Remember that 30% is it for tax, other than the 15% GST built in to all purchases. There's no city or state taxes, no payroll tax, no additional costs for health insurance and no cost of compliance - as an employed individual you don't need an accountant to do your taxes.
This. I'm on 55k USD in the US, and my average (not marginal) income tax rate (including FICA/med, state and local taxes) is 32 %. For the sake of comparison that's including the employee health insurance contribution, which I wouldn't pay if I were in NZ. If you don't include that my average tax rate is more like 29%. In either case a marginal tax rate of 30% in a tax system as progressive as New Zealand's would result in a considerably smaller tax bill for me.
Many Americans I speak to think that the US is a low taxing country, but this is false for most people. It is only the case for the moderately rich and up. Your tax system is not very progressive, particularly social security and medicare are flat taxes if I'm not mistaken, so not progressive at all, and the state taxes I've seen have barely any progressivity to them.
Wow, 30 % is the top rate? That's incredible. Would have expected it to go up closer to 50 % for a country with the general attitudes I'd perceived NZ to have.
I guess it might be to entice skilled people not to leave?
Partially yes. During the 90s when the New Zealand economy wasn't so great a lot of people left for Australia due to our mutual(ish) agreement that lets citizens of both countries live in the other (NZ gives Australias a permanent residency equivalent visa, but AU only gives New Zealanders a 'long term visitor' visa with permission to work).
