Infographic: The Countries Losing the Most to Tax Abuse (2024)

FAQs

Which countries are worst affected by tax avoidance? ›

According to the analysis, the top 10 biggest contributors to the global problem of tax havens and financial secrecy are the U.K., the Netherlands, the Cayman Islands (a British overseas territory), Saudi Arabia, Luxembourg, Bermuda (a British overseas territory), the United States, Singapore, Ireland and Hong Kong.

The IRS estimates tax cheats cost the US at least $688 billion in 2021 alone. Trump's IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig told the Senate Finance Committee that the annual tax gap could be $1 trillion.

For the last 10 years in a row, Estonia has had the best tax code in the OECD, according to the Tax Competitiveness Index 2023. Estonia's transparent and straightforward tax system attracts investments with no corporate income, capital, or property transfer taxes.

The long-troubled West African country, Ivory Coast, has the highest income tax rate in the world. People living there are giving away a whopping 60% of their income to the government.

The five jurisdictions most responsible for countries' tax losses are British Territory Cayman (responsible for 16.5 per cent of global tax losses, equal to over $70 billion), the UK (10 per cent; over $42 billion), the Netherlands (8.5 per cent; over $36 billion), Luxembourg (6.5 per cent; over $27 billion) and the US ...

Billionaires (usually) don't sell valuable stock. So how do they afford the daily expenses of life, whether it's a new pleasure boat or a social media company? They borrow against their stock. This revolving door of credit allows them to buy what they want without incurring a capital gains tax.

The agency identified 1,600 millionaire taxpayers who have failed to pay at least $250,000 each in assessed taxes. So far, the IRS has collected more than $480 million from the group “and we are still going,” Werfel said.

The top five districts for tax fraud offenders were: District of New Jersey (16); ♦ Eastern District of Pennsylvania (14); ♦ Northern District of Texas (14); ♦ Southern District of Ohio (13); ♦ Central District of California (12).

Which Are the Tax-Free States? Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming are the only states that do not levy a state income tax. Note that Washington does levy a state capital gains tax on certain high earners.

Some of the most popular countries that offer the financial benefit of having no income tax are Bermuda, Monaco, the Bahamas, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). There are a number of countries without the burden of income taxes, and many of them are very pleasant countries in which to live.

Where does the US rank in taxation? ›

The United States ranked 31st¹ out of 38 OECD countries in terms of the tax-to-GDP ratio in 2022. In 2022, the United States had a tax-to-GDP ratio of 27.7% compared with the OECD average of 34.0%.

The top 10%, with incomes of at least $169,800, pay about three-quarters of the nation's tax bill, the analysis found. Although most Americans believe the middle class bears the heaviest tax burden, it's actually the top 1% who pay the highest federal tax rate, at 25.9%, the Tax Foundation analysis found.

Yes, the UAE is a tax-free country. Apart from having no tax implications on personal income, this nation has no obligations for tax registration or reporting.

Mexico's tax system is worldwide, so it's not a territorial tax country like Panama, Chile or Costa Rica. This means, in theory, that your foreign-sourced income will be taxed there.

Individuals and business owners often have more than one way to complete a taxable transaction. Tax planning evaluates various tax options to determine how to conduct business and personal transactions in order to reduce or eliminate your tax liability.

Wealthy family buys stocks, bonds, real estate, art, or other high-value assets. It strategically holds on to these assets and allows them to grow in value. The family won't owe income tax on the growth in the assets' value unless it sells them and makes a profit.

Brazil's big problem isn't the number of taxes it has, but that each of the country's 26 states, the federal district and 5,568 municipalities have different rules that overlap and contradict each other—a nightmare for companies with operations across the country, said KPMG's Gonçalves.