Don't fear the reaper, he comes for you.

Taxes. Everyone hates taxes.

I recently read an article about how income taxes discourage the act of working (I wish I had a link to said article...). When taxes are high, the worker sees less reward. When taxes are low, the worker sees more reward. The premise is sound.

Now, for some evidence.

I came across this article today, which has nothing to do with taxes, but is an Oddly Enough story filed by Reuters. (If you don't read the Oddly Enough section, you should.) It describes how the Hell's Angels in Sweden have moved from the violent crimes of their past to more white-collared crimes such as fraud. Sweden is on a warpath to end fraud as it "has estimated that as much as a fifth of the workforce is on long-term sick leave or early retirement due to sickness, often put down to 'burn-out'."

One-fifth of the workforce is out on extended sick leave? Something is very, very wrong with this picture.

According to the Index of Economic Freedom 2006 Sweden's "income tax burden is one of the heaviest among the world's industrialized economies" with a "60 percent top income tax rate." Compare this to the United States top income tax rate of "35 percent."

Could it be possible the workers in Sweden get a much sweeter deal in not working? The answer is a resounding yes.

Although some taxes are a necessity (someone, after all, has to pay for those roads we drive on), evidence contends that higher taxes do not generate more income for a country.

Don't die, all.