Charted: A Handy List of Countries With No Income Taxes

Charted: A Handy List of Countries With No Income Taxes

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This graphic lists the countries and territories that have no income taxes, per data from accounting firms PwC and KPMG.

This list does not include some places which technically have no income taxes, except they do in the small print. For example, residents and non-residents of Panama must pay tax on income earned within the country.

Others like the Maldives used to not have an income tax until 2019 when the law changed.

Don’t Want to Pay Tax? Move Here

Small island nations in the Caribbean and the Pacific along with several Middle Eastern countries do not tax their citizens on personal income.

Here’s the very brief list, starting with the Cayman Islands, notorious for their lack of taxes.

Usually these countries meet their revenue requirement from other industries like oil or tourism or by becoming an offshore wealth center.

North Korea officially abolished taxes in 1974, but per NKnews, citizens can be “forced to offer labor free of charge” to the government—which, yes, does sound like a tax.

(We also don’t advise moving to North Korea.)

Taxes Can Be Useful Though

Income taxes are the largest source of revenue for many governments around the world, enabling spending on infrastructure, social systems, and public utilities.

In fact, raising income tax rates has the lowest negative effect on GDP growth, compared to indirect and corporate taxes.

Several European countries have high tax rates but also robust social programs, strong infrastructure, and high standards of living.

These nations use progressive tax systems to fund universal healthcare, education, and welfare programs while maintaining economic stability.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

A useful way of seeing how wide the tax net is, is by measuring the tax pool relative to economy size. Check out the Countries With Highest Tax-to-GDP Ratio for a full breakdown.