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Norwegians face least tax pressure in Scandinavia
Norway is known for its high taxes, but relatively speaking, Norwegians seem better off than their neighbors in Sweden and Denmark.
New statistics from the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) reveal that tax revenues amount to 45 percent of Norway's gross national product.
That compares to 51.5 percent in Sweden and 49.7 percent in Denmark.
The OECD contends that tax as a percentage of GNP illustrates the type of tax pressure an average citizen is under. That means Norwegians are under less tax pressure than the Swedes and the Danes.
That's not likely to stop Norwegians from driving over the border to buy cheaper wine, beer, liquor and a host of other products in Sweden. Swedish taxes on alcohol, for example, have fallen dramatically since the country joined the European Union.
Residents of Finland, meanwhile, come out even better among the Nordic countries, with taxes making up 44.5 percent of GNP.
Tax pressure increased, though, in 17 of the countries in the OECD poll, including Norway, where taxes as a percentage of GNP rose from 44 percent in 2004.
The country with the lowest tax pressure in the world is Mexico, according to the OECD statistics, where tax revenues amount to 19.8 percent of GNP. Tax pressure was also relatively low in South Korea, the US, the Slovak Republic and Switzerland.--Aftenposten
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