Why Americans Hate Paying Taxes | The Problem with Jon Stewart 

I would happily pay that 38% tax rate if we got free education, health care, daycare, and the like. People bitching and moaning about how we can't afford Universal Healthcare are out of their minds. Somehow, in their mind, they're going to end up paying more in taxes than they do on their insurance premiums, co-pays, prescriptions, ambulance trips, and hospital stays.

I don't hate paying taxes..... I hate that I don't get what I was promised in return for them.

As a Belgian, with our 37% tax rate, I can honestly say that if I'd had to go to the hospital JUST ONCE with an American pricetag and no healthcare, I would've been personally bankrupt. Sure, it's a lot of taxes, but there's SO much stuff you never have to pay for. In the end, we don't lose more money than the average American, and we don't have to worry about being in debt for life, or worrying about going to a doctor because of the cost.

I've been tracking my total expenditures for the last 7 years and when I factor in all of the things that taxes pay for in other first world countries, my annual "taxes" are between 42-48% of my income, depending on how much I end up spending on healthcare in any given year. I would MUCH rather pay 38% and be guaranteed I won't go into bankruptcy if I have a medical event that my insurance decides not to pay for (because that DOES happen in the US, scarily frequently)

In the US, taxes go toward subsidizing the rich.

I've lived in America and Canada. Paid about the same in taxes but get way more for my taxes in Canada. Most Americans hate the government (hate giving them their money even more) because they've never experienced good governance.

People don't hate taxes. They hate paying taxes and then repaying their student loans, driving through a pot hole, and haggling with their insurance company for an unexpected $2000 charge

I grew up in Sweden, have a bachelors degree. The only thing i had to pay for was my own upkeep(rent, food etc etc) which you take student loans for where a portion of that is completely free and the rest is part of the loan. The college and universities are essentially free. Healthcare is another big one, i never had to deal with outrageous costs for simple treatments. Certain treatments can get pricy if it's more for aesthetics. I also lived in the US and saw the stark contrast, broke my wrist there, and saw how they wouldn't do anything in the ER unless i signed for that copay. I had a good insurance that covered most of the operation but still ended up paying around 3K. If i had done that in Sweden it would of been free... I think a big problem with US politics is that it is so focused around individuals rather then functioning institutions you can trust. I was shocked when i saw political ads there. It felt more like putting on a show. Same for their media outlets. Some politicians try to demonize taxes whilst instead they should educate you to that its for the ultimate end to help society. Build infrastructure, standardize safety for foods, medication, worker holidays, treatments, and many many more things. If you look at the more successful taxed countries you can see their they have similar coverages for their citizens and it's not some obscure leftist social fantasy.

Born and raised in the USA. Moved to France in 1987. Got a world class Masters Degree for $300/year intuition at a public university in Paris. Been living, working and paying taxes here ever since. The advantages of living in one of the most heavily taxed economies in the world far outweigh the disadvantages. Why? Social services, social services and more social services. Every day I thank my lucky stars that I don’t live, work and pay taxes in the USA, where the entire system is designed to have money trickle up to the ownership class. Those are the people who constantly bash the Liberals, but they are the architects of what Gore Vidal rightly described as Capitalism for the poor, Socialism for the rich.

I've given 1/3 of my paycheck to the government for 30 years & my return on investment has been a couple wars, a crumbling infrastructure, a system of sustained poverty & low wages, Wall Street bailouts, corporate subsidies, militarized cops, & *zero* healthcare. The CARES Act was a taste of what the government _could_ do & it kept me alive through the pandemic.

Amazing. I've been making this argument for years. Americans are pissed off, stressed out and homicidal (in part) because we are soaked for taxes (while companies and the wealthy don't pay) and we get absolutely NOTHING for our investment. Well, nothing if you don't count our completely dysfunctional gridlocked government. Thanks, Jon. Keep the truth coming.

One of my favorite hobbies in the world is listening to people I know who demand that their taxes be decreased (or at least never rise), while simultaneously complaining about their health insurance company, how bad the roads are, or how there are no good public transit options where they live. I'm genuinely curious what their hypothetical solutions to these problems are...

Decades of propaganda by the rich

So glad you're covering an economic topic like this. I was born in the UK and I find the entire concept of taxes inspiring, not galling. The idea that we put our money together to make life more livable for "the least of these" makes me almost excited to pay taxes. Here, that concept is completely foreign. Part of it is just cultural difference (individualism and anti-tax) going back to the revolutionary war, but part of it is that the US system is so complex, convoluted, and huge amounts of corporate interests influencing how the money gets spent. Yes, there is waste, but waste in the USA is only a little higher than elsewhere. The waste itself is a vastly overblown problem. The main issue isn't outright waste so much as it's that the laws are designed to aid corporations not regular people. Money is often spent efficiently, but in the wrong places. It's understandable you wouldn't trust the government as much with your money under those circumstances. The US government (on all levels) actually on balance does a decent job with the money, but there are so many examples of corrupt practices to point to which make it harder to make that case. When there's no trust in our institutions, naturally there will be more pushback against taxes. So for lefties like me that want to make the country easier to live in, part of the picture has to be getting money out of politics, including lobbying in Congress. It also means dealing with conflicts of interest like no longer allowing members of Congress to trade stocks. I don't see how the US improves as a country without these kinds of fundamental issues being addressed.

I moved to Canada 4 yr ago from New Jersey. It was the best decision I have ever made. The stress of missing work or getting sick gone. My relationship with my wife and family got better because no more panicking abt not making enough money incase of any emergencies.

This is exactly what I've been trying to tell people for years! US is so far behind!!!

The corruption in our healthcare, pharmaceuticals, insurance, oversized "defense budget, education industries, and the list goes on, keeps us from having nice things and a much better life. Jon, there is no way you can shine enough light or knowledge on this to be considered too much. A decent education alone would change the minds of a lot of opponents. Thanks!!

It’s almost as if pooling your money and resources together to make society better... makes society better.

You also forgot how the IRS know exactly how much we owe, but decides to let us figure it out on our own, so that people who can't afford tax attorneys accidentally overpay.

As a Scandi high taxes are great, i truly enjoyed my free education and the liveable wage for studying, as did my family, and when i got sick, it was really nice not to have to worry about doctor bills, plus alot of my medication was almost free, as in im getting a massive discount. Also our infrastructure is pretty great, roads, rails internet and so on. Free Market Socialism is great.

Hell, just not having the annual math exam that only exists to line H&R Block's pockets would be a massive improvement.

If taxes equaled the system working for us, instead of it being wasted would make us all feel better!

“They get a fuckbox?!” Lmao, dammit Jon I was drinking my coffee when you said that 😂

Hello. I'm American and I moved to Europe in 2017 when I was in my late 30s. I pay roughly the same percentage of income taxes that I paid when I lived in the US. The difference is that in Europe, those taxes provide me with excellent health insurance. I pay nothing when I visit the doctor and get medication. These taxes pay for education for my kids. Our roads are impeccable. Crime rate is ridiculously low. Granted, our sales tax is 20%. But our goods are so much cheaper than in the US that we end up paying less for things like clothes, food, etc than we did in the US. Why? Other countries don't waste so much money on the defense industry. Notice I say waste. Of course, the US "needs" to spend a lot on defense. But a LARGE proportion of that spending is waste.

My grandfather once said "taxes are the price we pay for cilivisation". Considering here in Canada, my son and I were saved when I had serious pregnancy complications, without paying a penny out of pocket, and in the US, we'd likely both be dead, I think I'm getting quite the bargain. And Canada doesn't even get all the perks our friends in Europe do, just because we're too influenced by our southern neighbours. If anything, we need to be *more* like our friends across the Pond.

If I had such an education system, failing civil infraestructure, completely messed up health care, controversial police departments and so on, I'd hate to pay taxes too.

Just realizing this show exists?! Thank you for doing this Jon, love you

Just drove from Georgia to British Columbia. Talk about crumbling infrastructure. Many of the roads I traveled were horrible; rough, potholes, many with all but non-existent marking. In contrast, most of Canada's roads were smooth as silk, even though they are subject to the same or worse weather as those in the US.

California gave my family free healthcare for just over two years, starting when I was laid off, and continuing through new employment due to them not wanting to take negative action during Covid. Not having to worry about getting sick and going to the doctor or getting life sustaining medications was a major comfort, not having the stress over having to essentially gamble with my family’s lives. Now that I’ve moved to New York, we’re back to “normal”, on company insurance, paying premiums, copays, and coinsurance with deductibles. My net income is down and I’m back to picking and choosing when to go to the doctor. Why can’t we get decent healthcare? Heck, Roosevelt was pushing for it almost a century ago. Yet it’s still an overly complicated system that seems to generate money from keeping people sick, and that’s not right.

As an expat visiting the US, I had a similar conversation with a tumpster last week. When I mentioned the differences of life in he EU to the US he called it socialism. My audible laughter didn’t go over well. When I told him my taxes paid for these things he wouldn’t believe it. As the conversation progressed, I had to say that his reaction seemed to be out of jealousy that Americans don’t have a fraction of the social benefits that other countries have. He had difficulty responding to that comment.

I wonder how much of our hatred comes not from the amount we pay but from having to deal with the the forms and figuring out all the deductions and credits, refunds or payments. In Britain for example, it's all done through withholding and no modifiers so unless you're self employed you never deal with the paperwork and calculations directly.

I spoke to a couple from Switzerland and folks from Iceland, and they all stated they were happy to pay taxes for the benefits they received; I.e. universal healthcare, childcare, maternity and paternity leave, and good roads and public transportation

In Norway we don't make an act to pay taxes, it just happens automatically (for most forms of income).

It all gets sucked up with the help of lobbying. This was awesome Jon. Thanks for coming back

I lived and worked in the United States most my life. Owned a very successful financial business in Los Angeles after I served in the Marine corps in Iraq and Afghanistan in the infantry. The pandemic completely crushed my business, and it went under. In a hail mary decision, I decided to make a move to Central Europe during the pandemic. I moved, started my own company, and have been here for going on 4 years now. I would never have said this before, but paying my taxes here is absolutely 100% worth it. And paying for my ZUS and getting free surgery, free treatments- it's absolutely baffling to me that we don't have this in the United States. And what's even more hilarious, is I actually do pay less out of my income here than I did when I was in the United States. Between federal taxes, state taxes, social security coming out of my check. I actually pay about 10% less here than I did in the United States, and I get far more out of my money. My tax returns might not be as big, but when my girlfriend had a major emergency surgery recently we didn't have a $15,000 or $20,000 bill for that surgery floating over our heads. It was free. The only thing we had to pay for was some antibiotics after. I was recently offered a very good job position back in the USA, if I would shut down my business here and move to do my work there in NY. I turned that down flat. Because in all honesty, I don't think I will ever go back to the United States. Our country's government treats us absolutely awful. It doesn't matter what side is in power, we get treated like worker dirt. In EU they get double the amount of time off for national holidays. They get a third more sick leave, a third more vacation days. They get funeral leave, wedding leave, baby and child leave. Their train systems are updated, improved constantly, and run efficiently city to city constantly. They have e-government. Meaning taxes are all done in the same system as your medical, and your Visa paperwork, and your speeding ticket fines, and your banking, and everything else. So it's all streamlined and all extremely quick and easy to use. The same social paradigms exist in a lot of ways, but people aren't as high strung because people aren't as worried about not making it tomorrow. Or that some emergency might crush their entire life... And what is baffling to me more than anything, is the lack of infrastructure improvement in the US also. I went home after 4 years, recently, and everything was worse. Not better. The government had done literally zero to improve anybody's lives in half a decade and two different presidents. The lack of e-government capabilities. The lack of focus on increasing and improving airline transportation and public transportation. And the severe lack of medical coverage. It's appalling. Being an American. Seeing what we don't get that everybody else does. We as Americans need to wake up.

Damn, Jon Stewart's back. Happy to see it.

The objection I always hear in my neck of the woods is, "Well I already have insurance through work. Why would I want crappy government provided insurance? (Or some other excuse)." My reply is always, "imagine how much more money you could ask for if your employer didn't have to pay for your insurance?" Usually the look on their face tells me they never took the time or braincells to think about it from that point of view and instead just parrot the talking points.

I've always wondered how the stress of all this impacts Americans, the worry, the impacts on job performance, parenting performance etc. You'd think a true Capitalist country would of figured all this out unless the answer they found is that we're all just disposable.

“Scandi” here. I also love our system. I’m never afraid of ANY unforseen expense, because all the big ones, like health, education, it all just works more or less “free”

There’s an american family living in Denmark who’s got an RU-vid channel “Travelling Young” where they take up various subjects such as taxpaying and gennerally living in another country. They once made a comparison between the danish system with a lot of taxes and the american system with very low taxes but expensive insurance. Interestingly enough the citizen got most out of the dollar earned by the danish tax-ridden system. Except that we don’t earn our money in dollars but in kroner.

"it's amazing what you can pay for when you haven't been allowed to have an army" great point. in addition to making the wealthy pay more taxes, we should also cut the defense budget by 10-20%, at least

Ohh this feels like og daily show!! Jon's delivery is really legendary, I've missed this

I love these Jon Stewart segments... but they're too damn SHORT!

Thank you

Love you Jon. Thank you for your continued activism we need and appreciate Jon Stewart's voice.

I live in Sweden and I was unemployed for a long time, lived off benefit, I felt really good about how much I've repaid after my life became more fortunate (hint, way more than I took out), I probably wouldn't in the US, since most is spent on the corrupt war machine.

My favorite part is getting a correction on my tax return when I make a mistake... if you were already doing this shit, why did I have to painstakingly fill out and complete a damn dossier?

I've said this for ages - if you include the forced cost of healthcare/insurance & 0 transportation alternatives (among others), 90% of us are taxed HIGHER here than there by a LOT

Bring It Jon!!! I've been waiting for this episode Fore Ever!! Tell the People what's going on. Also, you may want to do a segment on real estate tax laws and outcomes....🤯

Much better staging, and thank you so much for talking about what truly matters to 99% of the public!

Born and raised in the US. Moved to Japan in 2016. Been forced to pay into the National Health Insurance and National Pension systems here since I moved. However, because I'm a foreigner, the systems are not required to actually be of benefit to me. I have lots of extra paperwork I have to do to go to any sort of doctor/dentist/etc. Then the pension system is completely useless to me as a foreigner. I hate it so much...

Good stuff to share, nice

Swede here 👋🏻 and if you actually pay more tax the more you earn here. If you earn more than 42 000 SEK, which is about $3700, per month then you pay 50% tax 😅. But I am also glad to be paying taxes as my I never have to worry about my kids hospital, dental or school tuition bills. I just have to worry about everytjing else.

Good to see John back in his groove I just wish he was on Netflix or Hulu. 🙁

"It sounded like an ocean liner just came" 🤣

In WI our last Gov Walker made this big "tax cut" which amounted to a whopping $30 in my pocket. I'd GLADLY give it back to have better roads and bridges to drive on. Wow

The problem with US taxes isn't the inner mechanisms of government, which actually work as good as anywhere else. It's the legislators and the administrations, who instruct government to help businesses and abandon people.

I live in beautiful Canada and appreciate our healthcare system very much. I regularly cross the border to purchase gas and groceries because of the high cost of both north of the border. From what have witnessed, Americans have become very spoiled and entitled people. All Canadian products are consistently 30% higher than goods purchased in America. Most people living in Canada don’t own a five bedroom house with three cars in our driveway but can lay our heads down knowing we aren’t going bankrupt because of a medical emergency and there is a safety net for lower income citizens and for the elderly. You can call it socialism if you like, I call it care for everyone

I missed you John Stewart! I missed you

Jon. Our "beloved " leaders are" exceptional " !

He is only citing federal tax rate. After everything is added up the US is fairly close to Europe but we have less social services to show for it

It's always nice to hear how lucrative causing human suffering can be. The world's most cynical people must be those in charge of insurance companies.

Yep!

I’ve forgotten how much I miss Jon Stewart!

More of this please

To be honest it's more than that. In Germany if you make say 3000€ before taxes your get 2000€. This includes social security (which covers unemployment, healthcare and retirement) but your employer pays another 600€ on top for "his" half of social secuirty. But he doesn't give you a nice patriotic gift. You the employee earned this. So you don't pay 33% of what you make in taxes, it's over 45%. I don't know how common this practice is in other countries but it does disguise in some way the real burden on people. Also people who make a good amount more than the average can opt out from social security. Strong shoulders should carry more, not here.

GOOD QUESTION

We love you Jon. ✌️

A question I've heard numerous times, both online and in person, from people outside the US, is "What are your tax dollars actually paying for?" I'd like an answer to this myself.

I've spoken to people in Finland who were astounded at the concept that a government official might be corrupt. That could be part of it. Also, those people who will be in debt for the rest of their lives? They're not paying taxes. That's why the *average* tax rate in the USA is so low.

Their government actually helps their people whereas ours doesn't.

I still can't figure out where the 8% tax rate is coming from. That amount covers just our federal sales tax (not state), and there were several others listed to prove the point, which did not even cover all of them.

I don’t think Stewart is funny, but he is a very smart guy who’s heart is in the right place, so he’s got my support.

Almost every other Western Country also have a Value Added Tax (a Sales Tax applied to every Financial transaction, chiefly, between companies) - which is deliberately left out of the equation of any U. S. Corporate Income Tax comparison to international rates. U. S. Corps already only contribute 7% to the Total IRS Annual intake. How much lower can our Country afford to go?!

Excellent. We need more Jon. Namaste, Zachariah Lone Star Liberal

As a european jon steward is one of the few americans i actually like

Yeah from Sweden here, we have high taxes byt the problem is that the government is growing and needs more funding all the time so the quality of the systems are failing. We have a huge bureaucracy here... Waiting to get to meet a doctor (special doctor) can take months, even years. So yes, its a safer system, but its flaud. I waited 18 months to get my allergies checked by a special clinic that could offer me treatment. There is also a huge difference if you live in urban vs rural areas. Just some inputs.

Ah, yes, the Corporate Oligarchy.

Among other things, I'm here for the theme song 🤘

Bottom line is in the US we will despise paying taxes when we feel those taxes don't have any benefit for The People. When our taxes help ensure rich people aquire more money and power and only that, we end up in a position where we have taxation without representation and that right there is why the country was founded and revolted against the British. Racism and our Civil War started the first income taxes in this country, our taxes are drenched in racism and corruption and that has been felt in America since that civil war by the poor and minorities.

I would like to see a “Where do I want my taxes to go” chart on the back of my income tax form when I fill out my taxes each year. And only if hey would listen.

Wow. Love that Jon is adding humor back into the show

I was audited once when I was a 23 yr old, married, 1 kid, E-3 in the army. Story; I did my taxes on time and filed, 1040-EZ, and late I received a refund check. Cashed check and continued living my life until, I received another refund check for exact same amount as first. I call the IRS returned the check, then the audited me. They said I owed them more than my refund was for. It took a long time to pay that off, and they kept my next refund. I have no idea what happened, I only know now it was extremely easy for them to go after me as apposed to someone who was wealthy. Unfair system.

God damn - I'm using a few of your clips for my own "news" channel. Thank you ... and also (later, after you realize it ...) YOU'RE WELCOME!

"It;s amazing what you can pay for when you haven't been allowed to have an army" 😂

I missed this Jon Stewart.

Because we almost never see the returns on what's supposed to be an investment other than routine maintenance on road infrastructure sometimes.

People with money never realize its coming from a place of privilege to say "I don't mind paying more in taxes."

I am so confused by taxes. I made 77k last year @ $24 an hour, and paid 19k in taxes, then the IRS hit me with a 1k additional charge and the state IRS hit me with $600 I had to pay almost 1k in fees hiring a tax expert but it still isn't settled even though he said it was a for sure an error on their part. I'm a truck driver, I make too much to get breaks by working shit tons of hours but I can't afford to pay someone else to handle my taxes. Just tax everyone the same % and give benefits to those that need it! Fuck

I wish i could like this more than once. All day really. Like all over the place and six ways from sunday. Like this!!!

Oh keep in mind too the Scandanavian model doesnt really work. Norway relies heavily on Oil money to an extent that its basically the Kuwait of Europe, and Denmark has low business regulation.

Without insurance, an injury from a car accident cost me over 30,000$. I wasn't at fault, but the money I would have gotten from the settlement, paid my bills instead. Also missed 2 years of work because I had a neck injury, and the insurance company INTENTIONALLY waited until the last days to negotiate a settlement. I was making around 30k/ year at that time. So I was actually under paid for the time I missed, and paid nothing for the permanent injury.

It’s such a shame I discovered this show right after my free Apple TV trial ended

Damn, now I have to sub to Apple TV+ again. 😫

It's really simple. Little gets done in America unless it makes a rich person richer or blows something up.

It's not paying taxes that we hate so much. What we hate is knowing that our government is going to waste 10 times more than we pay.

2:20 that explains why McDonald's came out with the adult happy meal...

I love this guy 😂

I live in Austria, roughly 34% taxes, apparently. Wouldn't have noticed, tho, because while technically I pay these taxes, they are usually automatically substracted from everything. So I don't even notice it. All our prices in all stores are WITH taxes. That means we pay what the sign says and don't have to add the 20% taxes we pay on everything. The salary we get is paid out after taxes, that means we can keep everything we get as taxes are automatically paid. Same goes for social security, pension funds and healthcare. So off the roughly 2800 Euros I make each month, about 900 I never see, never even get. I get what's left. And I don't miss it. Instead, I get modern roads, great healthcare, a safe pension, solid social care, healthy food, some of the best water on the planet, a 4 day work week, 5 weeks paid vacation, paid sick leave, free Univeristy, free schools, good public schools, a solid education system, working infrastructure, safety (we have low crime rates) and, according to the "Freedom House' world freedom index, a freedom rate higher than the US by 10 points. So yes, I really do think it is okay to pay these taxes.

I've actually never had a problem with paying taxes, it's what my taxes are used for that pisses me off and how much money I don't make and pay taxes on.