A new Tax Foundation analysis of workers’ tax burdens in the 34 countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development shows that 31.3 percent of the average American worker’s wages go to federal taxes – $16,658 on average in 2013, with $8,196 of that going toward individual income taxes and $8,462 in payroll taxes from both employers and employees.

This puts the United States below the OECD average of 36 percent. But it remains troubling that despite economies of scale, technological efficiency, and the fact that America’s corner of the world is relatively safe from major military invasions, the U.S. government lays an effective tax rate on labor about 50 percent higher than Israel’s and South Korea’s, and 100 percent higher than New Zealand‘s. Despite its high rates, Washington still compiles enormous annual deficits.