Sweden has highest taxes

Preliminary figures from the OECD show that Sweden had the highest level of taxes measured as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 1997. The tax rate was 53.3 per cent. Denmark has not reported its 1997 figures yet, but its tax rate in 1996 was 52.2 per cent. In Norway, taxes in 1997 amounted to 42.5 per cent of GDP, up from 41.1 per cent in 1996. This is lower than the average in the Nordic countries, which is 49.5 per cent.

On average, the Nordic countries have tax rates clearly higher than both the EU and the OECD. The average for the Nordic countries in 1997 was 49.5 per cent, against 41.1 per cent for EU and 34.4 per cent for OECD countries. Since 1995, Norway has gone from 13th place to 10th place when it comes to tax revenues as a percentage of GDP among the OECD countries. Compared to our Nordic neighbours, Norway's rate is clearly lower. In general, Europe dominates the list of countries with the highest tax percentage of the GDP. Countries in which taxes amounted to less than 30 per cent of GDP include the U.S., Japan, Turkey, Korea and Mexico.

New Statistics
OECD revenue statistics, 1997.
The statistics are published annually in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics. The statistics for 1997 are based on the publication "Revenue Statistics of OECD Member Countries, 1998 Edition". For more information, contact: Thomas.Olsen@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 48 56.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 40, 1998