Table 12.1

---

Personal Income Tax Rates by Country

---

Country	Highest rate of tax on wage income
Hong Kong	13%
Bolivia	19%
Botswana	30%
Switzerland*	36%
Mexico	38%
Chile	44%
Great Britain	46%
United States	47%
Israel	50%
Japan	62%
France	64%
Germany	65%
Russia	67%

Source: Author's calculations derived from Coopers and Lybrand annual tax summary and cantonal revenue authorities; Swiss cantonal data from Dr. Nico Burki, Burki-Rechtsanwalte, Zurich.

* -- Swiss federal income tax rates do not exceed 11 percent, but as the tax is fundamentally cantonal and even communal in nature, comparisons are difficult. The 36 percent figure is close to the highest one would pay as a combined effective rate in a typical canton, such as Luzern, Glarus, or Fribourg, as the U.S. figure is based on a typical state, such as Illinois or Virginia. Even this is not the highest possible figure: In the cantons of Geneva and Zurich, for example, the combined rate reaches 44-46 percent. It is common in these cantons, however, for high-income taxpayers to establish a residence in neighboring communities, avoiding the highest rates. Note that even at 40 percent, Switzerland would still have among the lowest tax rates in the developed world.