Tax Burdens in OECD Countries | U.S. Among the Low-Tax Nations
New data of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) shows that the average tax to GDP ratio in OECD countries was 34.3% in 2015 compared with 34.2% in 2014 and 33.8% in 2013. The 2015 tax rates are the highest recorded since OECD records began in 1965. However, the U.S. total tax burden of 26.4% of gross domestic product (including state and local taxes) is far down in the global rankings. Of the 35 OECD members only South Korea, Ireland, Chile and Mexico have lower tax burdens, while with 46.6% Denmark had the highest tax to GDP ratio.
Compared with 2007 (pre-recession) tax to GDP ratios, the biggest fall has been in Ireland, from 30.4% in 2007 to 23.6% of GDP in 2015. The second largest fall occurred in Norway, from 42.1% of GDP in 2007 to 38.1% in 2015. The tax burden in Turkey increased from 24.1% to 30.0% between 2007 and 2015. Greece and Mexico showed increases of 4% over the same period.
