Insights into the Tax Systems of Scandinavian Countries by Daniel Bunn, Sean Bray, Joost Haddinga published by Tax Foundation (4/2023).
“Scandinavian countries are well known for their broad social safety net and their public funding of services such as universal health care, higher education, parental leave, and child and elderly care. High levels of government spending naturally require high levels of taxation. In 2021, Denmark’s tax-to-GDP ratio was at 46.9 percent, Norway’s at 42.2 percent, and Sweden’s at 42.6 percent. This compares to a ratio of 24.5 percent in the United States.
So how do Scandinavian countries raise their tax revenues? A first breakdown shows that consumption taxes and social security contributions—both taxes with a very broad base—raise much of the additional revenue needed to fund their large-scale public programs…”
