Taxes are ususally levied and collected by the governments. Taxes constitute the major source of govenrment's revenue for most of the countries. There are various kinds of tax and the
tax rates are also different. The tax rates depend on a number of factors, which differ according to the type of tax.
Taxes are broadly categorized into two types, the direct tax and indirect tax. The taxes like the income tax, which is paid directly to the government is direct tax and those which are collected by the intermediaries are called the indirect taxes. Excise, value added tax and sales tax are the examples of indirect tax.
All these taxes are imposed on different things and thus the tax rates are bound to vary. The tax rate in case of the income tax is determined by the income of the individual. Generally there remains some slabs, based on which the tax is levied on income. In United States of America, the income tax varies between 0-35% of the total income and along with this the state imposes 0-9.3% as income tax. In India, the income tax rate is 0-30%. In UK, the rate of income tax is 0-40%.
On the other hand the indirect taxes like sales tax and value added taxes are imposed on the different
levels of production and sale. The value added taxes are determined by the added value of the commodity, which has been provided by the exchange. The tax rates for these are also different in different countries. In US, the value added tax rate is 8.5% and touches the 16.5% when certain other taxes are added with it. In India, 12.50% is charged as the value added tax.
There are several other taxes and tax rates also change accordingly. Following are the tax rates of some of the flourishing economies of the world:
| Countries |
Income Tax Rate |
Vat rate |
| Canada |
15-29% |
6% and the Provincial Sales Tax |
| Australia |
0-45% |
10% (GSE) |
| China |
5-45% |
17% |
| France |
5.5-40% |
2.1% , 5.5%, 19.60% |
| Germany |
15-42% |
7%, 19% |
| Greece |
0-40% |
19% |
| Israel |
10-49% |
15-50% |
| Italy |
23-45% |
20% |
| Japan |
15-50% |
5% |
| New Zealand |
0-39% |
12.5% (GST) |