The Flat Tax At Work In Central And Eastern Europe, 1994-2011

Brian Wheaton, Harvard Ph.D. Candidate in Economics, has written a superb paper documenting that the adoption of a flat tax increased economic growth in 20 Central and Eastern European countries during 1994-2011.  A must read.

An abstract of the paper can be read here.

The full paper can be read here.

Three Antarctic Jurisdictions With A Flat Tax

Jurisdiction                                                              Tax Rate (%)

British Antarctic Territory                                               7%

South Georgia And The South Sandwich Islands                7

French Southern And Antarctic Lands.                             9

Countries And Jurisdictions With A Flat Tax On July 2, 2020

Jurisdiction                         Tax Rate (%)

Abhkazia                                   10%

Andorra                                     10

Artsakh                                      21

Belarus                                      12

Belize                                        25

Bolivia                                       12

Bosnia & Herzegovinia                10

Bulgaria                                     10

Estonia                                       21

Georgia                                      20

Greenland                                  42

Guernsey                                    20

Hungary                                     15

Jersey                                        20

Kazakhstan                                 10

Kyrgyzstan                                  10  

Madagascar                                 10

Mongolia                                     10

North Macedonia                         10

Pridnestrovie                              10

Romania                                     10

Seychelles                                  15

South Ossetia                              12

Timor-Leste                                10

Turkmenistan                              10

Ukraine                                       18

Yemen                                        15

At the peak of the flat tax movement, 44 countries and jurisdictions had a flat tax.  The number  has declined to 27, with Russia the most recent to add a second top rate.  Politicians in both dictatorships and democracies find that imposing a second top rate on a small percentage of high-income earners is popular, especially when twinned with increased social benefits for lower- and middle-class taxpayers.  The same holds for a second lower rate.

Of the 27 jurisdictions listed above, 10 have populations under 100,000; 3 between 100,000-1 million; 3 between 1-10 million; 6 between 10-20 million; and 3 over 20 million (Ukraine is the largest at 42 million).

Four are disputed territories of other countries lacking international recognition (Abkhazia, Artsakh, Pridnestrovie [aka Transnistria], South Ossetia).  Two are British Overseas Territories (Jersey, Guernsey).  One is a Danish Autonomous Dependent Territory (Greenland).  Yemen has two claimants to the government, Houthis and forces loyal to Hadi based in Aden.

The Flat Tax In Retreat: Russia Adds A Second Top Rate Of 15% On Its Personal Income Tax.

In 2001 Russia implemented a 13% flat tax on personal income.  Russia was the first large country to adopt a flat tax,

In a speech to the nation on June 23, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the government would impose a second rate of 15% on persons earning more than 5 million rubles ($72,675) a year, effective January 1, 2021.  

The higher 15% rate is projected to raise an additional 60 billion rubles ($872 million), which will be used to offset some of the government's spending on the economic costs of the coronavirus.

To stimulate the growth of Information Technology companies, the new tax law would reduce the social security contributions on technology firms for its employees from 14% to 7.6% and cut the profits tax on IT firms from 20% to 3%.