Which Countries Have the Lowest Tax Rates?

In terms of marginal income taxes on average earners in a country, the United States has the second-lowest tax rate of any developed country, with a marginal tax rate of about 27 percent for average workers. By this standard, the U.S. has lower taxes than Australia, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom, the countries with the next-lowest tax rates, and is beaten out by only Switzerland, which has a marginal income tax rate of about 20 percent.

More tax statistics:

• The countries with the highest marginal income tax rates in the world are Belgium, Finland, and Germany, which have marginal income tax rates of 45-55 percent.


• Tax rates vary widely within the U.S., too. People in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey pay the highest taxes, on average, and those in Alaska and Nevada tend to pay much lower taxes.


• Though Belgium is the highest in terms of marginal income taxes, it is nowhere near the top in terms of corporate taxes. The countries with the highest corporate tax rates are Japan, Germany, the U.S. and New Zealand. Those with the lowest corporate tax rates include Ireland, Poland and Hungary.