12 Countries With The Highest & Lowest Tax Rates

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the country with the lowest marginal tax rate on average income workers — Switzerland, at 20% — also boasts the world’s 7th highest GDP per capita at $43,196. The UK’s Times Online called attention to Switzerland’s “benign tax system” in a 2009 article about the nation’s “low tax high life” that invites people to escape 50% tax rates by moving there. Contrary to general assumptions, the Times explains, Switzerland has found a way to maintain a high standard of living alongside an extremely low personal income tax rate. BusinessWeek likewise reported in 2009 that Switzerland was “openly and legally urging multinationals to relocate” — and succeeding, while other nations buckled beneath staggering debt. Switzerland’s low tax rates have not stopped it from having some of the leading universities in the world, a highly educated work force and less than 3% unemployment as of 2009.