Paying Taxes 2009: a study of countries’ tax systems

PricewaterhouseCoopers and the World Bank have published Paying Taxes 2009, a study examining the tax regimes in 181 countries. The study uses three main indicators: the total tax rate (all taxes borne a business must pay), the time it takes to comply with the major taxes, and the number of tax payments for the major taxes. Interestingly, the Maldives have the highest ranking for all three indicators. By contrast, the United States, ranks 26th on the number of tax payments ranking, 65th in time to comply ranking, and 92nd on the total tax rate ranking.