But don't Switzerland or the UK have similarly comfortable lifestyles with less absurd taxation?

UK taxation is absolutely absurd. Kills the ambitious. Just look at what happens between 100-125k, both from the perspective of tax and loss in benefits for parents.

Well, as sad as it is, that's still better than what they have across the Channel. (You'd pay 44.4% tax on the equivalent of 125k GBP.) But thank you for correcting me, I wasn't aware of that!

Yes, but you'd lose childcare benefits in the UK so it's much, much worse if you are a young parent.

That's a leading framing, but comparing an individual country and a 27 member trading bloc in that way makes no sense even if it wasn't.