Are You French ? How much money do you pay in Taxes ???

Question

I saw the Michael Moore movie this past weekend, in one scene, he goes into this French's couple's house to interview them about how much money they pay in TAXES for their free medical health service, but he never gets to it, he goes into talking about the food they spend and vacations they take...does anyone know how much money does a typical French family pay in taxes every year to get free medical service???

Answer 1

According to the OECD statistics reflecting 2005 tax rates, the total tax burden in France is 44.3% of gross domestic product (GDP).

For a single individual this translates as an effective overall tax rate of 50.1% and for a married couple with two children an effective overall tax rate of 41.7%.

By way of comparision, the corressponding rates for Americans are 29.1% and 11.9%  respectively.

Which is to say that the "free" health care costs them roughly 30% of their income.

Answer 2

Not me!!!

But ones that I know pay 40%+

Answer 3

Rillifane's OECD reference is technically correct but does not answer the question fully.

A typical French family in Paris area (professionals) makes around 60K euros a year (average salary).  Of that they pay about 40% in taxes depending on how many children, if they own a home or not and other factors.  

Some people who make a very large amount of money pay a very large percentage of their income to taxes (over 50% in some cases).  For these people the French system does not work well (they could easily pay for their own medical care since they make alot).

For most people who do not make huge salaries (waiters, bus drivers, etc.) they pay the same amount of taxes that people pay in the U.S. (15-20% or so).  For these people the system works well.

For people in the middle it depends on their medical expenses.  If someone is making 60K euros and is healthy then it is not "working" for them.  But, if someone makes the same money and gets cancer or gets into a car accident then it works very nicely for them.

Thus they are not burdened financially if they face catastrophic medical problems (injuries, accidents, surgery).

So, the question of whether the French system is better is best answered thusly: It is better for some people (low income, middle income who get into accidents or have cancer) but not all (the very wealthy who could afford their own medical coverage).

Is it important for a country or society to have such a system?  

That depends on who you are.

Answer 4

I am french : I let you translate sorry.

environ 40 % du salaire (dont la moitié environ à la charge du salarié) part en retraite, sécurité sociale (santé), et chômage.

A côté de ça, nous payons une mutuelle, qui est très variable et qui n'est pas obligatoire (moi : environ 50 euros par mois, mais je ne sais pas si c'est représentatif). Et même avec ça, la santé n'est pas gratuite. Tous les médicaments ne sont pas intégralement remboursés, ni les soins.

Answer 5

Rillifane is right, we do pay way more taxes than in the US. i am French living in the US since 2000.

The top limit is actually 60% of your income can be taken by the French government.

It pays for the Health care but also  retirement, education (free for the most part until your PHD), and welfare on top of the other "national expenditures"

It is a good chunk of money that is gone every month. The system is quite different than in the US. I got quite the sticker shock when I went to a doctor for the first time here. ( $20 in France which are reimbursed against $130 here with a copay of $25...).

There are some flaws there too, I do not believe that an ideal system exist.