Comparison of Income Tax - UK vs. US States

There has been much debate about the "high tax rate" in the UK vs. the US. I just thought it might be a more fruitful discussion when we have the real facts in front of us. Since I am up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning with no one to talk to (and not to mention that I am a numbers nerd), I actually have the time to do things like such!!

Do note that this is strictly an income tax comparison. Taxes (if you can call them that) such as Social Security & Medicare etc. for the US are not accounted for, National Insurance for the UK is not accounted for. Also note that other additional allowances (tax relief) for either US or UK are also not reflected. Comparison is strictly based on "Single" filing status. UK tax calculation has been converted to USD for an apples to apples comparison. Exchange rate from GBP to USD is reflected at the most recent rate of 1.62.

This has been quite fascinating for me. For example, who would have thought that the state of California has such wacky Tax bracket - how random. Makes me laugh. And, did you know that there are a total of 9 states with no income tax, although 2 of them do tax on income earned via interest and dividends (i.e. investments). I think the process has given me a new idea for my next career move - working for the US government - in a States at least, balancing the State's budget! I think that would be a very fascinating job really. If I can do it for a corporation, why not a State government? Hhhhhmmmm........


CONCLUSION:
While the UK income tax may be slightly higher vs. the US, depending on which US state you draw the comparison to, the comparison schedule is merely to point out that it's not devastatingly/dramatically

higher than we think.

Bearing in mind this is of absolutely no political agenda. I'm the last person to discuss politics with. But the analysis is done to put to rest the myth/mystery of the high UK taxes. While it is obviously high compared to several US states, particularly the ones with no state income tax, it is not higher than the New England states nor California.

And I cannot stress enough that the analysis solely compares Income Tax, which is the topic of misunderstanding in several discussions I've had in the past, present and hopefully not in the future. While many might think that I speak and defend the UK government and way of life, I DON'T. I am simply here to reveal facts.