What do you call a country with a flat income tax rate of 13%

[pnwmom]

headed by a strong-arm who came up through the secret police and has been President or Prime Minister since 2000?

Russia.

No longer socialistic; just another capitalistic oligarchy.

[zipplewrath]

1. Regressive

No more regressive tax than a flat tax. Linear equations can have both a slope AND an intercept.

Besides, income distribution isn't linear.

[Puzzledtraveller]

2. Apt description but do they really have a free market?

[KansDem]

3. "...just another capitalistic oligarchy."

Russia ranks third in the number of billionaires in the world behind the US and (communist) China.

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

[gopiscrap]

4. Regressive and unfair

[leveymg]

5. Defeated, but in some ways doing better than we are.

[pnwmom]

6. Tell that to their 99%. n/t

[leveymg]

7. Tell that to ours. eom

[dipsydoodle]

8. Surely the income tax rates of different countries are a function of how much the government needs.

I can really only relate to the UK where average wage is c. £26300 with the first £9400 being tax free. The difference between the two is taxed at 20% which would be £3800. That then equates, ignoring the allowance, to a flat rate of 13% - same as Russian.

In the case of Russia the great majority of their oil and gas industries are state owned so maybe they don't need too much in the form of income tax anyway.

[pnwmom]

9. The UK's top tax rate is 45%-- so not very comparable.

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

Subsequent governments reduced the basic rate further, down to its present level of 20% in 2007.Since 1976 (when it stood at 35%) the basic rate has been reduced by 15 percentage points. However, this reduction has been largely offset by increases in national insurance contributions and value added tax.

In 2010 a new top rate of 50% was introduced on income over £150,000. In the 2012 budget this rate was cut to 45%.

[dipsydoodle]

10. I used average wages

which by and large is what I guess the majority of the population earn.

Its difficult to draw direct comparisons anyway. The UK has also got the NHS payments on top which are another tax amounting to c. 26% split c. 14% and 12% paid between employer and employee respectively. Russia's healthcare is completely free but poor quality by most accounts.

"offset by increases in national insurance contributions" commonly known as stealth tax - give with the left and take with the right.

VAT is different matter unassociated with pay and income tax. I think our current rate of 20% is pretty much average for Europe if population size is accounted for.