The top 20 European countries with the highest tax rate have been revealed, and the UK has found itself on the list.
Denmark took the number one spot with the highest top personal income tax rate of 55.9 percent, data from the Tax Foundation shows. France came in at a close second with 55.4 percent.
The UK was some way further down, however, in fortunate news for Brits – coming in at 16th. Its rate of 45 percent was a few points over the average across all the 38 European OECD countries of 42.8 percent.
Austria (55 percent), Spain (54 percent), and Belgium (53.5 percent) were several of the other highest-taxed countries in Europe.
Meanwhile, Romania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and North Macedonia are the European countries with the lowest taxes, all with top personal income tax rates of ten percent.
However, some countries have other forms of taxes that can further the effective burden on workers.
In total, Belgian taxpayers see nearly 65 percent of their wages deducted when social insurance contributions are taken into account.
According to analysis by Euronews business, this rate means that someone in Belgium on a salary of €45,000 (£38,430) would be taking home €1,867 (£1,594) every month after taxes. This figure is close to that of Belgium’s minimum wage of €1,994.18 (£1,703.03) per month before tax.
Belgium has been gradually aiming reduce wage taxation, according to the OECD. The average single worker will have seen their tax wedge reduced by about 2.7 percent between 2009 and 2022.
And despite having the highest tax rate in Europe, Danes are understood to be quite happy to fork out the cash, due to the country’s incredible welfare, healthcare and education systems that almost all its citizens are happy to contribute to.
According to a Gallup survey from 2014, almost nine out of 10 Danish people are happy to pay their taxes.
Denmark was ranked the second happiest country in the world for the fourth year in a row, according to the 2023 World Happiness Report.
The well-developed welfare system means that all areas of Danish society are able to take advantage of the same opportunities – regardless of their gender, socio-political or economic standing.
