Taxes and Haxes

This one is for my good friend falcon_01 over at the excellent Sheepdog's Blog.

Falcon has in a number of comments somewhat questioningly said that we here in Sweden has a total tax rate of 50%.

Well that's close- but no cigarr!

Actually we have a total tax rate of 54-56% (depending on who does the counting)!

This of course is... Well breathtaking by anyones standards. It's in fact the highest tax rates in the world!

But it has been worse!

Under the palme social democratic administration; there were times that you could be taxed more than you actually earned!

The world famous author Astrid Lindgren was one of those that got caught in this catch 22. She found her self owing the state a 102% marginal tax!
She wrote a story about it "Pomperipossa in Monismania"

Also read this!

In the parliment Gösta Bohman- the leader of the center- right party "Moderaterna"; read the story when having the chair.

To this Gunnar Sträng- the finance minister said that "Astrid Lindgren had a deep unnkowledge of the Swedish taxation system- but we really can't expect any more from her!"

In a radio show the following day Astrid Lindgren replied: "But I demand that Gunnar Sträng should! I know what taxes I got! Sträng can obviously tell a story- but doing arithmetics he can not. Maby we should trade professions!"

Astrid Lindgren is deeply missed by me!