10 Countries With The Highest Tax Rates In The World

1. Sweden

Combined personal, corporate, VAT, GST and sales tax average: 40.83%

Number one spot on our list of 10 countries with the highest tax rates in the world belongs to yet another Scandinavian country – Sweden. Compared to other Scandinavian countries, Sweden has a large population which is just shy of 10 million. The personal income tax is between 51.5 and 61.4 percents and corporate taxes are between 22 and 60.1 percent. VAT is the same as in Denmark – 25%, and the average is 40.83 percents.

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Some countries didn’t make the list thanks to low VAT or GST taxes, like Japan, for instance, and some were just a tad bit short, like Ivory Coast, Portugal and Norway. When all is taken into account, the end-result was to be expected with European economies simply dominating this list. European economies that have made the list are immensely strong, and it’s partly thanks to high taxes that companies have to pay – both for their own income and for the income of their employees.