According to the ancient proverb, only death and taxes are confident in life. However, paying taxes is necessary for a variety of reasons.
Various public services in the United States are supported by taxes, including the military, public education, roads and parks, police and fire services, and public retirement and health programs like Medicare and Social Security.
In a nutshell, taxes supply the nation with the money it needs to function.
No two tax systems are identical.
Sales tax, income tax, property tax, inheritance & estate taxes, excise tax, and more all fall under the umbrella of taxes. Local tax laws and regulations might range significantly from region to region, even within the same nation.
There is a wide range of income tax rates in the United States, from 1% to 13.3%, depending on which state you live in. The seven states that don’t collect any state income tax are Alaska; Florida, Nevada; South Dakota; Texas; Washington, Wyoming, New Hampshire, and Tennessee.
The majority of states in the United States tax their residents, although others do not. However, states without a sales tax or an income tax may enact higher property tax rates to make up for the shortfall.
The last point to consider is how tax rates vary depending on the quantity of income or products being taxed.
Someone making $40k per year, for example, may pay 12 percent in income taxes, while their neighbor making $200k does so at a rate of up to 25 percent.
For example, food sales are taxed at a lower rate than sales of luxury goods like cigarettes or a new automobile. Taxes on personal income, corporation, and sales will all be compared in this article.
According to Trading Economics 2021, these are the top 10 countries with the highest personal income tax rates.
- Ivory Coast – 60%
- Finland – 56.95%
- Japan – 55.97%
- Denmark – 55.90%
- Austria – 55.00%
- Sweden – 52.90%
- Aruba – 52.00%
- Belgium – 50.00% (tie)
- Israel – 50.00% (tie)
- Slovenia – 50.00% (tie)
The 11 countries with the highest corporate taxes in the world as compiled by Trading Economics in 2021.
- Puerto Rico – 37.5%
- Suriname – 36.0%
- Chad – 35.0% (tie)
- Equatorial Guinea – 35.0% (tie)
- Guinea – 35.0% (tie)
- Iraq – 35.0% (tie)
- Malta – 35.0% (tie)
- Sudan – 35.0% (tie)
- Zambia – 35.0% (tie)
- Brazil – 34.0% (tie)
- Venezuela – 34.0% (tie)
However, certain nations, such as Vanuatu, Bermuda, and Bahrain, have no business tax. Barbados, Uzbekistan, Hungary, and Montenegro have relatively low corporate tax rates.
Top Eleven Countries with the Highest Sales Taxes in 2021 by Trading Economics:
- Bhutan – 50%
- Hungary – 27%
- Croatia – 25% (tie)
- Denmark – 25% (tie)
- Norway – 25% (tie)
- Sweden – 25% (tie)
- Finland – 24% (tie)
- Greece – 24% (tie)
- Iceland – 23% (tie)
- Poland – 23% (tie)
- Portugal – 23% (tie)
Consider sales tax rates as the last consideration. Bhutan has the highest rates, reaching up to 50%. The standard rate in Hungary is 27 percent. Croatia, Denmark, Norway, & Sweden tie for the third position, all have conventional interest rates of 25%.
Also See: High Income Countries 2022
Tax Havens
Tax havens are countries with low tax rates for international investors. Capital flows into tax havens, where fees, levies, and low tax rates produce cash for the government.
Luxembourg, Cayman Islands, Isle of Man, Jersey, Ireland, Mauritius, Bermuda, Monaco, Switzerland, and the Bahamas are the top 10 tax havens globally.
Country | Income Tax | Sales Tax | Corporate Tax |
---|---|---|---|
Ivory Coast | 60 | 18 | 25 |
Finland | 56 | 24 | 20 |
Denmark | 55 | 25 | 22 |
Austria | 55 | 20 | 25 |
Japan | 55 | 10 | 30 |
Aruba | 52 | 3 | 25 |
Sweden | 52 | 25 | 20 |
Slovenia | 50 | 22 | 19 |
Israel | 50 | 17 | 23 |
Belgium | 50 | 21 | 25 |
Netherlands | 49 | 21 | 25 |
Ireland | 48 | 23 | 12 |
Portugal | 48 | 23 | 21 |
Spain | 47 | 21 | 25 |
Iceland | 46 | 24 | 20 |
Luxembourg | 45 | 17 | 24 |
Australia | 45 | 10 | 30 |
South Korea | 45 | 10 | 25 |
South Africa | 45 | 15 | 28 |
France | 45 | 20 | 26 |
United Kingdom | 45 | 20 | 19 |
Germany | 45 | 19 | 30 |
China | 45 | 13 | 25 |
Greece | 44 | 24 | 24 |
Italy | 43 | 22 | 24 |
Papua New Guinea | 42 | 10 | 30 |
India | 42 | 18 | 25 |
Mauritania | 40 | 16 | 25 |
Republic of the Congo | 40 | 18 | 28 |
Switzerland | 40 | 7 | 14 |
Guinea | 40 | 14 | 35 |
Zimbabwe | 40 | 14 | 24 |
Senegal | 40 | 18 | 30 |
Chile | 40 | 19 | 27 |
Taiwan | 40 | 5 | 20 |
Uganda | 40 | 18 | 30 |
Turkey | 40 | 18 | 25 |
New Zealand | 39 | 15 | 28 |
Colombia | 39 | 19 | 31 |
Suriname | 38 | 10 | 36 |
Norway | 38 | 25 | 22 |
Morocco | 38 | 20 | 31 |
Namibia | 37 | 15 | 32 |
Zambia | 37 | 16 | 35 |
United States | 37 | 0 | 21 |
Uruguay | 36 | 22 | 25 |
Malta | 35 | 18 | 35 |
Cyprus | 35 | 19 | 12 |
Equatorial Guinea | 35 | 15 | 35 |
Gabon | 35 | 18 | 30 |
Tunisia | 35 | 19 | 15 |
Ecuador | 35 | 12 | 25 |
Cameroon | 35 | 19 | 33 |
Algeria | 35 | 19 | 26 |
Argentina | 35 | 21 | 25 |
Thailand | 35 | 7 | 20 |
Vietnam | 35 | 10 | 20 |
Philippines | 35 | 12 | 30 |
Ethiopia | 35 | 15 | 30 |
Mexico | 35 | 16 | 30 |
Pakistan | 35 | 17 | 29 |
Venezuela | 34 | 16 | 34 |
Puerto Rico | 33 | 37 | |
Canada | 33 | 5 | 26 |
Mozambique | 32 | 17 | 32 |
Poland | 32 | 23 | 19 |
Latvia | 31 | 21 | 20 |
Lesotho | 30 | 15 | 25 |
Gambia | 30 | 15 | 27 |
Jamaica | 30 | 15 | 25 |
Croatia | 30 | 25 | 18 |
El Salvador | 30 | 13 | 30 |
Nicaragua | 30 | 15 | 30 |
Jordan | 30 | 16 | 20 |
Rwanda | 30 | 18 | 30 |
Chad | 30 | 18 | 35 |
Malawi | 30 | 16 | 30 |
Ghana | 30 | 13 | 25 |
Malaysia | 30 | 10 | 24 |
Peru | 30 | 18 | 29 |
Kenya | 30 | 16 | 30 |
Tanzania | 30 | 18 | 30 |
Indonesia | 30 | 10 | 22 |
Barbados | 28 | 17 | 5 |
Samoa | 27 | 15 | 27 |
Brazil | 27 | 17 | 34 |
Trinidad And Tobago | 25 | 12 | 30 |
Botswana | 25 | 12 | 22 |
Panama | 25 | 7 | 25 |
Costa Rica | 25 | 9 | 30 |
Slovakia | 25 | 20 | 21 |
Lebanon | 25 | 11 | 17 |
Laos | 25 | 10 | 20 |
Honduras | 25 | 15 | 25 |
Azerbaijan | 25 | 18 | 20 |
Dominican Republic | 25 | 18 | 28 |
Angola | 25 | 14 | 25 |
Myanmar | 25 | 5 | 25 |
Egypt | 25 | 14 | 22 |
Bangladesh | 25 | 15 | 32 |
Sri Lanka | 24 | 8 | 24 |
Nigeria | 24 | 7 | 30 |
Albania | 23 | 20 | 15 |
Czech Republic | 23 | 21 | 19 |
Liechtenstein | 22 | 7 | 12 |
Armenia | 22 | 20 | 18 |
Singapore | 22 | 7 | 17 |
Syria | 22 | 28 | |
Isle of Man | 20 | 0 | |
Fiji | 20 | 9 | 20 |
Estonia | 20 | 20 | 20 |
Lithuania | 20 | 21 | 15 |
Georgia | 20 | 18 | 15 |
Cambodia | 20 | 10 | 20 |
Madagascar | 20 | 20 | 20 |
Afghanistan | 20 | 10 | 20 |
Ukraine | 18 | 20 | 18 |
Seychelles | 15 | 15 | 33 |
Mauritius | 15 | 15 | 15 |
Hong Kong | 15 | 16 | |
Sierra Leone | 15 | 15 | 30 |
Hungary | 15 | 27 | 9 |
Yemen | 15 | 5 | 20 |
Iraq | 15 | 35 | |
Sudan | 15 | 17 | 35 |
Belarus | 13 | 20 | 18 |
Tajikistan | 13 | 18 | |
Bolivia | 13 | 13 | 25 |
Russia | 13 | 20 | 20 |
Macau | 12 | 12 | |
Moldova | 12 | 20 | 12 |
Uzbekistan | 12 | 15 | 7 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 10 | 17 | 10 |
Mongolia | 10 | 10 | 25 |
Bulgaria | 10 | 20 | 10 |
Libya | 10 | 20 | |
Serbia | 10 | 20 | 15 |
Romania | 10 | 19 | 16 |
Kazakhstan | 10 | 12 | 20 |
Montenegro | 9 | 21 | 9 |
Guatemala | 7 | 12 | 25 |
Bermuda | 0 | 0 | |
Cayman Islands | 0 | 0 | |
Bahamas | 0 | 12 | 0 |
Brunei | 0 | 18 | |
Bahrain | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Qatar | 0 | 10 | |
Kuwait | 0 | 15 | |
Oman | 0 | 5 | 15 |
United Arab Emirates | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Saudi Arabia | 0 | 15 | 20 |