Vietnam ranks 8th in new report from KPMG International
on Individual income tax rates

KPMG’s International Executive Services practice has provided insights into personal tax trends by conducting their first cross-border survey with historical data from 2003 to 2008 in their new report, Individual Income Tax Rate Survey 2008.

The report looks at how people have been taxed in different parts of the world, and how different governments approach the difficult task of raising funds for necessary public services without the losing support of their citizens.

Although top personal tax rates have fallen on average, the report found that the European Union still pays the highest rates, at an average of 36.4 percent, followed by taxpayers in the Asia Pacific countries with an average of 34.6 percent and those of Latin America at 26.9 percent.

With major changes to the Vietnamese Personal Income Tax Law effective from 1 January 2009 including the alignment of tax rates for Vietnamese and Foreigners with a top marginal tax rate of 35%, we recommend that the impact of the changes be assessed carefully.

We have included a link for you to download a copy of the report which covers 87 countries and concentrates on the highest level of personal tax payable to the central government. Of the 87 countries surveyed, 33 have cut their rates in the past six years and only seven have a higher top rate in 2008 than they did in 2003.

We hope you find the report interesting and useful and we look forward to discussing the details with you. Please contact your usual KPMG tax adviser if you would like further information.

KPMG Limited

http://www.kpmg.com.vn/files/KPMGIndividualIncomeTaxRateSurvey2008.pdf