26% is low to you? Wow. I just think itīs "interessting" that capital gains are taxed at about 26% whereas earnings from "traditional labour" (Iīm lacking the proper english term) are taxed at almost 50%...isnīt that ironic?
Yes, a 26% tax rate seems low to me. It pays for roads, police, fire service, education, our political and legal system, consumer protection etc. I am left with 74% disposable income mostly for rent, food, travel and insurance. And the 26% tax subsidizes even these essentials in important ways: it is government agencies that guarantee that my landlord will keep his contractual obligations, that supermarkets only sell food which is free of dangerous chemicals, that the roads on which I travel are built and repaired, that the insurance companies can find well-educated workers capable of organizing a dependable insurance system.
It is true that income tax is higher if you earn over ~50k EUR per year, but even for very rich people it is less than 50%. (Social security contributions are not taxes, but mandatory insurance: they pay for your health care, state pensions and unemployment benefits.) In my opinion, even those higher levels of tax, which you must only pay if you are well-off, deliver great value for your money.