Tax Cut 23: Tax Competition in Asia, Hikes in Europe

This is the continuation of my essay almost eight years ago, Retreat of High Income Tax Philosophy (September 19, 2007). Here are the numbers, and notice the significant drop  in tax rates from 1980 to 1990, then to 2000, for many countries -- except Hong  Kong, which started with low rates.

Marked in blue are tax cut of at least three percent from 2005 to 2012.
Marked in red are tax hikes of at least three percent for the same period.

Not included in the table above for Asia are four ASEAN countries due to incomplete time  series data from 1980 but here are their income tax rates as of 2012: Brunei zero, Cambodia 20 percent, Myanmar 30 percent, Laos, not included in  the EFW Report.

While many in Asia have blue marks (except in S. Korea), meaning there is tax competition, it's the reverse in Europe,

Source: Gwartney, James and Robert Lawson, Economic Freedom of the World, 2014 Report. Published by The Fraser Institute (www.freetheworld.com) 

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See also:

Tax Cut 19: Letter to Sen. Sonny Angara Re. SB 2149, June 06, 2014
Tax Cut 20: On the Excise Tax on Gasoline, Various Regulatory Fees, October 08, 2014 

Tax Cut 21: Taxation Without Income Discrimination, November 02, 2014

Tax Cut 22: ASEAN Taxation and Philippine Fiscal Incentives, March 25, 2015