First, the top personal income tax rates across central and sub-central levels of government. For the US that would mean the top federal rate plus the average top state and local rates. For California, it would be the top federal and state rate plus the average local rate. These are the “statutory” rates listed by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The top statutory rate in the US is the same as the top marginal rate (long story, but if in doubt feel free to check the dataset.
Two observations: 1) California’s top income tax rate (combined federal, state and local) is quite Nordic; and 2) in the Nordic countries, the top rate applies to the high end of middle-class incomes. In other words, their tax system is much less progressive than the US tax system. This chart drives home the point:
The Nordic tax systems are actually rather regressive - meaning more of the tax burden falls on the middle and lower classes. Consider the following:
The less fortunate spend more of their money on goods and services than rich people, so they are harder hit by consumption taxes. Per the above table, the Nordic counties collect way more tax revenue than the US and close to a third of that is in the form of consumption taxes - also way more than in the US. Another way of saying this is that the US tax system is more progressive than the Nordic systems.
Notice also that Scandinavia and the US are market-friendly countries, what with their high “Ease of Doing Business” rankings. This friendliness is reflected in their corporate tax rates as well:
The Nordic countries are essentially free-market welfare states: capitalist to the core but with a robust safety net. There’s nothing wrong with that if you’re okay with paying high taxes.