Top Personal Income Tax Rates in Europe, 2025
Denmark (55.9 percent), France (55.4 percent), and Austria (55 percent) levy the highest top personal income tax rates in Europe.
4 min readProviding journalists, taxpayers and policymakers with basic data on taxes and spending is a cornerstone of the Tax Foundation’s educational mission. We’ve found that one of the best, most engaging ways to do that is by visualizing tax data in the form of maps.
How does your country collect revenue? Every week, we release a new tax map that illustrates one important measure of tax rates, collections, burdens and more.
Denmark (55.9 percent), France (55.4 percent), and Austria (55 percent) levy the highest top personal income tax rates in Europe.
4 min readMore than 175 countries worldwide—including all major European countries—levy a value-added tax (VAT) on goods and services. EU Member States’ VAT rates vary across countries, though they’re somewhat harmonized by the EU.
5 min readSome European countries have raised their statutory corporate rates over the past year, including Czechia, Estonia, Iceland, Lithuania, and Slovenia.
3 min readHow do consumption tax codes compare among European OECD countries? Explore our new map to see how consumption tax systems in Europe compare.
2 min readHow do individual income tax codes compare among European OECD countries? Explore our new map to see how individual income tax systems in Europe compare.
3 min readA tax code that is competitive and neutral promotes sustainable economic growth and investment while raising sufficient revenue for government priorities.
3 min read17 European countries have implemented a carbon tax, ranging from less than €1 per metric ton of carbon emissions in Ukraine and Poland to over €100 in Sweden.
3 min readOver the last three years, eight European OECD countries have made changes to their dividend tax rates. Iceland, Norway, Slovenia, Switzerland, and Turkey increased their rates, each between roughly one and three percentage points. France, Greece, and Latvia cut their rates by 10 percentage points.
2 min readTen European OECD countries recently changed their top personal income tax rates. Of the ten countries, six cut their top personal income tax rates while the other four raised their top rates.
4 min readJust as COVID-19 is putting pressure on other sources of revenue, the loss of VAT revenues resulting from the crisis will force governments to evaluate their VAT systems.
3 min readOver the last two decades, corporate income tax rates have declined around the world. Our new map shows the most recent changes in corporate tax rates in European OECD countries, comparing how combined statutory corporate income tax rates have changed between 2017 and 2020.
3 min readTax treaties usually provide mechanisms to eliminate double taxation and can provide certainty and stability for taxpayers and encourage foreign investment and trade. A broad network of tax treaties contributes to the competitiveness of an economy.
1 min readTo discourage a certain form of international debt shifting, many countries have implemented so-called thin-capitalization rules (thin-cap rules), which limit the amount of interest a multinational business can deduct for tax purposes.
4 min readTo prevent businesses from minimizing their tax liability by taking advantage of cross-country differences in taxation, countries have implemented various anti-tax avoidance measures, one known as Controlled Foreign Corporation (CFC) rules.
5 min readThe method by which a country allows businesses to account for inventories can significantly impact a business’s taxable income. When prices are rising, as is usually the case due to factors like inflation, LIFO is the preferred method because it allows inventory costs to be closer to true costs at the time of sale.
2 min readHigh property taxes levied not only on land but also on buildings and structures can discourage investment because they disincentivise investing in infrastructure, which businesses would have to pay additional tax on. For this reason, it may also influence business location decisions away from places with high property tax.
3 min readIreland and the United Kingdom levy the highest excise duties on cigarettes in the European Union (EU), at €8.00 ($8.95) and €6.83 ($7.64) per 20-cigarette pack, respectively. This compares to an EU average of €3.22 ($3.61). Bulgaria (€1.80 or $2.01) and Slovakia (€2.07 or $2.32) levy the lowest excise duties.
3 min read