

Well it looks like we found a new place for all the socialists in this country to move to. America was specifically founded to be an experiment in self-government. If this doesn't make you happy then move to Europe. They seem happy enough with their lives over there.

[FormerReaganite]

The Founding Fathers intended for America to be socialist. They wanted the people to have the power, not the King. That is just what socialism is, the people have the power. Not kings or corporations. Think about it.

[RageCage]

I would love to hear the quotes from the Founders that back you up on that. I see your point on kings not having power, but aren't corporations made up of the people? Don't they have a say in how their company is run? That's beside the point, though. Our Founders wanted the individual to have the power to do what was best for them. They didn't want some group of people working hard to pay for some other group of people's benefit.

[classicalgeek]

I tried. Unfortunately, they don't just randomly let people in their countries. The same way the US is, they have immigration rules. Otherwise I'd shake the dust of the USA from my feet until the quality of life is as good here as it is even in the former Eastern bloc.

[LeafFan4ever]

Canada right up there!!

[AmandaBC]

We used to be constantly at #1 in the UN Human Development Index in the mid to late nineties. Then Harper came and we slipped a little. :(
Still at #3 though... US at #12.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_development_index

Note how the top 10 countries are all Social-Dem­ocracies..­.

[AmandaBC]

Oops, mistake. US ranks at #15. Used to be #12 last year...

[DingoDave]

One of the other factors influencing happiness is employee leave entitlements.

Australia:

Annual leave
The standard annual leave is four weeks per year. This can increase to five or more weeks if the employee works shift work.

Sick leave
Sick leave is awarded at approximately 5–10 paid days paid per year.

What is it in America?

[deermudra]

Sick leave? Annual Leave? What's that?

I do know of some people who have been at their work for 5 years and get as much as 3 weeks vacation, but if you are stuck in a crappy job you can forget about it. It's not uncommon for there to be no vacation days in the first year of your employment, though I think 1 week the first year and maybe 2 weeks after that might be about average. It can vary.

Sick days? In this particularly harsh employment environment I have known professionals who were told if they were sick and didn't come into work not to bother ever coming in again because they'd be fired.

In America there are many of us who yearn to keep our lives in balance and "work to live" - but generally we are plagued by the philosophy that we have to "win win win!" "Get rich or die trying!" "live to work!" "Show no weakness!!!!" Pretty depressing!

[DingoDave]

Australian Tax Rates 2008-09

Taxable income -Tax on this income
$0 – $6,000: Nil
$6,001 – $34,000: 15c for each $1 over $6,000
$34,001 – $80,000: $4,200 plus 30c for each $1 over $34,000
$80,001 – $180,000: $18,000 plus 40c for each $1 over $80,000
$180,001 and over: $58,000 plus 45c for each $1 over $180,000

Company Tax Rate - 30%

Capital Gains Tax - You are taxed on your net capital gain at your marginal tax rate.

Goods and Services Tax - Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a broad-based tax of 10% on most goods, services and other items sold or consumed in Australia.

We also have universal health cover called Medicare, which while imperfect, is better than what many Americans enjoy. Medicare is designed to provide affordable doctor and public hospital care. The Medicare levy is 1.5% of taxable income, and a 1% surcharge is levied on those individuals earning more than $70 000 per year, and families earning more than $140,000 per year. Approximately 43% of Australians also retain private health insurance, even though they are already entitled to free treatment in public hospitals. People who take up private health insurance are currently rewarded in a number of ways. They receive a Private Health Insurance Rebate that subsidises 30% of their insurance premiums, increasing to 35% or 40% for people over 65.

I guess many Americans would call us socialists, but according to the article we're happier than the average American. Go figure?

[bubbuh]

Folks who socialize are always happier than phony lone wolves.

[bygollymissmolly]

How dare you be happy. You should be outraged at those tax rates. You should be organizing tea parties. Shame on you.

[flossophy]

ahh, yes... another satisfying sesh schooling the arr0gant budding pr0gressives who think they know better than those neandeRethugs and knuck|edragging conservati­ves... hehe.

There's a reason why the tro||s run intellectual circles around the pr0gressio­ds... your ide0logy has not prepared you to debate with the tro||s. Go find out why.

I leave you with this... 1964... and still relevant today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt1fYSAChxs

And the irony is that the pr0gressives want to bring us back to this era... they should be called Pregressives.

Good night folks! Cheers!

;)

[Myshkin57]

It's great to never reply with information and declare yourself the winner. Must be nice.

[AmandaBC]

A true legend in his own mind...

[FormerReaganite]

Saddam used to do that.

[A Meat Beetle]

"...neande­Rethugs and knuck|edragging conservati­ves..."

Man, you sure hit that nail on the head.

[PerfectSense]

Two of the "happiest" countries in the world, Finland and Belgium, have about the highest suicide rates in the world. (Outside the old Soviet block).

[flossophy]

They just don't understand how perfect their societies are... The government passed happiness legislation, perhaps they fell through the cracks in the happiness bureaucrac­y... hehe

[AmandaBC]

Or perhaps it has NOTHING to do with politics and everything with something like...wea­ther...lac­k of sunlight..­. etc. But then again, you wouldn't know because you clearly have never been anywhere in the world and your only source of "information" is Ha.nnity and Ru.sh...

[Myshkin57]

Suicide doesn't result from unhappiness but from depression. The two are different. If you've ever been close to someone with severe depression then you know that.

[bubbuh]

You assume all suicides are unhappy. That is untrue.

[Montgriz]

I suspect that is because of both, better record keeping, and having the right to death with dignity when disease and old age become burdens...­.We only give that right to our animals...

[planetfotheApes]

What would the endless war State and Bankers do without all that Leftist tax funding? Gee, if we could stop the Liberal tax machine, we could actually have peace.

[Nyland8]

Oversimplify much?

[FormerReaganite]

um... I don't think it was a liberal who started the war over there...

[planetfotheApes]

How did the Vietnam War end? The funding was cut off.

Liberals love to send tax money to the military then complain about war.

[FormerReaganite]

Liberals wisely want to *defend* the country, not go on the offense, like a group of boys playing war.