As the old saying goes, only two things are defined in life: death and taxes. Taxes can be a heavy burden for citizens, but also useful for a number of reasons. They are used to finance educational, technological, infrastructure, military and medical programs. Taxes provide the means necessary for the country to survive, so this is an inevitable evil.
Here are the top 10 countries with the highest taxes in the world, according to TheGlobalEconomy.com. When compiling the list, the personal income tax rate (PIT) was taken into account.
10. Slovenia
Individual income in Slovenia is taxed at a progressive rate of 16%; 27%, 34%, 39%, 50%, which grows with salary. Half of their income is given to the treasury of Slovenia by those whose annual income exceeds 70,907 euros.
Interestingly, the tax for individuals is paid not only by the employer, as is customary in Russia, but also by the employees themselves.
A foreign citizen holding a residence permit in Slovenia must pay personal income tax if he has been in the country for more than 183 days within 12 months.
9. Israel
On the Promised Land, a fair progressive taxation scale is in place. This means that people with higher incomes pay more taxes than people with lower incomes.
The minimum income tax of 10% is taken from the amount below 6240 shekels or 1770 dollars. And the maximum is 50%, with an amount over 53,490 shekels or $ 15,300.
Israelis begin to pay personal income tax from the age of 16, and from all income, even those that were received in the Arab territories of the country.
8. Belgium
In Belgium, as in many countries with the highest income taxes, there is a progressive tax. For rich people, the percentage of personal income tax reaches 50%.
Income from property, work, investments and other sources in Belgium is also taxed. In addition, working people pay a social security tax of 13.07% of their income. Therefore, Belgium is hardly a tax haven.
7. The Netherlands
In one of the most prosperous countries in the world, all personal incomes are classified in one of three categories:
- salaries, benefits, pensions and income from property ownership;
- dividend income and capital gains;
- savings and investment income.
Each category has its own deductions and tax rates.
Income of Dutch residents is taxed at progressive rates. The minimum personal income tax (8.9%) is provided for citizens receiving less than 19,982 euros per year.
6. Aruba
It is unlikely that you often heard about Aruba in the news. This small island nation located in the Caribbean is known mainly for its festivals, excellent surfing conditions and some of the highest taxes in the world.
In Aruba, the personal income tax rate is levied on various sources of income, such as salaries, pensions, interest and dividends. In 2005, it reached a record level of 60.10%.
The maximum rate of 52.00% is achieved with income of 141,783 Aruban florins (78.33 dollars).
5. Finland
A country of thousands of lakes has a progressive tax rate. Individuals also pay social insurance contributions and public service tax.
In Finland, income tax is payable on salaries, pensions and social benefits, as well as on income from investments. Moreover, the income received is taxed not only by state taxes, but also by municipal and church taxes. About 2% is spent on the latter, their government spends on financing the religious denomination to which the taxpayer considers himself.
4. Austria
The Austrian taxation is based on the European concept, which provides for large deductions to the budget. Moreover, the lion's share of the burden falls on individuals, while enterprises and companies pay taxes at reduced rates. Austrians pay a progressive tax, which reaches 55%.
White-collar workers contribute 18.07% of their income to social security, while blue-collar workers contribute 18.2%, with a ceiling of 4,530 euros.
Austria provides automatic tax benefits based on the number of people in the household receiving income, as well as loans for children and travel to work. Some work-related expenses and child care expenses are tax deductible.
3. Japan
Modern samurai pay the state income tax on a progressive scale of taxation, which starts at 10% and ends at 50%. But the matter is not limited to them. There are also prefectural income taxes, as well as local income taxes.
However, the Japanese do not complain, considering the need to give part of their hard-earned yen not only as a source of replenishment of the country's budget, but also as their personal contribution to the economic and social development of Japan.
2. Denmark
The maximum personal income tax in Denmark is 56%, and the average Dane pays 45%. It consists of several mandatory contributions:
- collection to employment centers;
- municipal taxes;
- regional taxes;
- state fee.
There is also a voluntary church tax ranging from 0.43% to 1.40%.
However, this whole huge list of taxes is offset by high salaries. And the fact that the Danes sleep peacefully by paying taxes is evidenced by the fact that Denmark is in the top 3 of the happiest countries in the world.
1. Sweden
In Sweden, the tax consists of local (municipal) taxes and state tax. And if the Russian authorities seek to tax even self-employed citizens with low incomes, then in Sweden the state tax on individuals is charged only if they earn from 490,700 kroons. Those who earn less pay only community tax.
The income tax rate for Swedes grows depending on the amount earned and reaches an impressive figure of 57%. If a Swedish citizen receives dividends, they are also taxed at 10%.
Despite the fact that Sweden has the highest income tax in the world, people in the country treat the tax service with respect. In a 2016 survey, she took 5th place in popularity from 30 major government departments.
It is curious that not one of the countries in the top ten was included in the top 10 countries with the highest tax burden on business.
Russia ranked 118 out of 139 in the ranking of taxation of countries. Our country has a 13 percent income tax rate on most personal incomes.
A place | Country | Personal income tax rate,% |
---|---|---|
1 | Sweden | 57 |
2 | Denmark | 56 |
3 | Japan | 56 |
4 | Austria | 55 |
5 | Finland | 54 |
6 | Aruba | 52 |
7 | Netherlands | 52 |
8 | Belgium | 50 |
9 | Israel | 50 |
10 | Slovenia | 50 |
11 | Ireland | 48 |
12 | Portugal | 48 |
13 | Iceland | 46 |
14 | Luxembourg | 46 |
15 | Australia | 45 |
16 | China | 45 |
17 | France | 45 |
18 | Germany | 45 |
19 | Greece | 45 |
20 | South Africa | 45 |
21 | Spain | 45 |
22 | United Kingdom | 45 |
23 | Zimbabwe | 45 |
24 | Italy | 43 |
25 | Papua N.G. | 42 |
26 | South Korea | 42 |
27 | Barbados | 40 |
28 | DR Congo | 40 |
29 | Mauritania | 40 |
30 | Senegal | 40 |
31 | Switzerland | 40 |
32 | Taiwan | 40 |
33 | Colombia | 39 |
34 | Morocco | 38 |
35 | Norway | 38 |
36 | Suriname | 38 |
37 | Zambia | 38 |
38 | Namibia | 37 |
39 | United States of America | 37 |
40 | Armenia | 36 |
41 | Croatia | 36 |
42 | India | 36 |
43 | Uruguay | 36 |
44 | Algeria | 35 |
45 | Argentina | 35 |
46 | Chile | 35 |
47 | Cyprus | 35 |
48 | Dominica | 35 |
49 | Ecuador | 35 |
50 | Ethiopia | 35 |
51 | Malta | 35 |
52 | Mexico | 35 |
53 | Philippines | 35 |
54 | Thailand | 35 |
55 | Tunisia | 35 |
56 | Turkey | 35 |
57 | Vietnam | 35 |
58 | Venezuela | 34 |
59 | Canada | 33 |
60 | New Zealand | 33 |
61 | Puerto rico | 33 |
62 | Swaziland | 33 |
63 | Mozambique | 32 |
64 | Poland | 32 |
65 | Latvia | 31 |
66 | Bangladesh | 30 |
67 | El Salvador | 30 |
68 | Ghana | 30 |
69 | Indonesia | 30 |
70 | Jamaica | 30 |
71 | Jordan | 30 |
72 | Kenya | 30 |
73 | Malawi | 30 |
74 | Nicaragua | 30 |
75 | Peru | 30 |
76 | R. Congo | 30 |
77 | St. Lucia | 30 |
78 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 30 |
79 | Tanzania | 30 |
80 | Uganda | 30 |
81 | Brazil | 28 |
82 | Grenada | 28 |
83 | Malaysia | 28 |
84 | Botswana | 25 |
85 | Burma | 25 |
86 | Dominican Republic | 25 |
87 | Gibraltar | 25 |
88 | Honduras | 25 |
89 | Panama | 25 |
90 | Slovakia | 25 |
91 | Trinidad and Tobago | 25 |
92 | Nigeria | 24 |
93 | Sri Lanka | 24 |
94 | Albania | 23 |
95 | Egypt | 23 |
96 | Czech Republic. | 22 |
97 | Singapore | 22 |
98 | Syria | 22 |
99 | Afghanistan | 20 |
100 | Cambodia | 20 |
101 | Estonia | 20 |
102 | Fiji | 20 |
103 | Georgia | 20 |
104 | Lebanon | 20 |
105 | Lithuania | 20 |
106 | Pakistan | 20 |
107 | Ukraine | 18 |
108 | Angola | 17 |
109 | Costa Rica | 15 |
110 | Hong Kong | 15 |
111 | Hungary | 15 |
112 | Iraq | 15 |
113 | Mauritius | 15 |
114 | Sierra leone | 15 |
115 | Sudan | 15 |
116 | Yemen | 15 |
117 | Belarus | 13 |
118 | Russia | 13 |
119 | Macao | 12 |
120 | Moldova | 12 |
121 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 10 |
122 | Bulgaria | 10 |
123 | Kazakhstan | 10 |
124 | Macedonia | 10 |
125 | Mongolia | 10 |
126 | Romania | 10 |
127 | Serbia | 10 |
128 | Montenegro | 9 |
129 | Guatemala | 7 |
130 | Ant. & Barb. | 0 |
131 | Bahamas | 0 |
132 | Bahrain | 0 |
133 | Bermuda | 0 |
134 | Brunei | 0 |
135 | Kuwait | 0 |
136 | Oman | 0 |
137 | Qatar | 0 |
138 | Saudi Arabia | 0 |
139 | UAE | 0 |