Londoner

I had a cool chat with a Londoner about taxes. Apparently they're much simpler in UK. Unless you're self-employed, you don't file anything. There's no state tax, and VAT (their consumption tax) is national and included in all prices. Have we thought about the transaction costs of complicated taxes? Heck, we've spawned a whole industry of tax accountants who are not needed here.

Also, I'm not sure taxes in UK (which can be up to 50% for earners over £50,000/yr) are really that much more than USA taxes when you include federal, state, and local tax. Imd figure, however, that someone's comprehensively thought about and studied this - there's probably an apples-to-apples $ comparison out there.

Follow my travel blog at http://thebikings.blogspot.com
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry