They pay about 33% but with higher wages their take home pay is still higher than Americans. Those taxes pay for healthcare but also for 6 weeks paid vacation, paid sick leave, paid maternity leave, free childcare, college and a bonus at Christmastime equal to one full month pay. My daughter moved to the Netherlands for this very reason. She has a 1 bedroom apartment for $1800 a month in Amsterdam, the main city. That's because they have rent control. Rent is calculated based on many factors which include: age of building, size of unit, window upgrades, appliance upgrades, vicinity to public transportation, vicinity to schools, vicinity to stores, etc. That's why they don't have a problem with homelessness.