Now do the VAT. Almost everyone who does the math on this (counting healthcare as a tax in the US) finds that only considering the income portion of your taxes, it's about equal. In most places in Europe, you also have the VAT acting as an extra tax. Your tax burden would be a lot higher.

Also, you must be thinking of your marginal rate being 33% - your federal taxes should be under 20% of your income at $170k, even if filing as single. In Germany, your tax rate would be about 27%.

Agree on VAT, but MA also has 6.25% sales tax which I didn't consider, that is if you want to start from revenue. So the difference will be less than 19%. Also VAT in Germany is not 19% on everything, there are exemptions and low rate of 7%.

33% is not a marginal rate, it's an effective tax rate (filing jointly) including payroll taxes which are deducted from my wages, I mentioned it. Also we have a state tax in MA which is also included in 33%.

In any case there are other taxes too (e.g. gas excise, vehicle excise, property tax etc.), so I'm not trying to compare the whole tax burden, that would be too much for HN. But regarding payroll taxes -- they are pretty close even if you consider VAT, certainly not a "lot less", it's a myth propagated by politicians. So the question is: we pay (almost) "welfare state" taxes, where is my part of a welfare state?

Yeah, you live in a high-tax state - counting that and payroll tax would make it to 33%. However, you can deduct a good fraction of that tax (actually all of it) from your federal taxes. Also, you included the cost of your healthcare in your calculation, so you are getting "welfare state" benefits for that cost. As to your taxes, those are paying for a welfare state for people who are less well off than you. I'm pretty sure you are in the 90th percentile on income, by the way, so you're not actually in the lower class, and arguably not even the middle class (although that level of income in a rich state like MA feels middle class).

All those other taxes exist in Germany too, by the way, and are much higher.

MA is not a "high-tax state", it's in the middle by an overall tax burden (depending how you count), so it's another myth. Check this for example: https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-highest-lowest-tax-bur.... Also I'm not in the top 10% percentile, more like in the top 20% in MA. Give me your definition of the "middle class". Also I explained that for the "lower class" medical payments are even higher.

No, I'm not getting "welfare state" benefits, I'm getting a pretty crappy medical service for a price which is waaay higher than in Germany. And if I lose my job I will be paying 2K/month + copays and co-insurances, not mentioning deductibles, unlike in Germany. And God forbids you get into a hospital without insurance, your jaw will drop to the floor when you see the bill.

Have you ever been in the Boston subway? Compare it with almost any city in Europe, hell, even with Montreal. Tell me which welfare state has subways like Boston or NYC? Commuter rail like in Boston? NYC commuter rail is a bit better, but still is not even close to German railways.

And all of the above we get for taxes which are very similar to Germany. No, they are not much lower, it's something with your math. And in absolute value we pay waaay more than in Germany given higher salaries.