OECD comparison of industrialized countries
The tax burden in Germany is particularly high for employees. This is the result of the latest “taxing wages” study for 2018 published in April by the industrialized countries organization OECD.
In an international comparison, Germany does not perform very well for employees: single people pay 49.5 percent of their income to the state in the form of taxes (including employer’s contribution / with an average income). For comparison: the average of the 36 OECD countries is 36.1 percent. This means that only Belgium is ahead of Germany (52.7 percent).
Taxes are also high for families
According to the study, employees in Chile (7 per cent) and New Zealand (18.4 per cent) pay particularly low taxes. Even if the percentages apply to single households, they are still meaningful for other household types. Germany is also above the OECD average here.
At least families with children could have more money in their wallets at the end of the month thanks to tax advantages and child benefit. Especially if only one partner works. In this constellation, 34.4 percent of gross wages go to the state. By comparison, the OECD average is 26.6 percent.
Even families with two working parents are in a worse position. According to the study, 42.6 per cent (OECD: 30.8 per cent) of this type of household are due despite spouse splitting. The tax burden for married couples should thus be minimized by both submitting joint taxes return.