The Economist come to the rescue! I had endless discussions with people in Ireland about how we get far less value for money on our taxes than the Swedes. My argumentation was based on comparing notes with a Swede before the crisis started on a similar gross salary to mine and similar 'overheads', like car, children, mortgage, and so on. The finding was that although the 'take home' salary was slightly higher in Ireland, the disposable income was far lower after paying for child care, road tax, insurance and other transport costs. Since 2007 the comparison makes Sweden look even better. The table below doesn't show Ireland, but puts Sweden in a good light that might surprise some people. Effective tax rates: Taxing times | The Economist : 'via Blog this'
It's a confusing world out there