Are they among the strictest in the world?
We're often told we have among the lowest taxes in the world, but I know that's BS. I don't know whether it's extreme BS or moderate BS when we're told that, so that's why I decided to ask here. I know that the U.S now has the most IP laws so it wouldn't surprise me if the U.S. had some of the worst tax laws in the world.
What makes it the worst is not the % numbers but the fact that it covers all income regardless of where in the universe it had been made or where the US citizen resides. AFAIK, US is the only country with such tax "coverage".
z1235 is correct. For example, I work at the UN and the US is the only Member State in the whole organization that insists on taxing its citizens for every penny they earn working there. It's a painfully complicated system that warrants its own UN office and has even made one of my friends here cry from the stress, lol. The other Member States simply allow their citizens to be taxed by the UN at a flat rate which is used to reduce the amount each country owes in contributions to the UN. For them, filing taxes must be heaven compared to what I have to go through.
In "fairness", many countries don't allow "their" citizens to renounce citizenship. The US does allow this, although it's not exactly easy (and has been getting more difficult recently).
The keyboard is mightier than the gun.
Non parit potestas ipsius auctoritatem.
Voluntaryism Forum
One thing I can say is that the cost of living in the US is quite a bit lower than most European countries. Much of that is due to the high taxes in the EU. VAT is anywhere from 17-25 percent. That means that, of most anything you purchase, 17-25% of that is pure tax. One friend quipped that folks here simply change the $ sign to the ₤ or the € when they sell the same product as in the States. In fact, I think prices for electronics such as computers and mobile phones are cheaper in the US than almost anywhere in the world. Eating out is cheap. Gas is relatively cheap. Petrol in Spain currently is 1.45-1.55 Euros per litre. This is typical in much of western Europe.