A Swiss tourist has criticized Australian taxes for being too high and spending too much on the civil service and government.
The traveling retiree, identified only as ‘Rudolf’, launched his criticism after being approached by TikTok vox-popper Jasky Singh at Murray Street Mall in Perth’s CBD.
He said despite being rich in natural resources, with almost double the GDP of his home country, Australians still pay more taxes for fewer benefits.
Although this varies by Swiss canton, the average Swiss worker paid around 18 percent in income tax in 2022, compared to the Australian average of 26.9 percent.
Rudolf said the Swiss government will get more done with the lower tax figure because there is no “nascent bureaucracy.”
A Swiss retiree holidaying in Australia, Rudolf (pictured), has taken aim at Australian governments over high tax rates, despite it being a ‘rich country’
Rudolf explained that the government is cutting all jobs that are no longer needed to help limit spending.
‘Every ten years the government assesses how many jobs we have and really need. If they don’t (need) it, we will close the department,” he said. said in the video.
The routine cuts stem from general Swiss skepticism towards the government, forcing it to achieve higher standards of governance or risk being ousted.
“We trust them to do certain things, but we keep an eye on them,” Rudolf said.
He also noted that the Australian government does not need to impose such high taxes on its citizens because there are major industries that should reduce tax rates instead.
“Australia is a rich country, you have coal, gas, oil and wheat,” he said.
“You just need to get better management.”
The video attracted numerous comments from Australians pining for Swiss tax rates.
‘We would do well to listen to what people in the rest of the world are doing. It’s an eye-opener,” one user wrote.
“God Australia needs this,” wrote a second.
Aussies paid around nine percent more in income tax than the Swiss in 2022, despite the European country having around half the GDP and a third of the population (stock image)
Some users were quick to add that it is unfair to compare Switzerland with Australia as it is about 186 times smaller and has about a third of the population.
Others said that although the Swiss pay less tax, the cost of goods and services is significantly more expensive.
“The end result is less money in your pocket either way,” one person wrote.
While Switzerland was ranked as the best country in the world in 2023, Australia was not far behind at number four.
The report from US News and World Report a series of 73 characteristics related to categories such as entrepreneurship, heritage, quality of life and business were taken into account.