Tax burde

Research by the OECD has concluded that the tax burden in wealthy countries has nearly recovered to pre-crisis levels, as governments took steps to rebuild public finances and the economic recovery boosted receipts. The think-tank said the average tax burden, defined as the ratio of tax revenues to GDP, declined by 1.5 percentage points to 32.7% over the two years to 2009.Consumption taxes have also returned to pre-crisis levels after many governments pushed up VAT rates from an average of 17.6% to 19.1% in the four years to January 2014 say Harris & Co accountants Northampton. In their role as chartered accountants to small and menium sized businesses, Harris & Co has seen the tax burden steadily rise over the last few years.