(Claude)

The OECD average hit 34.1% of GDP in 2024 — its highest recorded level — ranging from 18.3% in Mexico to 45.2% in Denmark. Canada.ca The US sits below 30%, alongside Australia, Israel, Switzerland, Korea, Costa Rica, and Turkey. RemoFirst

So the math is stark:

The US is 7 percentage points below the OECD average — and roughly 15–18 points below the Nordic countries that deliver world-class benefits. On a $28 trillion economy, each percentage point of GDP is about $280 billion per year.

The US generates enormous revenues and collects a lot in taxes. The issue is what it buys with them. A huge share goes to defense (~3.5% of GDP, more than any nation). The healthcare system costs nearly twice what other countries spend per person and gives worse outcomes. The US doesn’t simply need more taxes — it arguably needs different priorities with what it already collects.

The humanistic truth is that the gap between 27% and 34% isn’t the distance between poverty and prosperity — it’s a political choice about whether risk is shared collectively or borne individually. Every other wealthy democracy has answered that question differently than the US has.

2. References:

OECD (December 2025). “Labour Taxes Drive OECD Tax Revenues to Record High in 2024.” URL: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/news/press-releases/2025/12/labour-taxes-drive-oecd-tax-revenues-to-record-high-in-2024.html Key finding: Tax-to-GDP ratios ranged from 18.3% in Mexico to 45.2% in Denmark in 2024. RemoFirst

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