Which country is best in terms of giving benefits to citizens for tax collected?

[Ishicryptic]

Which country is best in terms of giving benefits to citizens for tax collected?

I have seen countries that have been mentioned on this thread so far and I hope that it answers your question but I am wondering why you will want to depend on benefits from tax collected? Countries should use income from taxes to provide social amenities and, fund projects and basically support those that are vulnerable. I don't think that anybody can become rich by depending on personal benefits from their government, what they can get is only something to survive with. People should be creative and work to support themselves, pay their taxes for the improvement of their economy rather than hoping on the government to survive. Please correct me if I don't get the meaning of your question.

[philipma1957]

Scandinavian countries used to have the best reputation for that.

To an extent we hear about this a lot still. Finland is said to be the happiest country on earth, and these countries consistently rank very high on education, welfare, low poverty etc...

But these years there has started a downward spiral in these countries. While they managed to maintain state infastracture, they failed to include community in their state building. Many people became dependent on the state and dwelled too deep into individualism. Now that these countries have started putting forward more and more austerity measures, the society they had built has started showing many cracks.

In Scandinavian countries you'll find people doing drugs on the street, being drunk on broad daylight, domestic violence cases... And the state's resources are no longer enough to protect everybody. And the society is also too individualistic for anyone to care enough to help the least bit.

So even if there countries return a big percentage of the taxes back to the people, it's not enough. Because a state can go through crises too and when state resources aren't enough, if there's no culture of community things can turn bad too regardless.

Socialism only works up to a point. When the government becomes too generous to its people staying home getting high and having sex seems like a plan for people.

I do not know if this has become a problem in Norway or Sweden as I do not live there.

I could do a fast check on crime there.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1182003/victims-of-reported-crimes-in-norway/

this chart seems to show decent numbers for norway but it stops in 2023 with a small uptick.

if accurate knowing if the uptick happened again in 2024 would show they are slumping a bit.

but from 2017 to 2023 60 crimes per 1000 people seems solid.

compared to usa.

[Queentoshi]

Which country is best in terms of giving benefits to citizens for tax collected?

I was not going to reply to this because I have no idea about any country that gives benefits to their citizens for tax collected, but what I know is this, policies often change as the government changes, and if the government of a country gives these benefits, how long can it continue? Should this be a reason for wanting to relocate to one of such countries? I do not think so too. A new government can come into power and then the policy of giving benefits to citizens for tax collected is changed. These things happen.

[Fortify]

Which country is best in terms of giving benefits to citizens for tax collected?

I would look at a "happiness index" if you want to find out which countries are performing well because it will generally align with them thinking that the government takes the right decisions. There are countries like Norway or Saudi Arabia that have a lot of money raised from oil, that are able to put it to good use in the best interests of the general public - although Norway is a lot better at thinking long term. Most European countries would sit in the medium the high bracket for reasonable spending of public taxes. The smaller a country is, the easier it should be to manage and put money to use most effectively. However the larger a country, the easier it should be to wield considerable cost efficiencies and buying power.

[Fiatless]

Which country is best in terms of giving benefits to citizens for tax collected?

I live in a country where majority of government revenue are stolen by corrupt politicians. In my continent Libya used to have a high standard of living.  But everything turned upside down after the death of Muammar Gaddafi. Currently, Egypt has a sound tax system that had impacted the life if citizens. But I have read that Scandinavia invest on its citizens wellbeing.  Education from primary to university is free and other payments are cheap compared to other European countries..I also that they invest heavily in infrastructure. 

[batang_bitcoin]

Scandinavian countries used to have the best reputation for that.

It's said Nordic countries

The countries that are in these areas are the first ones that I can think of. Another country is Japan IMHO, I've read something from there that they're really giving the best tax benefits for all of the employees there. Tax returns, services and other stuff. But the bad thing there is about their health care. If you don't know how to speak Nihonggo, you won't get prioritized but that means that it's good for their local people to have it prioritized and you have to speak their language which is a common thing for the beneficiaries of the government services.

[l99l]

It is definitely not Turkey, perhaps Turkey may be the first in the list of countries where the heaviest taxes are applied and the taxes collected are not used in the best conditions for the people.
The Nordic countries and Germany are the countries that do this job best, they already have this reputation.
It also depends on the political mechanism of the country, some countries are more of a social state and apply high taxes, some provide good service to the base with the taxes they collect, while others do not do this and still continue to collect.

[DanWalker]

Scandinavian countries used to have the best reputation for that.
~snip~
In Scandinavian countries you'll find people doing drugs on the street, being drunk on broad daylight, domestic violence cases... And the state's resources are no longer enough to protect everybody. And the society is also too individualistic for anyone to care enough to help the least bit.

So even if there countries return a big percentage of the taxes back to the people, it's not enough. Because a state can go through crises too and when state resources aren't enough, if there's no culture of community things can turn bad too regardless.

Socialism only works up to a point. When the government becomes too generous to its people staying home getting high and having sex seems like a plan for people.

I do not know if this has become a problem in Norway or Sweden as I do not live there.

I could do a fast check on crime there.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1182003/victims-of-reported-crimes-in-norway/

this chart seems to show decent numbers for norway but it stops in 2023 with a small uptick.

if accurate knowing if the uptick happened again in 2024 would show they are slumping a bit.

but from 2017 to 2023 60 crimes per 1000 people seems solid.

compared to usa.

Now this depends on a lot of variables and factors. Yes, I have not lived in the Scandinavian countries. But all we can talk about is information we get from the internet. if we talk about anecdotal, it is going to be different for every person. You know, UAE is a country that has very favourable tax situation. But you will find some people even in that country are going to complain!!

Scandinavian countries do take pretty good amount of money as taxes. But they also are very good at providing good lifestyle and many rights to their people, you can refer to this post:




Now a problem with these countries are some of them have very high suicide rate. But I guess that is understandable because when surviving becomes easy, a lot of people like not find the reason to be alive.  But the countries from the Middle East which are also considered first world countries don't have this problem as much because people are really devoted to their religion. Maybe that gives them a will to live.

Anyway if we talk about countries that have favourable taxing situations I am providing a list below.
But it looks like some countries from the Middle East are doing really well.

Countries Have the Most Favorable Tax Environments-
^{U.S. News & World Report}

[takuma sato]

Probably some seen in EU as much as libertarians like to shit on the EU because of the amount of regulations. Well it's because of regulations that you can keep all these corrupt billionaires from exploiting people to no end. If there were no regulations we would be still living in a feudal system, and while EU sometimes does some really stupid stuff in terms of regulations, at the same time they are the ones that best kept these mega corporations at bay and if you sue them or go to court for some reason, you may at least have some chance to win against these giants because not all judges are part of the same conglomerate were lobbyists are buying them. So this in itself is a good use of taxes, to fund the infrastructure that keeps these people at bay.
Obviously, healthcare and education is way better in the EU than in the US were you are out of college in 6 digits of debt which is ridiculous, same as if you need to pay some hospital bills or other resources which should be covered by rich people in any reasonable society. But lately people has been brainwashed into thinking billionaires are cool and people should get in debt to pay for basic stuff and if they cannot pay then basically die. This is the whole ancap bullshit that Millei and co are pushing. So while I support free markets and so on, anyone reasonable should also support as many basic needs as possible covered so everyone has a good starting point in life.

[philipma1957]

From the little research I made I found out that NORWAY, SWEDEN, DENMARK,and FINLAND well honestly speaking these countries prioritize  social welfare and provide a high standard of living for thier citizens, funded by thier tax system.

Norway - 2 million population
Sweden - 10 million
Finland - 5 million
Denmark - 6 million

We won't know the true scale of standard of living for these nations.

Until their population sizes grow comparable to the USA or EU.

Achieving high standards of living is much easier for small, sparsely populated nations.

Than it is for larger countries.

empty areas have an advantage.

New York City and its suburbs are about 25 million people

those four countries are 23 million people.



So 23 million in ? square miles norway 149 sweden 172 finland 130 denmark 16 that is over 467,000 square miles

vs 25 million in ? square miles. nyc is 400 square miles the surrounding counties are 4000 at most

give me a minute for math.

so 467,000 square miles vs 4400 square miles

so NYC is 100x per square mile makes it very very hard to be fair and divide wealth correctly

[shield132]

Which country is best in terms of giving benefits to citizens for tax collected?

In my country, those people who work in trades, prepare children in different subjects and do some other physical labour where they are self-employed, don't pay taxes, the government knows that and is okay with that. In the end, these people still receive a pension every month when they reach pension age, which is different for men and women but all of them get it. Pension here is low but if you think it's some kind of benefit to not pay taxes and still receive pension, then I'm giving you this example.

Btw my friend lives in Sweden with his family and his father gets a pension from Norway despite the fact that his family claimed asylum and didn't contribute to Sweden.

[moneystery]

Which country is best in terms of giving benefits to citizens for tax collected?

i think denmark is one of the countries that is good in managing its taxes. they manage their taxes transparently and use it for the right sectors such as quality health services, education, and other social support. they manage their taxes carefully and make sure that it is used in the right sectors and minimizes the misuse of the tax. and the results can be seen how denmark has become a developed country, with a good social welfare system, low poverty, good education and health, and a high level of quality of life and happiness globally.

[SamReomo]

Which country is best in terms of giving benefits to citizens for tax collected?

There isn't a single country that's giving best returns to their citizens. Countries like Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland are good examples where citizens get many perks for the tax that pay. On the other hand there are countries where citizens get low to no perks for the tax that they pay.

[Synchronice]

Which country is best in terms of giving benefits to citizens for tax collected?

When it comes to pension and quality of life, to my mind, Nordic countries are the best. My favorite country is Denmark in terms of salaries and quality of life and I really think about moving there.
Most of rich European countries offer very high pension funds like Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Norway and so on but you can try a different strategy. Citizens of these countries can move in other European countries like Portugal and Czechia and spend the rest of their life with pension from their countries. Receiving 1,500 Euro per month, 3000 if married, is an amazing money in Portugal for a very good lifestyle.

[Renampun]

Which country is best in terms of giving benefits to citizens for tax collected?

The people's tax money that is used well by the government of a country can be seen from the level of happiness of its citizens - free quality education - balanced salaries from workers - the best health and a stable economy and my neighboring country (Singapore) is one example of their government that uses tax money properly, many say (especially workers from Indonesia) that education and health in that country are very good even tolerance between tribes and religions is also good, the taxes imposed are also quite cheap but the level of effectiveness reaches 85% (truly a dream country).

[DaNNy001]

I don't really know if I can mention any country comfortably because I have been in my country all my life...But talking about my country I remember when taxes were been enforced but along the people started paying less attention to it until it became a thing of the past , the government can't authoritatively demand for it because they know that when the people were paying their taxes much result wasn't seen...from what we observe about the western countries it's clear that they the citizens are getting the benefits of what they are paying for.

[Fiatless]

I don't really know if I can mention any country comfortably because I have been in my country all my life...But talking about my country I remember when taxes were been enforced but along the people started paying less attention to it until it became a thing of the past , the government can't authoritatively demand for it because they know that when the people were paying their taxes much result wasn't seen...from what we observe about the western countries it's clear that they the citizens are getting the benefits of what they are paying for.

I don't think that there is any country where the citizens don't pay tax. Without tax, the government might not be able to provide basic amenities.  It is possible that the government is still collecting taxes through more efficient means like online payments. Some countries always adopt indirect tax more than collecting tax from individuals.  Like in gambling, indirect taxes are collected immediately after a bettor wins.

[slapper]

Probably: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland if you're into all the benefits (universal healthcare, subsidized eldercare, 480 days of parental leave, and so on) and the spiritual security. Heavy taxes? Well. But also low corruption, great happiness, and public confidence levels that would cause most democracies to turn pale. You pay, and in return you receive a neatly wrapped, functionally sound state. But Singapore is more appropriate if you see government as a scalpel. Targeted cash rebates, Medisave top-ups, and retirement boosts are being distributed despite a tax-to-GDP ratio of 10.4%. UAE and Saudi Arabia: Not personal income tax, but throwing billions into social reforms, family bonuses, and housing

Therefore, what is "best"? It is a mirror. What do you value? Equality or efficiency? Precision or universalism? Or are you, as most of us are, chaotically in-between?

[philipma1957]

Probably: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland if you're into all the benefits (universal healthcare, subsidized eldercare, 480 days of parental leave, and so on) and the spiritual security. Heavy taxes? Well. But also low corruption, great happiness, and public confidence levels that would cause most democracies to turn pale. You pay, and in return you receive a neatly wrapped, functionally sound state. But Singapore is more appropriate if you see government as a scalpel. Targeted cash rebates, Medisave top-ups, and retirement boosts are being distributed despite a tax-to-GDP ratio of 10.4%. UAE and Saudi Arabia: Not personal income tax, but throwing billions into social reforms, family bonuses, and housing

Therefore, what is "best"? It is a mirror. What do you value? Equality or efficiency? Precision or universalism? Or are you, as most of us are, chaotically in-between?

Singapore 🇸🇬 interests me as I have heard good things about it. Plus the hotel with a huge roof looks cool.

But the only way to really know is to spend a decent amount of time in the place.

It is on my list to visit one day.

[Darker45]

Probably: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland if you're into all the benefits (universal healthcare, subsidized eldercare, 480 days of parental leave, and so on) and the spiritual security. Heavy taxes? Well. But also low corruption, great happiness, and public confidence levels that would cause most democracies to turn pale. You pay, and in return you receive a neatly wrapped, functionally sound state. But Singapore is more appropriate if you see government as a scalpel. Targeted cash rebates, Medisave top-ups, and retirement boosts are being distributed despite a tax-to-GDP ratio of 10.4%. UAE and Saudi Arabia: Not personal income tax, but throwing billions into social reforms, family bonuses, and housing

There's the big difference. In the likes of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland, although the benefits are there, they paid for them, heavily. The good thing is that what they pay comes back to them almost 100% in the form of various services. On the other hand, there's the likes of Qatar, Bahrain, Brunei, Oman, Kuwait, UAE where there's zero personal income tax yet the social services are great and where poverty is low.

So, if we talk of tax versus benefits, it might be the first set of countries. But if we talk of excellent benefits with the least cost, it might be the second.