OECD report highlights disparity of tax burdens
Taxes are increasing in the member countries of the OECD but Canadians face a burden far lower than many of their peers.
The OECD says that personal average income tax rates for workers edged slightly higher in 2017, with an average rate across the countries (including tax and social security contributions) of 25.5%. This is based on a single person with no children on an average wage.
However, the rates for individual countries vary widely with Belgium topping the list with a 40.5% rate, followed by Germany (39.9%) and Denmark (35.8%).
Canada sits in the lower third with a net personal average tax rate of 22.8%, just below the UK on 23.4% and well below the United States (26%).
The lowest taxes overall are in Chile (7%), Mexico (11.2%) and Korea (14.5%).
Canadians fare even better when considering the net personal average tax rate for one-earner families with two children. Canada ties with Ireland at 1.2%, beaten only by the 0.7% rate in the Czech Republic.
