Oh Canada! Let's get rid of the income tax.

[owsley]

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It is a myth that the welfare state benefits the poor.

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A lot of people claim this, but Im curious how this statement (and the theory it is based on) reconciles with the observation that countries with the highest taxation have the lowest poverty rates.

For example, the 5 countries with the lowest poverty problems, as measured by the Human Poverty Index (they are the only ones with an HPI under 10), are:

1. Sweeden
2. Norway
3. Netherlands
4. Finland
5. Denmark

Have the following rankings worldwide in taxation/GDP:

Sweeden 1
Norway 4
Netherlands (data not available)
Finland 5
Denmark 2


I havent done the math explicity, but IF you did, you are going to find a significant negative correlation between tax rate and poverty in developed countries.

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The fact that these 5 countries are all located in the exact same part of the world and have virtually the same demographics, natural resources, high base level of education, etc, should make you wonder if there was not some factor at play here other than the level of taxation...