European taxes (personal, corporate and the VAT) have gone up since 2008.

[pampango]

All taxes rising in EU

Income taxes, business taxes and VAT - all taxes have risen in the EU in 2012, states the annual report on tax trends published on 21 May by Eurostat and the European Commission’s Directorate-General Taxation and Customs Union (TAXUD). The phenomenon, a result of the economic crisis, is more pronounced in the eurozone.

The average standard VAT rate, which applies to most goods and services, is 21% this year, compared with 20.7% in 2011 and 19.2% in 2000. There has been a constant increase since 2008. The rate varies widely, from 15% in Luxembourg to 27% in Hungary. Only eight EU states have not raised their VAT rates between 2008 and 2012.

The average corporate tax rate has also risen, after declining (by 12% in all) over the last 15 years: it stands at 23.5% in 2012 (26.1% in the eurozone), compared with 23.4% (25.9% in the eurozone) in 2011.

The average rate of personal income tax has also risen: 38.1% in the EU (43.2% in the eurozone), compared with 37.5% in 2011 (42.2% in the eurozone). The highest rate is in Sweden (56.6%) and the lowest in Bulgaria (10%).

http://www.europolitics.info/economy-monetary-affairs/all-taxes-rising-in-eu-art334685-30.html

Europeans don't seem to value rich "job creators" as much as (tax-cutting) republicans do. Funny that one of the most equitable and successful economies on the continent, Sweden, has the highest income tax rate.

[xchrom]

1. Du rec. Nt

[aquart]

2. Still think the VAT is a horrible regressive tax.

[pampango]

4. While the VAT (like our FICA) is regressive, it does provided funding for an effective safety net.

Tempering the regressiveness of the VAT is the fact that income and other taxes in Europe as so progressive that overall their taxation system is much more progressive than ours and contributes to much greater equity in their distribution of income.

The VAT alone without a "real social safety net" would be a terrible thing. Since Europe uses it (along with other truly progressive taxes) and has the most equitable distribution of income in the world, it may be something that they see as a "necessary evil" to provide the large amounts of funding that their social safety net requires. Europeans seem to realize that, while they almost universally cherish their safety net, its financial support cannot come from progressive taxes alone (perhaps because they have such an equitable distribution of income).

There may also be a psychology at work that is similar to our Social Security taxes and political support for the program. Although FICA is a regressive tax system (though it could be less so with liberal changes), it has built a great base of political support over the generations for what is about the best "safety net" that we have left. The feeling of ownership because "I paid into it" (through a VAT or FICA) is something that provides a foundation to fight political efforts to weaken safety nets.

It may be that the VAT, while regressive, is something that Europeans support because they feel they owe each other a strong safety net and the VAT is their commitment to that end. Having expressed their willingness to support a strong safety net in this way, Europeans then seem disinclined to listen to talk of cutting taxes for their upper income "job creators" so that their overall tax system is quite progressive.

[FrodosPet]

3. It's nice to have lots of valuable resources with a relatively small population

Supposedly, their growth is taking, or will be taking, a hit as 50% of their economy is based on exports, and 35% of that is coming from the EU.

So not everything about what's happening in Scandinavia applies to the rest of the world.

[pampango]

5. Unless you are counting trees as their "valuable resource", Sweden is not a resource-driven economy.

The economy of Sweden is a developed diverse economy, aided by timber, hydropower and iron ore. These constitute the resource base of an economy oriented toward foreign trade. The main industries include motor vehicles, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, industrial machines, precision equipments, chemical goods, home goods and appliances, forestry, iron and steel.

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

You may be thinking of Norway which produces a lot of oil.

Sweden operates a high-tech industrial economy. It has one of the most equitable distributions of income in the world which is tied to the willingness of its citizens to pay high and progressive taxes which they use to fund an extensive safety net.

You are right. Their economy is closely tied to the rest of the world, particularly the EU, in terms of their imports and exports. My guess is that Swedes understand that if much of the world is hurting, particularly other Europeans, it is likely there will be a negative effect on them. I don't see any move there to disconnect Sweden from the rest of the world or Europe.

Swedes are not just the fortunate beneficiaries of happening to have a valuable natural resource that everyone wants - unless it is trees.

"So not everything about what's happening in Scandinavia applies to the rest of the world." - Quite true. But equally true is that what is proven to work in one part of the world should be considered as an example in other parts of the world. Who's to say that high/progressive taxes used to fund an extensive safety net in the US wouldn't result in a much fairer society with a better distribution of income?