[rapala]

The article is unfortunately paywalled so I couldn't read it. That ratio is indeed more sensical and interesting. But I think it still misses two points.

First, the distribution of tax payers to different marginal tax rate brackets differ. That is, how many percent of US tax payers actually pay top marginal rate vs how many in Belgium do.

Second, the differences in purchasing power. What does the average income (or the top income for that matter) actually get you in different countries.

[bhupy]

> First, the distribution of tax payers to different marginal tax rate brackets differ. That is, how many percent of US tax payers actually pay top marginal rate vs how many in Belgium do.

By definition, the the metric takes into account the median. Because the top marginal rate kicks in at 1.1x the median (in Belgium), it is the middle of the distribution bears the top marginal burden. Likewise, in the US, 9.3x the median is at the top end of the distribution.

> Second, the differences in purchasing power. What does the average income (or the top income for that matter) actually get you in different countries.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposable_household_and_per_c...

In fact, the median disposable income after adjusting for purchasing power in the US is higher than that of Belgium as well as Germany. That means that the median person in the US has a higher purchasing power AND pays much less in taxes than the median Belgian, who pays the top marginal rate (well, 1.1x the median, but that's basically the same).