This is where people in the OECD pay the most tax
![A picture illustration shows a 100 Dollar banknote laying on various denomination euro banknotes, taken in Warsaw, January 13, 2011. The U.S. dollar extended losses against the yen and euro after data showed rising gasoline prices had put U.S. consumers in a gloomy mood in early January. The euro, which hit a one-month high above $1.34 overnight before fading, moved back to $1.3396 after the data. Picture taken January 13. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel (POLAND - Tags: BUSINESS) - BM2E71E1CM601](https://assets.weforum.org/article/image/large_uv2OXovyJCYDanldTsf4A_7GH1EeXqohhf_4B6Fr4UQ.jpg)
Who's taking the biggest cut? Image: REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
![A hand holding a looking glass by a lake](/uplink.jpg)
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
Stay up to date:
Social Protection
Last week, the OECD released the latest edition of its "Taxing Wages" report which focuses on the net personal average tax rate in different nations. It takes into account income tax and social security contributions paid by employees without family benefits as a share of gross wages. Last year, the average share of gross wages paid in tax across the OECD was 25.5 percent. There is a considerable difference in tax rates between countries and they are heavily dependent on earnings and family status.
A single worker in Belgium and Germany will face a high combination of income tax and social security payments that will account for just under 40 percent of his or her gross earnings. Despite that, workers in both countries do get something back such as health insurance, pensions, old-age care and unemployment benefits. In Italy, the break down is 21.9 percent for income tax and 9.5 percent for social security, adding up to 31.4 percent in total. The U.S. trails with 16.1 percent for income tax and 7.7 percent for social security making for 23.8 percent of gross earnings in total.
![](https://assets.weforum.org/editor/saI-sWFJXXTJVhzk6puEJ7algw4vlY10u0cNGo8EvkE.jpg)
Don't miss any update on this topic
Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.
License and Republishing
World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.
The Agenda Weekly
A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda
You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.
More on Economic GrowthSee all
Emma Charlton
July 9, 2024
Kate Whiting
July 9, 2024
Alejo Czerwonko
July 8, 2024
Jeff Schumacher
July 4, 2024
Andrea Willige
July 3, 2024
Kate Whiting
July 1, 2024