Corporate taxes are a controversial topic all around the world. While they can be a lucrative source of income for governments, they are also often seen as prohibitive. Many governments want to keep corporate tax rates as low as possible in order to attract as much business and commerce into their country as possible, although they’re usually aware of the need to strike a balance, particularly if individual taxes like income tax have been increasing, or at least not falling.
In most countries, corporate tax rates vary, from a base of 0% for business that make a loss, or profits below a certain level up to a wide range of percentages. We’ve looked at the countries that have the highest “top rates” of corporate tax.
Bangladesh topping the list would probably come as a surprise to most people. 45% is the top rate of corporate tax payable in Bangladesh, although this is reserved only for banks, insurance companies, and other businesses within the financial sector. 45% isn’t a massive leap from the general rate of corporate taxation, however, which stands at a still high 37.5%. Even the tax rate for public companies is higher than the overall tax rate elsewhere, standing at 27.5%.
There are a number of layers of taxation in the United States. The highest rate of federal taxes a business is expected to pay stands at 39%. This is against a low 12% at the state level and an even lower 3% at local level, although how tax is paid in the United States is dependent on a variety of factors.
Overall, Japan has one of the highest levels of taxation in the world, although the majority of Japanese tax revenues come from the variety of individual taxes in place in the country, including the controversial consumption tax, which is set to rise again in 2014 and in 2015.
38.01% is the corporate tax rate across the board in Japan.
A number of countries have a flat 35% corporate tax rate or a top level of corporate tax at this percentage. These countries are Syria – tax is tiered here with 28% and 22% corporate tax rates also applicable – Sri Lanka, where corporate tax can be 0%, Angola, Argentina, Benin, Burundi, Gabon, Pakistan, and Zambia.
Most countries apply corporate taxes between the 20 and 30% levels, although as you can see there is great variety in locations around the world.