Tax Burden Around the World in 2026: Countries and Brazil

"Brazil has the highest tax burden in the world" is one of the most repeated claims — and it is not true. According to the latest OECD data, Brazil collected 33.7% of GDP in taxes in 2024, slightly below the OECD average (34.1%). But it is officially the highest tax burden in Latin America and the Caribbean, where the average is 21.7% — and it collects it through one of the most complex systems in the world.

In this article: how the tax burden is measured and why the numbers differ, the countries with the highest burden, where Brazil stands and why, and what the Tax Reform changes — and when.

1. How the tax burden is measured (and why the numbers differ)

• Gross tax burden (% of GDP). The OECD metric: it adds up all compulsory taxes and contributions collected by government and divides them by GDP. It is the basis of international comparisons — and of this article.
• Tax wedge. The difference between the total cost of employing someone and the net salary that person receives. It is the metric for comparing labour costs across countries.
• Effective tax rate. The percentage a company or person actually pays on profit or income, after deductions and incentives. It is usually quite different from the statutory rate.
• Compliance cost. The time and money spent just to meet tax obligations. It is not revenue, but it weighs on cash.

2. The 20 countries with the highest tax burden

2024 data, the latest year with an international comparison, from the OECD Global Revenue Statistics Database.

Source: OECD, Global Revenue Statistics Database, accessed on 03/10/2026. There are 2024 data for 128 countries; Japan and Australia, for example, do not yet have 2024 in this database.

At the top are Nordic and Western European countries, at 40% to 45% of GDP, where the burden funds universal pensions and healthcare. For comparison, in 2024: Switzerland 27.2%, United States 25.6%, South Korea 25.3%, Ireland 21.7%, Chile 20.5% and Mexico 18.3% — all below Brazil.

3. Where Brazil stands: the highest burden in Latin America

• 33.7% of GDP in 2024, against an OECD average of 34.1%. Its neighbours in the table are the United Kingdom (34.4%), Hungary (34.4%), Czechia (34.0%) and Lithuania (33.1%).
• By our own calculation on the OECD global database, Brazil is 27th among the 128 countries with 2024 data — the OECD itself does not publish a world ranking, and the position changes when countries enter or leave the database.
• In Latin America and the Caribbean, the OECD identifies Brazil as the highest burden in the region, which ranges from 9.2% in Guyana to 33.7% in Brazil. Brazil's burden is 12 points of GDP above the regional average (21.7%) — proportionally, more than half again. Next come Barbados (30.7%) and Jamaica (30.7%); Argentina follows, at 27.6%.

The burden rose in 2024 — and two independent sources say the same

From 2023 to 2024, Brazil's tax burden rose by about 2 points of GDP: from 31.7% to 33.7% according to the OECD, and from 30.26% to 32.22% according to the National Treasury (+1.96 points). Different methodologies, the same movement — the most solid statement one can make about the direction of the burden.

How the burden is composed

The Brazilian system concentrates revenue on consumption, which makes goods and services more expensive and directly affects companies' competitiveness. According to the Federal Revenue Service (Tax Burden in Brazil 2024, table 05), 2024 revenue breaks down by tax base as follows: goods and services, 43.5%; income, 28.3%; payroll, 21.2%; property, 5.3%; and financial transactions, 1.8%. Taxation of consumption is the largest share, and the one that grew most in 2024: +1.4 points of GDP.

150 days of work

According to the annual study by IBPT (2026 edition), Brazilians work 150 days a year — until 30 May — just to pay taxes, equivalent to 41.1% of annual income. It was 82 days in 1986 and 121 in 2000.

4. The paradox: a rich-country burden, a low return

"In short: Brazil does not have the highest tax burden in the world, but it has the highest in its region, with one of the highest compliance costs ever measured and the worst return among the 30 highest-burden countries assessed by IRBES."

5. Tax Reform: what changes in the burden, and when

The Tax Reform (Constitutional Amendment 132/2023, regulated by Complementary Law 214/2025) replaces five consumption taxes — PIS, COFINS, IPI, ICMS and ISS — with a dual VAT: CBS (federal) and IBS (states and municipalities), plus the Selective Tax. Corporate income taxes (IRPJ and CSLL) do not change with it. The transition is staggered:

2026: a test year, with a condition

In 2026, payment of CBS and IBS is waived — but the waiver is conditional on meeting the ancillary obligations (LC 214/2025, art. 348, § 1), and Simples Nacional companies fall outside this regime (art. 348, III, "c"). That is why "2026 changes nothing" is a sentence not to repeat: what changes is the obligation to issue and record correctly.

Since August 2026, electronic tax documents have been issued in the new layouts, with IBS and CBS fields, following a schedule by document type that runs from 03/08/2026 to 01/01/2027 (Joint Act RFB/CGIBS No. 4, of 30/07/2026). The same company may have different dates depending on the document it issues.

Reference rate: there is no official number yet

The reference rate for CBS and IBS is set by Federal Senate resolution (EC 132/2023, ADCT, art. 130; LC 214/2025, art. 349), after the calculation is made by the Federal Revenue Service and the Management Committee and approved by the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU). As of October 2026, this calculation has not yet reached the Senate — the deadline was extended to 30/10/2026. The working estimate in circulation, 27.91%, appears in a Management Committee document as a calculation premise, not as a fixed rate; and it is above the 26.5% cap set in LC 214/2025, in which case the Executive must send a complementary bill to Congress. Until the Senate resolution, any number is an estimate.

Will the total burden change?

The reform's stated goal is to keep the consumption tax burden stable on average, while simplifying collection. That does not mean nothing changes for each company: moving from origin-based to destination-based taxation and broad non-cumulativity affect each sector and each supply chain differently. The impact on your company depends on its regime, sector and cost structure — and only a simulation with the company's own numbers answers it.

6. What your company should do in 2026

This content is educational and does not constitute individualized legal or tax advice. Consult a qualified professional for your specific case. No estimate of the Tax Reform rate should be read as final: it depends on a Federal Senate resolution.