Germany taxes

What is fair when it comes to taxation? In Germany the top income tax rate is 45% and this is for couples who earn more than $700,000. The income tax system is progressive in that lower income people pay a lower rate. In addition there is a 19% VAT. A value added tax is similar to a national sales tax. Then add to that the city tax which ranges from 7 to 17%. In Germany a family of four earning $65,000 would pay $11,000 in income tax. They also have 7.75% withheld for social security, and .975% for Medicare, and 9.95% for pension and 1.5% for unemployment and these total 20.2%. So the family takes home $40,870. Now if they spend all of that they would pay $7,765 in VAT tax and on average $4,904 in city sales tax leaving $28,200 for actual expenditures. That same family of four in the US earning $65,000 would pay $2,800 in federal income tax and $1,000 in state income tax and $4,972 in payroll tax leaving a net of $56,227. If you spend all of that and pay 7% city sales tax you have $52,291 for actual expenditures. In Germany health care is paid for by the state and most universities offer free tuition. In Germany they have government paid child care for pre-schoolers starting at age 3. The average pensioner in Germany retires at age 65 with about 70% of their pre-retirement income which would be close to people here. Wages in Germany are similar to wages in the US