Which countries have the highest tax rates in the world?
Among the 38 OECD countries in this tax burden by country ranking, Belgium leads with a 52.5% tax wedge, meaning an average single worker's labour cost goes to taxes for 192 days, until July 11. Germany follows with 180 days (June 29), then France and Austria with 172 days each (June 21). Europe fills the top of the table: 22 of the first 23 countries are European, with Türkiye (147 days) the only exception.
Beyond the OECD, top personal income tax rates tell a related story. According to worldpopulationreview.com, Denmark's top rate reaches 60.5%, Japan's 55.95% and Austria's 55%, making them the three highest by that measure.2 The OECD average tax wedge sits at 35.1%, roughly 128 days of the year. At the other end, Mexico's 21.7% wedge ends the state's share after 79 days, on March 20, and Chile's 7.5% wedge means workers there are done in January, after just 27 days.
Why does Belgium tax workers so much more than other countries?
Belgium's position at the top of the tax wedge ranking comes down to the scale of its public spending. He adds that "the state will tend to absorb a lot of resources because it also has a lot of spending."1
The Bulletin reports that Belgium's 52.5% wedge for a single worker without children compares with 47% in France and 35% on average across OECD members.1 Families fare better: a one-earner couple with two children in Belgium faces a wedge of 36.9% rather than 52.5%. Workers themselves feel the pressure. One employee told RTL info: "It's not right that isolated people are taxed very, very heavily because they actually bear the biggest expense costs like housing and energy."1 Real income after tax did increase in 2025, the same report notes.1
Is the USA a high tax country compared to the OECD?
The United States sits below the OECD average on the tax burden by country measure. The OECD data show the US at 109 days, to April 19, against the OECD average of 128 days and an average tax wedge of 35.1%. Canada, at 117 days to April 27, also falls below that average.
Measured by total tax revenue as a share of GDP, the gap is wider still. According to Visual Capitalist, using IMF data, Denmark collects tax revenue equal to 45.3% of GDP, "more than twice the 19.5% collected in the U.S."3 The same source notes that "Nordic countries generally have broad tax bases that help finance extensive public programs, while the U.S. relies more heavily on private spending in areas such as healthcare and retirement."3 Visual Capitalist also reports that in 2026, US federal spending is projected at 23.3% of GDP against revenues of 17.5%, leaving a persistent gap between what the government collects and what it spends.3
What is Tax Freedom Day in the US and how is it calculated?
Tax freedom day is a way of picturing a tax share as a point in the calendar: it assumes a worker earns equal pay every day of a 365-day year, then counts how many days of earnings go to income tax and social security contributions before the worker keeps anything. The date in this chart is built from the OECD tax wedge, which measures those two levies as a share of total labour costs for an average single worker without children.
For the United States, the OECD data place that date on April 19, after 109 days. It is worth noting what the wedge leaves out: VAT and other consumption taxes, property taxes and corporate taxes are not included, so this is not the whole US tax burden. National tax freedom day figures built from total tax revenue, as published by some US organisations, use a broader base and typically fall later in the year. The OECD figures also cover only one household type; lower and higher earners and families with children reach their own tax freedom day on different dates.