OP's numbers are off. If you make $1,000,000 a year in SF, you pay 45% of your income as income tax. If you make $10,000,000, it's just over 50%.

I used this calculator: https://smartasset.com/taxes/california-tax-calculator#ysfEQ...

OP's 22% was of the amount remaining after federal taxes. After federal taxes, you would have about 65% of your income left, the state would take about 13.5%/65% = 21% of that.

If you take it like that, my numbers are off as well. They were for the usual bracket of income :D

If I make more than 200k€ here. The higher bracket is 58.75% of taxes (+66k€ paid directly by the employer to the state).

OP's dubious math aside, the US tax dollar doesn't really feel like it goes as far as it does in many European countries. Public transportation prices are extremely high nationwide, infrastructure is lacking, healthcare and education expenses will break the bank, and welfare programs don't really cut the mustard. Yes, a majority of Americans don't pay any income taxes; but a ~50% income tax in a country like Sweden feels like a fairer deal than an equivalent tax rate (and it does get this high for upper-middle-class incomes in many states) in the US.

Ya but we have some pretty sweet military toys.

I think the parent meant that 13% of total income = 22% of income after federal tax.

Tax rates for the top income brackets in california aren't low either: ~40+%