Governments across the globe are raising taxes, expanding government control.
Wall Street Journal. Dec. 18, 2023.
Tom Fairless of the Wall Street Journal writes that “The Era of Big Taxes Is Upon Us.”
“Tax revenues have risen to record levels as a share of economic output” in France, Japan and South Korea.
“In the U.S., tax receipts at all levels of government climbed to nearly 28% of GDP last year, up from 25% in 2019 and the highest level since at least 1965, aside from a brief period of budget consolidation during the Clinton administration.”
“In France and Germany, tax receipts have increased by around 1 percentage point of GDP since 2019 from already high levels, to about 46% and 39% of GDP respectively. In both countries, tax-to-GDP ratios are at the highest levels since records began in 1965.”
Ratios of taxation in Japan and South Korea are similarly approaching all-time (i.e., “European”) levels.
“Governments across advanced economies are spending about 2 percentage points more as a share of gross domestic product than they did in 2019, or around 41% of GDP compared with 39% before the pandemic, according to International Monetary Fund data.”
“Government revenue is expected to rise to around 32% of GDP in the U.S. in 2027 from 30% in 2019, according to IMF data.
“In the 20-nation eurozone, government spending will reach half of the region’s economic output this year, according to the IMF. In the U.S., state spending stands at 38% of GDP, above its prepandemic level.”
