The Highest Tax Burdens In The World

Do you cringe every payday when you see a large chunk of your hard-earned cash deducted for social security and income taxes?

If so, take comfort in the fact that the residents of some other countries have it a lot worse.

American taxpayers paid an average of 29.5 percent of their incomes in taxes and social security, but out of a consortium of 34 countries known as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 24 nations have a higher tax and social security burden than the United States, according to the OECD.

In addition, more than three-quarters of OECD countries saw a rise in their income tax rates in 2011 from the year before with Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and the Slovak Republic seeing some of the largest increases. The U.S., on the other hand, was among the minority whose average tax burdens actually fell last year, the OECD reports.

Here are the 10 OECD countries with the highest tax burdens: