Brazil has the worst return to the population among countries with the highest tax burden

Brazil continues to be the country that least transforms tax collection into quality of life among the 30 nations with the highest tax burden in the world.

This is what the 15th edition of IRBES (Index of Return on Wellbeing to Society) shows, prepared by IBPT (Brazilian Institute of Planning and Taxation) and obtained first hand by CNN Brasil.

According to the survey, which considers tax burden and HDI (Human Development Index) data for 2024, Brazil occupies the last position in the ranking for the 15th consecutive year.

The study evaluates the relationship between the volume of taxes collected and the return of these resources to the population through public services and quality of life. To this end, the index assigns a weight of 15% to the tax burden and 85% to the HDI.

The Brazilian tax burden corresponded to 32.32% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in 2024, a percentage similar to that of developed countries. However, the HDI of 0.760 resulted in an IRBES of 142.46 points, the lowest among the countries analyzed.

In IBPT's assessment, Brazilian performance indicates that the resources collected continue to be applied inefficiently.

"Although we have a high tax burden, worthy of developed countries, such as the United Kingdom, France and Germany, the national HDI reflects very precarious human development", states the study.

Ireland leads the ranking for the seventh consecutive year, with an IRBES of 170.37 points. The country is followed by Switzerland, South Korea - which showed an improvement in results compared to the previous edition -, the United States and Australia.

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Among the South American countries on the list, Uruguay appears in eighth place, and Argentina occupies 13th place.

According to the IBPT, the result reinforces the need to increase the efficiency of public spending and transparency in the application of collected resources.

"Certainly, if there were a better application of public revenues from taxes, this would be reflected in much higher social well-being", concludes the institute.

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Source: CNN