According to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), taxes and contributions they “eat” 38.5% of the average worker without children in Greece.
The large burden comes mainly from the employee and employer insurance contributions that arrive to 11.3% and 18.2% respectively. At the same time, at 8.9% is the estimated income tax burden, compared to 13.3% which is the OECD average.
For an employee with two children, the burden is also high at 37.1%while the Greek state burdens the citizens much more than the OECD average, as the burden it stands at 25.7% in families with two children and at 34.8% for single workers.
Greece recorded in 2023 the 18th highest “tax wedge” (tax wedge) in OECD countries, one place higher than in 2022.
According to OECD data, the “tax wedge” increased in 2023 in 23 out of 38 OECD countries between 2022 and 2023, decreased to 13 and remained the same at two. Income tax and employer’s insurance contributions make up 71% of the total burden, compared to the OECD average of 77%.
For 2023 in Greece the average single worker had a net average tax rate of 24.8%, compared to the OECD average of 24.9%. These figures show that in Greece the pay of an average unmarried worker after taxes was 75.2% of his gross salary compared to the OECD average of 75.1%.
Taking into account child-related benefits and tax provisions, the net average tax rate for an average married worker with two children in Greece it was 23.1% in 2023which is the sixth highest in the OECD, and compares with 14.2% for the OECD average.
While real wages fell in 18 OECD countriesnominal wages rose in 37 of 38 OECD countries as inflation remained above historical levels.
In the absence of automatic indexation of tax systems in many OECD countries, high inflation tends to increase workers’ tax liabilities, pushing them into higher tax brackets, and erodes the value of the tax breaks and cash benefits they receive.
Tags: average worker Greece leaves income taxes contributions
