What were the 2024 top statutory income tax rates for high earners in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland?
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Executive summary
Statutory top personal income tax rates for Nordic countries in 2024 were among the highest in Europe: Denmark’s combined top statutory rate is widely reported at 55.9% (Tax Foundation / PwC data via Visual Capitalist and Statista) [1] [2]. Other Nordic top-rate figures reported in secondary sources include Finland around 55% and Norway roughly 47.4% — though precise country-by-country top-rate definitions differ across sources [3] [4].
1. What “top statutory rate” means — and why comparisons mislead
“Top statutory rate” here is the combined highest statutory central + sub‑central personal income tax rate and surtaxes, not an effective tax rate paid by any given taxpayer; statistical compilations (Tax Foundation / PwC, Visual Capitalist, Statista) explicitly show combined statutory top rates and do not capture social contributions or effective burdens [5] [1] [2]. That means headline numbers (like Denmark 55.9%) describe the nominal ceiling of marginal tax schedules rather than the share most high earners actually hand over after deductions and non‑income levies [1] [5].
2. Denmark: the headline leader at 55.9% in 2024
Multiple data aggregators — drawing on PwC/TFSummary data — list Denmark’s combined top statutory personal income tax rate at 55.9% for 2024, making it the highest in Europe in those tables [1] [2] [5]. Analysts caution the top rate applies at comparatively low thresholds in Denmark (e.g., often affecting upper‑middle earners), undercutting simple “rich‑only” narratives [6].
3. Finland and Sweden: high nominal tops, different structures
Some sources report Finland’s top personal income statutory rate near 55% in 2024 and Sweden’s system as progressive with an additional state tax band that raises marginal rates for high incomes [3] [7]. The compilers differ on exact published tops because municipal/central combinations and thresholds vary; the figures commonly cited in comparative charts place Finland around the mid‑50s and Sweden among the higher Nordic rates, but exact statutory top percentages require checking national tables for combined municipal plus state surtaxes [3] [7].
4. Norway: lower headline top but more complexity
Norway’s headline system uses a flat general income tax (22% in PwC’s summaries) plus a progressive bracket tax that creates higher marginal rates; widely cited breakdowns show top combined statutory marginal rates substantially lower than Denmark’s — TaxSummaries and related reports note general income tax at 22% with bracket taxes (e.g., 13.7% in upper brackets for 2024) that produce top marginal levels substantially below Denmark’s 55.9% in many compilations [4] [5]. One secondary source cited a Norway top of about 47.4% for 2024, reflecting how different calculations and inclusion rules change the headline [3] [4].
5. Iceland: not well covered in these compilations
Available sources in the provided set do not supply a clear, directly cited 2024 combined top statutory personal income tax rate for Iceland; the large cross‑country datasets cited (PwC/Tax Foundation visualizations used by Visual Capitalist and Statista) include Iceland in their maps, but the exact figure for Iceland is not called out in the snippets provided here [1] [2] [5]. Therefore a definitive Iceland number is not present in current reporting supplied.
6. How data sources differ — thresholds, subnational taxes, and social levies
The prominent compilations (Tax Foundation using PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Visual Capitalist, Statista) show combined central plus sub‑central statutory peaks and explicitly note they exclude social security contributions and do not reflect effective tax burdens [5] [1] [2]. National tax systems also set very different thresholds for when the top rate applies; Denmark’s high top rate hits at much lower multiples of average income than in many other countries, which changes the social meaning of the number [6].
7. Takeaway for the reader
If you want a short, sourced answer from these compilations: Denmark’s top combined statutory personal income tax rate in 2024 is reported as 55.9% [1] [2] [5]. Finland and Sweden are typically reported in the mid‑50s for top statutory rates in 2024 in secondary summaries, while Norway’s combined top statutory marginal rate is notably lower in many compilations (often presented in the high 40s), and Iceland’s specific 2024 combined top number is not present in the provided excerpts [3] [4] [1]. For precise, legally binding marginal rates and thresholds you should consult each country’s official tax tables or the detailed PwC/PwC‑sourced country pages underlying Tax Foundation’s dataset [5] [4].
Limitations: this report relies on cross‑country compilations and secondary summaries in the provided sources; differences in methodology (what counts as “top rate”) explain discrepancies between compilations and national law texts [5] [1].