Statistical Databases: OECD Tax Statistics Online Database

OECD Tax Statistics Online Database

OECD Tax Statistics are updated each year and published in two volumes. See more details by clicking on links below.

This volume provides a conceptual framework to define which government receipts should be regarded as taxes and to classify different types of taxes. It then presents a unique set of detailed and internationally comparable tax data in a common format for all OECD countries from 1965 onwards.

This year's (2007) print edition also includes a special feature on Taxes Paid on Social Transfers, as well as StatLinks, URL's under each statistical graph and table linking to a spreadsheet file containing the data underlying the graph or table.

Volume II: Taxing Wages

This volume provides unique information on direct taxes levied from employees and their employers in all 30 OECD countries as well as family benefits paid as cash transfers. Amounts of taxes and benefits are detailed, programme by programme, for eight household types which differ by income level and household composition. Results include the tax burden for one- and two-earner families. The data on tax burdens and family benefits reported here are widely used in academic research and in the preparation and evaluation of social and economic policy making.

This year's print edition (2006) includes a special feature entitled "The Tax Treatment of Minimum Wages".

OECD Tax Statistics, Volume I: Revenue Statistics

The taxes of each country, including social security contributions, are presented in a standardised framework based upon the OECD classification of taxes and interpretative guide (see the OECD Classification of Taxes and Interpretative Guide - PDF 139kb), which was revised in 1984. The information has, for the most part, been provided by Delegates to Working Party No.2 on Tax Policy Analysis and Tax Statistics of the Committee on Fiscal Affairs.

Non-tax revenues (see the Non-Tax Revenue, Capital Revenue and Grants document also provided in the Interpretive Guide), which are of varying importance in government financing, are presented separately from these tax statistics. The borderline between tax and non-tax revenues has been conceptually resolved in the present classification (paragraphs 9-13 of the interpretative guide).

The data is presented in 44 multidimensional tables:

• 30 tables showing details of tax revenues for each OECD member country, expressed in national currency, for all government sectors, over the period 1965 onwards.
  
• 1 table displaying Non-Tax revenue, capital revenue and grants, expressed in national currencies, for all government sectors and all OECD countries over the period 1975 onwards.
  
• 1 table displaying Non-tax revenue, capital revenue and grants,
  expressed in national currencies, for all government sectors and all OECD countries over the period 1990 onwards. The source of the data is the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and the concepts used are set out in the IMF's Government Finance Statistics Manual 2001.
  
• 1 table showing Memorandum item on the financing of social security benefits for all OECD countries, expressed in national currencies, over the period 1965 onwards.
  
• 1 table displaying Social security contributions and payroll taxes paid by government, for all OECD countries, expressed in national currencies, for all sectors of government, over the period 1965 onwards.
  
• 6 comparative tables for all OECD member countries and country groupings presenting data on total of sectors of government:
  • Tax revenue as percentage of GDP by type of tax over the period 1965 onwards
  • Tax revenue as percentage of GDP - three year moving average by type of tax, over the period 1966 onwards
  • Taxes as percentage of total taxation by type of tax, over the period 1965-2004
  • Annual percentage change in tax revenue (in national currency) by type of tax, over the period 1966 onwards
  • Tax revenue in million US-dollars by type of tax, over the period 1965 onwards
  • Tax revenue in US-dollars per capita by type of tax, over the period 1965 onwards
    
• 1 comparative table describing tax revenue of individual countries as percentage of total OECD tax revenue for the Total sectors of government, by type of tax and over the period 1965 onwards.
  
• 3 tables showing data used to produce the comparative tables:
  • GDP at market prices in billions of national currency units over the period 1965 onwards
  • Population in thousands over the period 1965 onwards
  • Exchange rates used, national currency per US-dollar over the period 1965 onwards

Year 2006 data are estimates since most countries are unable to provide definitive figures for more recent years.

Methodological notes on sources, definitions, etc. are supplied in Adobe PDF format.

OECD Tax Statistics, Volume II: Taxing Wages

The Taxing Wages database provides internationally comparative data on direct tax levied from employees and their employers in all 30 Member countries of the OECD. These taxes include the employer’s contributions for public social security and employee’s contributions for public social security plus personal income tax. In addition it specifies family benefits paid as cash transfers.

Amounts of taxes and benefits are detailed program by program, for eight household types, which differ by income level and household composition. Results include the tax burden for one-and two-earner families. Data mainly refer to years 2005 (definite data) and 2006 (accurate estimates), but some comparative tables also present statistics of interest over the period 1979 to 2005.

These data on tax burdens and cash benefits are widely used in academic research and the preparation and evaluation of social and economic policy-making.

Beyond the TIME and COUNTRY dimension, data for the following variables are presented:

• TAX covers income taxes, transfers and derived calculated ratios: gross wage earnings, standard tax allowances, tax credits or cash transfers included in taxable income, central government income tax paid, state and local taxes, employees' compulsory social security contributions, total payments to general government, cash transfers from general government, take-home pay, employers' compulsory social security contributions, average and marginal tax rates.
• TYPE covers eight family/household types:
  • Single1 - for single individuals with no child, earning 67 per cent of the Average Production Worker wage
  • Single2 - for single individuals with no child, earning 100 per cent of the Average Production Worker wage
  • Single3 - for single individuals with no child, earning 167 per cent of the Average Production Worker wage
  • Single4 - for single individuals with two children, earning 67 per cent of the Average Production Worker wage
  • Married1 - for married couples with two children earning: Principal earner 100 per cent and Spouse 0 per cent of the Average Production Worker wage
  • Married2 - for married couples with two children earning: Principal earner 100 per cent and Spouse 33 per cent of the Average Production Worker wage
  • Married3 - for married couples with two children earning: Principal earner 100 per cent and Spouse 67 per cent of the Average Production Worker wage
  • Married4 - for married couples with no child earning: Principal earner 100 per cent and Spouse 33 per cent of the Average Production Worker wage

The database contains 8 multidimensional tables.

The various dimensions in the tables allow to display all basic statistics as well as derived series (ratios) which are published in the Taxing Wages paper publication. It also allows to link to these dimensions textual information (definitions, units, etc).

The 8 multidimensional tables presented are the following:

• 6 tables show, for years 2001 onwards and for all OECD Member countries, tax variables by family-type and level of earnings, expressed in national currency for values and in percentages for ratios. Amounts for countries of the Euro-area are expressed in euros.
  
• 1 table shows for years 1997 onwards a large set of comparative ratios between OECD Member Countries by family-type and level of earnings expressed in percentages and in U.S. dollars.
  
• 1 table shows for period 1979 onwards and all OECD member countries
  comparative ratios for two types of family and level of earnings : Single1 and Married2 types. Figures are expressed in percentages and presented for alternating years until 1993 and annually afterwards.