If the employer pays the payroll tax, do you have to pay the income tax also?

Payroll taxes and income taxes are two separate issues. Payroll taxes are paid by employers based upon the size of their payroll. Income taxes are based upon income.

The system in the US is little different from most European systems in its day-to-day operation. (I've lived and worked in Europe, in several countries.) They are both a Pay as You Earn system. Income and other taxes are withheld from your pay in all European countries as in the US. Your employer pays over those amounts to the government, along with their payroll taxes.

The key difference in the US is the requirement for everyone to file a tax return at the end of the year if their income exceeds a certain amount, based upon their filing status. In most European countries filing a tax return is optional and usually unnecessary for wage earners. The tax withholdings are very tightly micro-managed in most European countries. Tax relief for such things as home mortgages is usually granted at the source -- you bring the tax coding information from your employer to the lender and the lender adjusts your payments accordingly. When you file your tax return at the end of the year in the US, if too much tax was withheld from your wages the government refunds the excess to you. If not enough was withheld, you pay the difference.

One of the reasons that that type of system would not work in the US is the complexity of the Tax Code here. The income tax started out as a system of "voluntary" self-assessment with no taxes withheld from employee wages. The rates were such that few workers had to file a return as they didn't earn enough money. Withholding of tax from employee wages evolved as more taxpayers owed tax, both as a means of stabilizing the cash flow for the government and to ensure that the taxes owed were actually paid. Early on if an employee failed to set aside enough money to pay their tax bill at the end of the year they were in pretty dire straights with the government. The Bureau of Internal Revenue (as it was known at the time, now called the Internal Revenue Service) had no problem with and was empowered to simply seize the worker's assets with little or no notice to pay the outstanding tax bill. (The IRS still has seizure powers but there are some basic protections built into the system so that a seizure order comes as little surprise to the taxpayer and requires that the taxpayer has ignored multiple demands for payment.)

The complexity in the Tax Code evolved as the government attempted to use it to influence social behavior (get married and have lots of children) or to resolve real or perceived social and economic injustice (Earned Income Credit and Child Tax Credit) or to crush abusive tax shelters by the wealthy (Alternative Minimum Tax).

Taxes are further complicated by the fact that most states have an income tax separate and distinct from the Federal income tax. Even a few cities and counties in the US have their own income tax, particularly in New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Trust me, YOU still pay income taxes -- and typically at a rate between 10% and 50% higher than your American counterparts. You just don't have to go through the annual ritual of filing a tax return unless you are self-employed.

This answer depends on what state you work in. From what I understand there are only 5 states in the US that don't have the income tax Texas, Florida, North & South Dakota (?), and not sure on the last one.

In Connecticut income tax is withheld from your pay. Depending on how you fill out your w-4 for both the state and federal determines what will be taken out of your check. At the end of the year you will receive a W-2 in which you can see how much in federal and state taxes you paid in. All this info needs to be reported on your 1040. Theoretically, the ideal is to not owe taxes and not get a refund. This just means you filled out the w-4s correctly.

As for the payroll taxes, what payroll taxes that come out of your, such as SUTA, FUTA, and FICA , your employer pays in as well.

in the United States when you work for someone as an employer they are required to withhold certain mandated taxes, ie Social Security, Medicare and state disability

then according to the way you submitted your W-4 they will withhold amounts that are indexed for your status ie, single, married, dependents or not etc

The mandated taxes are never refunded, however are benefits you will enjoy in later years

the income taxes for the IRS and whatever state you are in will be due when you complete your 1040

you will have personal exemptions of $3650, and a standard deduction, again based on your status

you will not know what your tax liability is until your file your 1040

Both the employee and the employer pay employment taxes.

Employee:

Income (federal, most states and some municipal), Social Security and Medicare (aka FICA), occasionally disability (varies by state)

Employer

Social Security and Medicare match of employee tax and unemployment (federal and state, but most goes to the state), health insurance tax (varies by state)

The employer also is required to carry insurance (worker's compensation) on employees and independent contractors working for them.

That is because in europe the goverment takes a bite out of the money with what is called the VAT; it is simpler and requires fewer people to administer. Starting level is 15% and it goes up from there. Have a happy day.

Yes. Payroll tax and income tax are different things. We don't have VAT and lower overall rates than they have in Europe so it works out.

Because the government is not going to be happy until every penny you have is taxed is some way. And if you have any pennies left over they will double and triple tax it. Good Luck