These are the 19 countries with the highest tax rates in the world
19. Spain: 58.2%. Though it comes in at number 19, Spain is only third of the five large European countries — two other sneak in ahead, with higher rates for businesses.
18. India: 61.7%. Finance minister Arun Jaitley aims to cut India's corporate tax level by more than five percentage points, down to 25% over four years.
17. Tunisia: 62.4%. Though some other countries further south have steeper rates, Tunisia's total tax rate is the second-highest in north Africa.
16. Benin: 63.3%. Though the World Bank says the country's corporate income tax only runs to 15.9%, a bundle of other taxes raises the total rate imposed on businesses significantly.
15. Gambia: 63.3%. Without major natural resources, Gambia is among the poorest nations in the world. Taxes on turnover rather than profit raise rates for businesses significantly.
14. Chad: 63.5%. Like Gambia, chad relies on agriculture and is extremely poor. It taxes 1.5% of turnover or 40% or profits, depending on which is higher.
13. China: 64.6%. Like many other countries on the list, China levies some taxes on the turnover of businesses rather than their profit.
12. Italy: 65.4%. The country is known for its higher tax rates but gets beaten to the number 1 spot in Europe by another country.
11. Venezuela: 65.5%. The government of Venezuela pursued a higher-tax model, with dramatic increases in taxes for foreign oil companies under former President Hugo Chavez.
10. Nicaragua: 65.8%. In 2012 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggested that the country reduce the complexity of its corporate tax system.
9. France: 66.6%. The country tops the ranks for Europe, though the current government has pledged to reform the system and cut corporate taxes.
8. Guinea?: 68.3%. Most of Guinea's corporate taxes are paid through a flat-rate tax on turnover from the previous year.
7. Brazil: 69%. Last year Latin America's biggest economy eliminated a 20% tax on business payrolls as part of an effort to reform its system.
6. Mauritania: 71.3%. In 2013, this agriculture-dependent country brought in a withholding tax of 15% to stop people moving payments to non-residents.
6. Algeria: 72.7%. Algeria has the highest total tax rate of any African country.
4. Colombia: 75.4%. The country brought in a new wealth tax — though it's fourth in the world, it only comes third in Latin America for its total tax rate.
3. Tajikistan: 80.9%. The central Asian country has a 2% statutory tax rate on all turnover, which takes out a significant chunk of a company's average profits.
2. Bolivia: 83.7%. Bolivia's 3% tax on transactions wipes out 60% of company profits, even before other taxes are taken into account. But it still loses out to one other Latin American country.
1. Argentina: 137.3%. Astonishingly, Argentina's total tax rate is judged to be over 100% of corporate profits. The country's turnover tax alone eats up nearly 90%, before taxes on salaries and financial transactions are taken into account.
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