[discountviagraman]

Seriously though, how many people in Muslim countries do you think pay tax... Ever wondered why the infrastucture of the country then is non existant (I Remember when a resolution was passed in Pakistan to tax wealthy land owners, the result was days of civil unrest and many tryes were burnt).
In order to establish a functioning state and social welfare system you need a healthy level of tax. Where the westerners have gone wrong is that they have wasted too much on departments that are of no use to anyone (and services that no one uses). Europe is perhaps the highly taxed place in the world but a lot goes to waste, along with the US. Problem with the US is though you dont get much back in return, (no healthcare, no assistance in bringing up kids). Personally I believe that somewhere like the UK has it spot on regarding tax collection, i.e the upper middle class pay the most, whilst the lowest earners pay less (another question may arise here as to how fair is that on the hard working middle class and vice verca?)