Here's the link to tax rate comparison from countries around the world.

[Swede]

It was just shown on CNN.


http://www.worldwide-tax.com/index.asp#partthree

[RDANGELO]

1. Something I didn't know

Almost all of the other countries have a VAT. That helps with trade disparities.

[Swede]

6. I never knew our GST in Canada was so comparitively low.

It's huge in some of the other countries.

[elocs]

2. If, starting tomorrow, there were no taxes, how would we pay for things,

who would pay, and how much? I have posed this question to conservatives because they hate taxes (well, who really likes taxes?) just to get their take on it, but I've never gotten any response. To be honest, I have asked the same here over the years, even in an OP, and never got much of any response either.

[napi21]

3. If you think about it, nobody likes to pay for ANYTHING!. That's part of

the attitude that introduced businesses to export their labor to poverty countries! People still want to buy a T shirt for $4.00 and jeants under $10.00. Same thing goes for taxes. If you don't have to pay them, you have more $$ in YOUR pocket. That's not the real issue. Yes I could probably go to WM and buy a $4.00 T shirt, but it would shrink out of shape & size and I don't want that. I'm close to as cheap as you can get, but I had to buy a new monitor 2 weeks ago. I looked at a lot of them and saw several that were cheaper than the one I bought, but I had some specific attributes and I spent more $$ for the one I chose. I think people will reconize the services they WANT from gov't, and if the disadvantges of NOT having those services are explained to them, they are willing to contribute to the pool, which is what taxes really are.

[elocs]

4. What I have found is that conservatives hate to pay taxes for ANYTHING

that does not directly benefit them. For instance, schools. If they don't have kids in school, then why should they pay for them? They conveniently forget that others said the same of them when they did have kids in school. So taxes are good only if they gain in some way and it doesn't matter who else is helped. In that case they are the YOYO (You're On Your Own) crowd.

[napi21]

5. Then somebody needs to explain how much it costs THEM now

when people go to the ER for an ear ache, the flu, a cold, etc. When the ER facilities are used for things that could easily be handled at the local clinic, they aren't available for the serious but non life threatening cases that belong there, plus SOMEBODY HAS TO PAY FOR IT! Who the hell do they think that is? The Drs, nurses, meds, & equipment still has to be paid, and if the patient is unable to pay, that cost gets passed on to the ones who can...either via ins. or the wealthy patients who pay their own out of pocket.

I wish I had the necessary info to calculate just how much per person that additional cost really is! Maybe THAT number would shock them into reality!