From Mankiw's blog:
Taxes/GDP x GDP/Person = Taxes/Person
Here are the results for some of the largest developed nations:
France
.461 x 33,744 = 15,556
Germany
.406 x 34,219 = 13,893
UK
.390 x 35,165 = 13,714
US
.282 x 46,443 = 13,097
Canada
.334 x 38,290 = 12,789
Italy
.426 x 29,290 = 12,478
Spain
.373 x 29,527 = 11,014
Japan
.274 x 32,817 = 8,992
The bottom line: The United States is indeed a low-taxA tax is a mandatory payment or charge collected by local, state, and national governments from individuals or businesses to cover the costs of general government services, goods, and activities. country as judged by taxes as a percentage of GDP, but as judged by taxes per person, the United States is in the middle of the pack.
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