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India comes out merciful on tax misery index
By agencies
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Tuesday, 15 May 2007, 19:30 IST
New Delhi: Indian taxpayers are far better off than their counterparts in countries like France, Belgium and even China when it comes to the total tax levied.
According to Forbes, India has ranked number 13 in terms of the lowest tax misery score that is a sum of taxes levied at the highest marginal percentage in each location.
The top three economies on this count are the tax-free enclaves of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Hong Kong, in that order.
Mainly because corporation and personal income tax levels remained unchanged, India?s position is unchanged over 2006.
France, who leads with the highest tax misery in the list of the economies, is followed by Belgium and China. The Communist state remains the worst Asian economy on the index. However, it is one of the top reformers this year, knocking eight points off its total score.
The index assesses whether a jurisdiction?s tax policy attracts or repels capital and talent. It also tracks tax reforms. Jurisdictions at the top of the index impose the harshest taxes, while the most tax-friendly are at the bottom. Including three new entrants, Vietnam, Bulgaria and Qatar fifty jurisdictions were surveyed.
Most Asian jurisdictions continue to have a more tax-friendly environment than other parts of the world. Besides Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia have fared well on the list.
The survey showed that outside of China and Japan, Asia continued to enjoy stable, low-tax advantage.