Excise Share of Total Taxation Continues to Decline, OECD Reports

The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development) has released the 15th edition of ‘Consumption Tax Trends’ ¹, a biennial publication presenting comparative data on consumption taxes in OECD member countries. The report highlights the continuing downward trajectory of excise duties as a percentage of total tax revenues in these countries.

According to the report, in 2022, consumption taxes as a whole accounted for an average of 29.6% of total tax revenue in OECD countries, down from 30.1% in 2020 and 32.1% in 2010.

Approximately two thirds of consumption tax revenue is derived from taxes on general goods and services (mainly VAT and sales tax), while one third comes from taxes on specific goods and services (mainly excise duties).

While VAT revenue actually increased slightly between 2020 and 2022, the overall decline in consumption tax revenue was mainly attributed to the gradually decreasing importance of specific taxes – mainly on tobacco, alcoholic beverages, and fuel, as well as environment-related taxes.