How do taxes compare?
A country does not have just one tax rate. The answer depends on your pay, family, where you live, and which taxes you count.
Start with the same kind of worker. Then look at taxes on shopping—and what public services help pay for.
Three numbers that tell different stories
Out of a worker’s pay
Income tax plus the worker’s required public social-insurance payments, as a share of pay before tax.
Including the employer
The “tax wedge” also counts employer taxes and contributions. It uses total employer labor cost, not just wages.
When the family changes
Tax credits and cash benefits can change the result for parents. A family with one earner differs from one with two.
Compare the same kind of worker
2025 data, published in 2026. Each worker earns their own country’s average wage. That is not the same dollar salary everywhere, and it is not the middle (median) wage.
What does the worker rate mean?
38 countries shown
| Country | From gross pay Single, no children | Including employer Single, no children | Including employer Married, one earner, two children |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 23.5% | 27.9% | 21.2% |
| Austria | 32.5% | 47.1% | 33.3% |
| Belgium | 39.5% | 52.5% | 36.9% |
| Canada | 25.6% | 32.1% | 22.1% |
| Chile | 7.1% | 7.5% | 4.9% |
| Colombia0.0% is the OECD result for this worker—not missing data. Required private pension and insurance payments are excluded. The negative family result means counted cash benefits exceed counted taxes. | 0.0% | 0.0% | -4.8% |
| Costa Rica | 9.8% | 27.7% | 27.7% |
| Czechia | 21.3% | 41.2% | 31.9% |
| Denmark | 35.3% | 35.8% | 26.6% |
| Estonia | 23.2% | 42.6% | 37.0% |
| Finland | 30.7% | 42.5% | 38.7% |
| France | 28.0% | 47.2% | 39.1% |
| Germany | 38.7% | 49.3% | 34.9% |
| Greece | 26.1% | 39.3% | 37.5% |
| Hungary | 33.5% | 41.2% | 31.5% |
| Iceland | 27.2% | 31.5% | 19.2% |
| Ireland | 25.1% | 32.6% | 19.0% |
| Israel | 21.4% | 26.1% | 21.4% |
| Italy | 28.6% | 45.8% | 34.3% |
| Japan | 22.6% | 33.1% | 28.4% |
| South Korea | 16.5% | 24.8% | 14.0% |
| Latvia | 26.0% | 40.1% | 29.8% |
| Lithuania | 38.7% | 39.8% | 23.7% |
| Luxembourg | 32.0% | 40.2% | 20.7% |
| Mexico | 13.2% | 21.7% | 21.7% |
| Netherlands | 27.9% | 35.9% | 28.5% |
| New Zealand | 20.8% | 20.8% | 11.4% |
| Norway | 28.1% | 36.4% | 31.4% |
| Poland | 24.4% | 35.0% | 14.2% |
| Portugal | 24.9% | 39.3% | 27.5% |
| Slovak Republic | 24.3% | 42.7% | 24.0% |
| Slovenia | 36.2% | 45.3% | 33.4% |
| Spain | 23.5% | 41.4% | 36.8% |
| Sweden | 22.6% | 41.1% | 36.8% |
| Switzerland | 18.1% | 23.0% | 10.8% |
| Türkiye | 29.3% | 40.3% | 40.3% |
| United Kingdom | 23.1% | 32.4% | 28.8% |
| United StatesUses Detroit, Michigan, for state and local tax rules. Your own state and city may differ. | 24.3% | 30.0% | 19.6% |
| OECD average | 25.1% | 35.1% | 26.2% |
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Why does Colombia show zero—and a negative number?
Those are published results, not unknown values. The single worker in this example owes no counted tax. Required private pension and insurance payments fall outside this measure. For the family, counted cash benefits exceed counted taxes, making the net result negative. It does not mean Colombia has no taxes.
The U.S. example uses Detroit, Michigan. State and city rules affect the result. The U.S. figure is not a federal-only rate or a prediction for every American. See the U.S. assumptions.
A top tax rate is not the rate on all your pay
In a tax-bracket system, income is divided into layers. A higher rate applies only to the layer in that bracket. Your overall rate can be much lower. Deductions and credits can change the bill too. Source: https://www.irs.gov/filing/federal-income-tax-rates-and-brackets explanation.
A made-up example
Suppose the first $10,000 of taxable income is taxed at 10%, and the next $10,000 at 20%.
$1,000 + $2,000 = $3,000 in tax. On $20,000 of taxable income, that is a 15% overall rate—not 20%. This example teaches the math; it is not a country’s actual tax schedule.
A table of top rates alone cannot tell us what an average worker pays. It also needs the income where each top rate begins and whether local taxes are included.
Taxes when you spend money
VAT means value-added tax. GST means goods and services tax. Both are taxes on purchases. The standard rate does not apply to every item; food, medicine or other goods may have special rules.
| Country | Standard rate or system | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| United States | No national VAT | State and local sales taxes can still apply. Source |
| Canada | 5% federal GST | Provincial taxes can add more. Combined HST is 13%, 14% or 15% in participating provinces. Source |
| United Kingdom | 20% | Standard rate; some goods have lower rates or are exempt. Source |
| Australia | 10% | GST; some goods and services are GST-free. Source |
| Germany | 19% | Standard rate; reduced rates, exemptions and regional rules may apply. Source |
| France | 20% | Standard rate; reduced rates, exemptions and regional rules may apply. Source |
| Italy | 22% | Standard rate; reduced rates, exemptions and regional rules may apply. Source |
| Denmark | 25% | Standard rate; reduced rates, exemptions and regional rules may apply. Source |
| Sweden | 25% | Standard rate; reduced rates, exemptions and regional rules may apply. Source |
| Finland | 25.5% | Standard rate; reduced rates, exemptions and regional rules may apply. Source |
What do people get for the money?
Public services
Taxes help pay for schools, roads, defense and other services. Governments choose how much to spend on each.
Household bills
Compare taxes with separate bills for health care, college, child care and retirement. A lower tax rate alone does not tell you which family has more left.
Coverage and quality
Ask who can use a service, what it covers, and how well it works. Paying more tax does not by itself prove that services are better.
Read alongside health costs and college costs around the world. This page does not calculate a combined tax-and-benefits total.
Sources and limits
Research checked October 17, 2026. Worker figures use 2025 rules and estimated average wages in the OECD’s 2026 release. They do not describe a full year of 2026 taxes. The comparison covers all 38 OECD member countries, not every country in the world.
Worker tables leave out sales/VAT, property and company taxes, investment-income taxes, and many private payments. Country models use specific local rules. Results change with income, household type and location. They are a guide to comparing systems, not a personal tax estimate.
- OECD Taxing Wages 2026: definitions and data
- OECD: U.S. model and state/local assumptions
- https://www.irs.gov/filing/federal-income-tax-rates-and-brackets: how tax brackets work
- European Union: standard and reduced VAT rates
Every shopping-tax row also links to its source. Rates can change after the dates shown.