The headline: overall tax burden
Taxes and social contributions as a share of GDP put Spain firmly in the European middle and clearly above every major Asian economy:
| Economy | Tax-to-GDP (incl. social contributions) | Data year |
|---|
| Spain | 36.4% | 2023 |
| Japan | 34.9% | 2022 |
| South Korea | 26.9% | 2023 |
| China | 22.1% | 2023 |
| India | 17.3% | 2023 |
| Singapore | 14.0% | 2023 |
Source: UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (via Our World in Data), latest available year per country. The usual caveat cuts both ways: a low ratio is not free money. In Singapore or India, much of what a Spanish payslip funds collectively — healthcare, pensions, unemployment cover — is paid privately or through mandatory savings (Singapore's CPF, which does not even apply to foreign employees).
Top personal rates: steeper in the North of Asia, flatter in the hubs
Asia splits into two camps. Japan's top combined national-plus-local rate reaches roughly 55%, and South Korea's sits near 49.5% including the local surtax — both above Spain's regional range of about 45% to 54%. China's individual income tax tops out at 45%. The hubs are the opposite story: Singapore's schedule peaks at 24%, and Hong Kong caps salaries tax at around 15%. India lands in between, with a 30% top slab plus surcharges.
For middle incomes the ordering changes: Spanish social security (6.5% employee side, on top of income tax withholding) has no equivalent for foreigners in Singapore or Hong Kong, which is why effective rates there stay in single digits far up the income scale.
Expat regimes: Spain's Beckham Law in Asian company
| Economy | Newcomer deal | Duration |
|---|
| Spain | Beckham Law: flat 24% on employment income up to €600,000 | 6 tax years |
| South Korea | Flat-rate option of ~19% (plus local surtax) for foreign employees | Up to 20 years from start of work |
| Japan | Non-permanent residents: foreign-source income largely outside Japanese tax unless remitted | First 5 years |
| China | Tax-exempt fringe benefits for foreign employees (housing, schooling), currently extended | Policy-dependent |
| India | No general expat regime; residence rules phase in worldwide taxation | — |
| Singapore | No special regime needed: low rates, and foreign-source income of individuals generally not taxed | — |
The Spanish twist is that the flat 24% is not automatically a win. Because it forfeits the personal allowance and the lower brackets, our Beckham calculator puts the crossover salary between roughly €54,000 and €66,000 depending on the region (Madrid ≈ €64,000). Below that, simply not opting in beats the "expat deal" — something none of the Asian flat regimes replicate, since theirs sit below the local ordinary schedule at almost any salary.
How to read this (and how not to)
Tax-to-GDP figures are actual collections, so they absorb informality: India's 17.3% reflects a large untaxed economy, not low statutory rates. Top marginal rates say little about what a typical salary pays. And expat regimes carry conditions — Spain's requires not having been tax-resident in the previous five years and applying within six months (form 149). Treat every row as a starting point, not advice; for a move, model your own salary in the Spain calculator and check the destination country with a local adviser.
Report built from the UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (via Our World in Data) and this site's own tax engines; statutory rates from national tax authorities, 2025/2026 rules. Indicative comparison — not tax advice.