United States: Taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, United States' taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added) fell 0.02 percentage points on 2020 (from 0.43% to 0.41%).

Across the 23 yearly changes before that (1998 to 2020), the average change was −0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.05 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.1 percentage points in 1999 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.09 percentage points in 2019. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2021 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.02 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 58% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

Closest to United States in the 2021 ranking

• Bangladesh — 6th of 9: 4.91%
• Congo, Rep. — 7th of 9: 3.31%
• Gabon — 8th of 9: 2.38%

What this measures

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 value added in industry and services which is the contribution to the economy by industries in ISIC (Rev. 3) divisions 05-43 and 50-99.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

All 25 values

Taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added) in nearby economies

• Canada — 2.91% (2022)

More public sector data for United States

• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 745 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current USD) — 954.39 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 954.39 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 3.12% (2025)
• Arms exports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 13.98 billion (2025)
• Net incurrence of liabilities, total (current LCU) — 2.07 trillion (2024)
• Net incurrence of liabilities, total (% of GDP) — 7.06% (2024)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (current LCU) — 435.61 billion (2024)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP) — 1.49% (2024)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is United States's taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added)?

0.41% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1997?

It is down 0.28 percentage points from 0.69% in 1997. The highest value was 0.75% in 1999 and the lowest 0.41% in 2021.

Is the latest change in taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added) unusual for United States?

In 2021, United States' taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added) fell 0.02 percentage points on 2020 (from 0.43% to 0.41%). Across the 23 yearly changes before that (1998 to 2020), the average change was −0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.05 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.TAX.GSRV.VA.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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