Tax as a percentage of GDP
The tax burden is another name for the percentage of a country’s annual production, GDP, levied in tax. If a country’s production amounts to SEK 1,000 billion, and the state collects SEK 400 billion in tax, the tax burden is 40 percent. The percentage of GDP taken in tax is sometimes also described as the tax ratio.
The tax burden has increased in Sweden duringthe las decades. The increase reflects the expansion of public sector expenditure. Between 1950 and 1970 the tax burden doubled. In 1977 the tax burden passed the 50 percent mark, and was at its highest in 1989, at 54 percent.
During the first half of the 1990s, the tax burden eased somewhat and fell below 50 percent during a few years. As part of the measures taken to restore the budget, the tax burden increased once again, and is now back at the high levels experienced during the 1980s.
Tax as a percentage of GDP
2008
| Percent |
|---|
| Denmark | 48.3 |
| Sweden** | 46.9 |
| Belgium | 44.3 |
| Italy | 43.2 |
| France | 43.1 |
| Austria | 42.9 |
| Finland | 42.8 |
| Norway | 42.1 |
| Hungary | 40.1 |
| EU-15* | 39.7 |
| Luxembourg | 38.3 |
| Netherlands | 37.5 |
| Czech Republic | 36.6 |
| Portugal | 36.5 |
| Germany | 36.4 |
| Iceland | 36.0 |
| OECD* | 35.8 |
| United Kingdom | 35.7 |
| Poland* | 34.9 |
| New Zealand | 34.5 |
| Spain | 33.0 |
| Canada | 32.2 |
| Greece | 31.3 |
| Australia* | 30.8 |
| Switzerland | 29.4 |
| Slovakia | 29.3 |
| Japan* | 28.3 |
| Ireland | 28.3 |
| USA | 26.9 |
| South Korea | 26.6 |
| Turkey | 23.5 |
| Mexico | 20.4 |
Source: OECD
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* Refers to 2007.
** OECD reports 47.1 percent, however, due to a revision of the Swedish national accounts this figure has been adjusted to 46.9 percent.