Econoquiz: How High Are U.S. Taxes?

September 12, 2008

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Name a tax, and chances are either Barack Obama or John McCain wants to change it. Obama wants to cut income taxes on lower earners, raise taxes on others, and give Americans an energy rebate funded by a new windfall tax on oil companies. McCain wants to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent, and extend the 2001 Bush tax cuts, which lowered rates on higher earners and are set to expire in 2010.

Good or bad? For many Americans, it's hard to know what to think of these various proposals, since the U.S. tax structure is so arcane. Here's a quiz to test your tax IQ:

Out of 30 industrialized countries, the total U.S. corporate-tax rate, including federal and state taxes, ranks where?
1. Second highest
2. Tenth highest
3. Third lowest
Out of 30 industrialized countries, the personal income-tax rate for an average American wage earner, including all government taxes, ranks where?
1. Near the top
2. Near the middle
3. Near the bottom
Which company paid the most income tax in 2007?
1. Wal-Mart
2. Exxon-Mobil
3. General Electric
4. Berkshire Hathaway
Which of the 10 biggest U.S. companies earned a profit in 2007 but paid no taxes?
1. General Motors
2. Ford Motor
3. General Electric
4. Citigroup
Of 30 industrialized countries, the lowest corporate-tax rate is in:
1. Greece
2. Spain
3. Ireland
The highest average personal income-tax rate is in:
1. France
2. Germany
3. Canada
4. Sweden
Companies also pay payroll taxes for each employee, mostly as their contribution to Social Security costs. The total combined employee/employer tax payment is highest in:
1. Sweden
2. the United States
3. Belgium
4. France
Of the 10 largest U.S. companies, how many had an effective tax rate in 2007 higher than the average of 39.25 percent?
1. None
2. Three
3. Seven
Of the 10 biggest U.S. companies that earned a profit in 2007, which had the lowest effective tax rate?
1. Wal-Mart
2. General Electric
3. Bank of America
4. AT&T
Of 30 industrialized countries, taxes on wealthy individuals are highest in:
1. the United States
2. France
3. Japan
4. Denmark

See answers »

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YOUNGER GENERATIONS ALL OVER THE WORLD (ESPECIALLY THE AFLUENT) HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF HISTORY, WHY AND HOW THE USA WAS MADE GREAT. SINCE THE 1960'S MORAL CHARACTER HAS FALLEN OFF THE CLIFF, ESPECIALLY IN THE USA. THE MEDIA IS AFRAID TO PRINT THE TRUTH. WHAT HAS CAUSED THE PROBLEMS "KICKING GOD OUT OF SCHOOLS AND NATIONAL LEADERSHIP". MEDIA WILL NOT PRINT OR PROMOTE GODLINESS, IT IS NOT ACCEPTED, IT ISN'T POLITICALLY CORRECT AND IT WILL NOT SELL. WHAT IS HAPPENING TODAY WAS PROPHECY 4000 YEARS AGO. OF COURSE AMERICA (USA) IS GOING DOWN THE TUBE.

R. Farrington of TX 8:13AM September 16, 2008

Consider these comments by John McCain in January of 2008 “The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should,” he said. But, “I’ve got Greenspan’s book,”
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/01/18/mccain-economy/
I'm not sure the Hockey Mom has a much broader grasp either.

Pat of MA 9:21PM September 15, 2008

This coming November the American people, through the election process, will face the most fundamental of all questions a democratic country can face.
That question being, Who do they expect to pay for or finance their government? Is it the people themselves? Or is it foreign investors, private or governmental? Or is it going to be a rational division between the two?
Ronald Reagan, the avatar of the reactionary greed movement which made a great effort in rolling back New Deal and Great Society measures, sold the American people on the idea that TINSTAAFL did not apply in the real world. He created the belief that there WAS such a thing as A FREE LUNCH. His idea being thet TISATAAFL(There Is Such A Thing As A Free Lunch!
And now the financial chickens are coming home to roost.
It appears that he WAS correct when he said that "Government was not a solution to America's problems but rather that government WAS THE problem." Using the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act as the preminent actor. Not to belabor the price of oil nor teh Iraq War Grab.
Ever since the venal Phil Gramm enginereed the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 and replaced it with his own handcrafted measure lack of government has been the problem!
The apostles of the free market are nothing more than greedy, venal, sociopathic thieves who wish financial regulation crippled so they can loot the national wealth.
The Robber Barons of the Gilded Age were mere pikers compared to today's crooks.
At least the old Robber Barons were constricted by old-time economics. Modern globalization has allowed a small cabal of thieves to destroy almost an entire economic class.
America is done, finished, kaput. It will never recover from the Reactionary ERA (1980 to present).

Sted of PA 2:09PM September 15, 2008

Rick Newman

Econoquiz: How High Are U.S. Taxes?

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Rick Newman

Econoquiz: How High Are U.S. Taxes?

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