This chapter is based on the OECD Global Revenue Statistics Database and its accompanying publications. It describes the latest tax revenue trends, analysing both total tax-to-GDP ratios and tax structures over time, across low-, middle-, and high-income countries.
Tax Policy Reforms 2026
OECD and Selected Partner Economies
Abstract
This chapter presents the latest trends in tax revenues, analysing both overall tax-to-GDP ratios and the composition of tax revenues across all 38 OECD countries, as well as low-, middle-, and high-income jurisdictions covered by the OECD Global Revenue Statistics database. It highlights developments in tax-to-GDP ratios and tax structures, with a particular focus on patterns observed over the past two to three years, based on the latest publicly available Revenue Statistics data. Specifically, the figures show preliminary data for 2024 for those countries for which they are available, and data for 2023 otherwise. Of the 92 jurisdictions covered in this report, 71 are included in the Global Revenue Statistics Database, with available data for 2023 or 2024.
In 2024, the average tax-to-GDP ratio across OECD countries increased by 0.4 p.p. from 33.7 to 34.1%. Among the 36 OECD countries with available preliminary data for 2024, the ratio rose in 22, fell in 13, and remained unchanged in one (OECD, 2025[1]). Revenues from taxes on goods and services, as a percentage of GDP, declined in 22 countries, with an average drop of 0.5 p.p. Property tax revenues also fell in 27 OECD countries. By contrast, revenues from Social Security Contributions (SSCs) increased in 24 countries.
Recent developments differed across regions and income groups. Regional averages for 2023 show that tax-to-GDP ratios increased in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, while declining in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). In Africa, the average tax-to-GDP ratio across 38 countries rose by 0.5 p.p., reaching 16.1% of GDP in 2023, driven in large part by higher revenues from corporate income taxes (CIT). In the LAC region, comprising 27 countries, the ratio decreased by 0.2 p.p. to 21.3%, while the Asia-Pacific region, covering 37 economies, recorded an increase of 0.1 p.p. to 19.6%. From an income group perspective, high-income countries (HICs) experienced a decrease in their average tax-to-GDP ratio, down 0.5 p.p. to 31% in 2023. In contrast, the ratio rose by 0.1 p.p. to 19% in middle-income countries (MICs), and by 0.3 p.p. to 13% in low-income countries (LICs).
The composition of tax revenues in 2024 differs markedly between low- and middle-income countries and high-income countries. On average, HICs rely more heavily on PIT compared to MICs and LICs. In contrast, MICs and LICs continue to derive a significantly larger share – over half on average – of their tax revenues from taxes on goods and services.
Tax-to-GDP ratios have remained broadly stable on average across OECD countries since 1990, fluctuating around 33% to 34%. Despite the stable average, the level of tax revenues varies significantly across OECD member countries. That said, the dispersion across countries has narrowed moderately over time. The gap between the maximum and minimum OECD tax-to-GDP ratios has declined, particularly since the mid-2000s (Figure 2.1). Across income groups, HICs consistently record the highest tax-to-GDP ratios, averaging just above 30% in recent years, while MICs have remained around 20% and LICs at significantly lower levels, albeit with gradual increases over time.
Over the longer term, middle- and low-income countries have shown gradual increases in revenue mobilisation, contributing to a gradual convergence towards higher-income country levels. Low-income countries increased their tax-to-GDP ratios from around 10% in the early 1990s to approximately 13% by 2023. Since 2019, tax-to-GDP ratios across all income groups have been relatively stable, including through the COVID-19 pandemic. This in part reflects the fact that both GDP and tax revenues declined during the crisis, since tax-to-GDP is measured relative to GDP, a fall in both can leave the ratio broadly unchanged.
Tax revenues as a percentage of GDP
Note: The maximum and minimum OECD values signal the range. See the Global Revenues Statistics database for more information.
Source: Global Revenue Statistics Database.
As with the level of tax revenue, the composition of tax structures varies considerably across jurisdictions (Figure 2.2). Of the 71 jurisdictions that are covered in both this report and the Global Revenue Statistics Database, 25 derived the largest share of their tax revenues from income taxes, encompassing both PIT and CIT, while 11 jurisdictions relied primarily on SSCs. In a further 35 jurisdictions, taxes on goods and services, including VAT, were the dominant source of revenue. In terms of income group averages, in HICs income taxes (PIT and CIT) and SSCs together accounted for a majority of revenues, while taxes on goods and services represented around one-third. By contrast, in middle- and low-income countries, taxes on goods and services accounted for the majority of total revenues on average.
While broad patterns differ across income groups, there remains substantial heterogeneity in tax structures across individual jurisdiction within each group (Figure 2.2). Among high-income economies, for example, some tax systems rely heavily on PIT, such as Denmark, where PIT revenues account for over half of total revenues, and the United States, where they represent around 40%. In others, SSCs have a more prominent role in the tax mix including in Germany, France and the Netherlands. In contrast, countries such as Chile and Croatia derive a larger proportion of revenues from taxes on goods and services (around half or more). While taxes on goods and services are the most prominent source of revenues in most middle- and low-income countries, there is nevertheless significant heterogeneity. Some jurisdictions like the Maldives or the Cook Islands raise over two-thirds of their tax revenue from taxes on goods and services while others, like Malaysia, raise significantly more revenues from CIT.
Note: The jurisdictions included in this graph are those that responded to the Tax Policy Reforms Questionnaire in 2026 and for which recent OECD Revenue Statistics Data are publicly available. Data for Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Cook Islands, Dominican Republic, Georgia, Greece, Honduras, Indonesia, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, Panama, Peru, Poland, Romania, Saint Lucia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay, and group averages for LICs, MICs, HICs, and OECD are for 2023, due to the unavailability of disaggregated data for 2024 for these countries. The data for all other countries are for 2024. Countries are grouped and ranked by those where income tax revenues (personal and corporate) form the highest share of total tax revenues, followed by those where social security contributions, or taxes on goods and services, form the highest share.
Source: Global Revenue Statistics Database.
Changes in tax-to-GDP ratios in the latest available year show substantial variation across jurisdictions, with significantly more jurisdictions increasing revenues than decreasing (Figure 2.3). On average in 2023, HICs recorded a slight decline in tax-to-GDP ratios, while MICs and LICs experienced modest increases. Across the 43 jurisdictions in Panel A with available preliminary data for 2024, total tax-to-GDP ratios increased in 27 jurisdictions, declined in 15, and remained broadly unchanged in 1. These changes were typically driven by a combination of tax types rather than a single source. In several jurisdictions, declines were associated with reductions in CIT revenues and taxes on goods and services. For example, Norway recorded a decline of 1.4 p.p., largely reflecting a fall in CIT revenues (-2.2 p.p.), similarly Colombia saw a larger decline of 2.2 p.p., also driven mainly by lower CIT revenues (-1.8 p.p.) alongside smaller decreases in revenues from taxes on goods and services. Mauritius experienced the largest decline in 2024 of 2.8 p.p., reflecting a significant drop in revenues from taxes on goods and services.
The largest increases were observed in Malta, Ukraine and Latvia, each recording rises of over 2 p.p. between 2023 and 2024. In Malta and Luxembourg, higher CIT revenues were the main drivers, while Slovenia and Croatia saw increases primarily due to strong growth in SSC revenues. Latvia stands out as an example where the increase in revenues is relatively balanced from PIT, CIT, SSCs, and taxes on goods and services. Estonia shows a similar pattern, with gains across all major tax categories.
Across tax types, PIT revenues increased in 33 jurisdictions, compared with decreases in 6 (and no change in 4), while SSCs rose in 26 jurisdictions and declined in 7 (with 10 unchanged). By contrast, CIT revenues decreased in more countries than they increased (22 declines compared to 17 increases and 4 unchanged), and taxes on goods and services also fell more frequently than they rose (20 decreases versus 18 increases, with 5 unchanged). Property tax revenues remained unchanged in more than half of the jurisdictions with available data. The relatively widespread increases in SSCs may reflect the significant number of SSC-raising reforms introduced in recent years and discussed in the previous edition of this report.
Year-on-year change, p.p.
Note: The jurisdictions included in this graph are those that responded to the Tax Policy Reforms Questionnaire in 2026 and for which recent OECD Revenue Statistics Data are publicly available. Data for 2024 are preliminary and should be interpreted with caution.
Source: Global Revenue Statistics Database.
References
[1] OECD (2025), Revenue Statistics 2025: Disentangling Personal Income Tax Revenue in OECD Countries, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/3a264267-en.