2/7/13 – Gerry Roe posted a comment to this article, asking for the data source on this infographic. The designer did not include the data, which in my opinion, renders the graphic useless. Ryann has not yet commented below. She’s busy with her other job and her graduate work.
I did some googling and found three tables with identical data, but none of those documents sited valid sources. I am leaving the graphic up as an example of the critical importance of the basic literacy practice, “Ask questions about the answers that you find.”dfw
Taxes are a constant debate among politics. Everyone wants lower taxes, but few people think about why taxes are necessary. Before you show this infographic, challenge each student to find five unique uses for tax money, and imagine what the world would be like without the government having that money.
This infographic shows that the US and Japan have the highest taxes in the world. Why do these two countries need such high taxes? What do each of the countries listed use their taxes on. What is their national debt like? How did they rack up these debts? Make sure your students understand why taxes are necessary, and brainstorm ways for the government to come up with the necessary funds without taxes.
It’s interesting that the US and Japan have the highest corporate taxes in the world but are on the lower end of personal tax.
Great way of starting a conversation.
I’d like to know the source of the claim that the US and Japan have the highest tax rates. I believe this is true only if you mean *corporate* tax rates. Many European countries have higher *personal* tax rates than the US and Japan. In any case, tax rates are a very complex subject, so it depends how you count, and students ought to understand that, rather than assuming the graphic is the last word, or in this case, last picture.
@Gerry Roe, I let Ryann know about your comment, but she’s busy with her other job and working on her graduate degree. You are right in asking questions about the data source, which the infographic designer neglected to include. In fact, I found that he rarely includes the source, which, in my opinion, renders the message useless.
I did some Googling and I did find the source data in three locations, none of which sited the original sources, nor did they include the year(s) of the data. The Internet is full of erroneously shared data like this, which is why it is so important that people like you ask questions as you have.
I’m leaving the post up, because it’s important for us, educators, to admit our mistakes and say, “This is what I learned from it.”