Top global personal tax rates
Top personal income tax rates around the world have fallen by an average of 2.5 percentage points in the past six years as one measure taken by gov¬ernments to woo investors and foreign executives, according to a report by KPMG International.
KPMG's Individual Income Tax Rate Survey 2008 covered 87 countries, of which 33 have cut personal tax rates in the past six years.
The highest individual income tax rates worldwide have fallen from an average of 31.3 per cent in 2003 to 28.8 per cent in 2008. But European Union taxpayers still pay the highest rates at an average of 36.4 per cent, followed by those in AsiaPacific at 34.6 per cent and Latin America (26.9 per cent).
The highest rate in Thailand has remained unchanged at 37 per cent since 2003.
In AsiaPacific, Hong Kong has the lowest top tax rate of 16 per cent, while Japan charges the highest rate at 50 per cent. The tax competition between Hong Kong and Singapore led the lat¬ter to cut its rate from 22 per cent in 2003 to 21 per cent in 2006 and 20 per cent the following year.
At 37 per cent, Thailand's top current per¬sonal income tax rate is high when compared to the AsiaPacific average of 34.6 per cent, said Benjamas Kullakattimas, partner and head of International Executive Services at KPMG Phoomchai Tax.
Robert Porter, tax partner at the firm, added that the foreigners might be less concerned about personal tax rates than corporate tax when con¬sidering whether to invest or work in an overseas country.
The highest income tax rates in the world are paid in Denmark, with a top rate of 59 per cent for six years studied by KMPG, followed by those of Sweden, whose rate came down last year from 57 per cent to 55 per cent, and those of the Netherlands, who have paid 52 per cent for the whole period.
KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing audit, tax and advisory services.
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