re: Sweden is the No. 1 country for affordability, safety and overall quality of life

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For example, Sweden’s top personal income tax rate of 52.3 per cent is comparable to America’s top rate of 50.3 per cent (in California), but Sweden’s top rate applies to income starting at roughly US$62,000 compared to America’s top rate, which kicks in at between roughly US$535,000 and US$1 million depending on the state. Clearly, the top personal income tax rate in Sweden applies to many average Swedish workers and families.

Moreover, Sweden’s national sales tax rate (25 per cent) is one of the highest in the industrialized world, which again applies to average workers and families. The U.S. has no national sales tax, and state and local sales taxes range from zero in four states to 9.55 per cent in Louisiana. And Sweden also has a comparatively high payroll tax rate at 31.4 per cent.

The consequence of Sweden’s tax policies is clear—average Swedes bear the burden of higher government spending.

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In 2021, Sweden experienced some 360 gang-related shootings and 47 deaths; by September of this year, 47 had already died in shootings.

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“Sweden used to be a completely peaceful country — and safe,” Brussels-based Roland Freudenstein, vice president of the independent think tank GLOBSEC, told Yahoo News. “Now it’s become one of the most unsafe places in Europe” — not only because of its gang shootings but also because of high number of incidents of rape.

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