The RATE Coalition (Reforming America’s Taxes Equitably) has drawn attention to the fact that as from April 1, 2014 the US has for two years had the highest corporate tax rate among OECD countries. The group which demands tax reform to increase business competitiveness indicated that the US tax rate is 10% higher than the average corporate tax rate within the OECD.

RATE computes the US effective tax rate as 39.1 percent. This figure is a result of adding the average tax rate levied by US states to the federal corporate tax of 35 percent. Although the Japanese effective tax rate had been high for a long time, its effective tax rate was reduced two years ago and this brought the rate below the US. Japan is still considering broadening its tax base and lowering its rate further.