@freemo

European social-democratic paradigm is reduction of income inequality. This is achieved by income taxation that is high for high-income earners (up to 50%) and low or zero for low-income earners, commonly known as progressive taxation (not because it's politically progressive, but because tax rate increases with absolute income).

So when you hear someone talking about "we pay lower/higher tax in EU" the first question is how much they earn in absolute terms.