Taxes on goods and services in North America
North America: Taxes on goods and services was 7.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Taxes on goods and services in North America, 1972–2024
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of revenue.
Analysis
The most recent figure for taxes on goods and services in North America is 7.9%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 0.7% on the previous year and down 6.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, taxes on goods and services in North America peaked at 11.3% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 3.2%, in 1989.
North America ranks 41st of 41 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 53 years of available data.
Taxes on goods and services in North America, year by year
| Year | % of revenue | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 7.1% | — |
| 1973 | 6.6% | -7.9% |
| 1974 | 6.0% | -9.0% |
| 1975 | 5.6% | -6.1% |
| 1976 | 5.4% | -3.8% |
| 1977 | 4.7% | -13.5% |
| 1978 | 4.4% | -6.9% |
| 1979 | 3.8% | -12.9% |
| 1980 | 4.4% | +16.3% |
| 1981 | 6.4% | +44.1% |
| 1982 | 5.5% | -13.8% |
| 1983 | 5.4% | -1.7% |
| 1984 | 5.2% | -4.2% |
| 1985 | 4.5% | -12.6% |
| 1986 | 3.9% | -12.4% |
| 1987 | 3.5% | -10.9% |
| 1988 | 3.6% | +3.4% |
| 1989 | 3.2% | -11.8% |
| 1990 | 10.0% | +210.3% |
| 1991 | 11.1% | +11.3% |
| 1992 | 11.0% | -0.7% |
| 1993 | 11.3% | +2.7% |
| 1994 | 11.0% | -3.0% |
| 1995 | 10.7% | -2.0% |
| 1996 | 10.5% | -2.5% |
| 1997 | 10.3% | -1.9% |
| 1998 | 10.0% | -3.0% |
| 1999 | 10.0% | -0.1% |
| 2000 | 9.3% | -6.2% |
| 2001 | 9.5% | +2.0% |
| 2002 | 10.4% | +9.4% |
| 2003 | 10.6% | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 10.5% | -1.0% |
| 2005 | 10.1% | -3.1% |
| 2006 | 9.5% | -6.8% |
| 2007 | 8.7% | -8.0% |
| 2008 | 8.0% | -7.8% |
| 2009 | 8.8% | +10.2% |
| 2010 | 9.0% | +2.0% |
| 2011 | 8.7% | -3.4% |
| 2012 | 8.5% | -2.1% |
| 2013 | 8.4% | -1.7% |
| 2014 | 8.5% | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 8.4% | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 8.4% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 8.2% | -2.0% |
| 2018 | 8.3% | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 8.2% | -1.3% |
| 2020 | 7.9% | -2.8% |
| 2021 | 7.8% | -2.2% |
| 2022 | 8.0% | +2.7% |
| 2023 | 8.0% | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 7.9% | -0.7% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Taxes on goods and services in North America changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | +210.3% | 3.2% | 10.0% |
| 1981 | +44.1% | 4.4% | 6.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5.4% | 3.8% | 7.1% | 8 |
| 1980s | 4.6% | 3.2% | 6.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.6% | 10.0% | 11.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.5% | 8.0% | 10.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.4% | 8.2% | 9.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.9% | 7.8% | 8.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near North America
More public sector data for North America
- Arms imports 1.36 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 3.56 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate 56.45 % change on previous year (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 1.36 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per capita 2,692 current USD per person (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per unit of GDP 0.0325 current USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), annual growth rate 8.84 % change on previous year (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), gaps filled 1.03 trillion current USD (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per square kilometre 48.39 SIPRI trend indicator values per square kilometre (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is taxes on goods and services in North America?
- Taxes on goods and services in North America was 7.9% in 2024, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest taxes on goods and services recorded in North America?
- The highest recorded value was 11.3% in 1993.
- What is the lowest taxes on goods and services recorded in North America?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.2% in 1989.
- How does North America rank for taxes on goods and services?
- North America ranks 41st out of 41 groups with data for 2024.
- Is taxes on goods and services rising or falling in North America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this North America data come from?
- The figures come from Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Taxes on goods and services (% of revenue). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
General taxes on goods and services are taxes levied on the production, leasing, delivery, sale, purchase or other change of ownership of a wide range of goods and the provision of a wide range of services. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of revenue which includes all transactions that add to the amount of economic value of a unit or sector.