China vs South Korea: tax rates compared

Income Tax

Income Tax, side by side

Country	Rate	Source
China	45%	Source: PWC Worldwide Tax Summaries — China, People's Republic of (Individual, Taxes on personal income) · as of 2025-12-31
South Korea	49.5%	Source: OECD Tax Database — Top statutory personal income tax rates · as of 2025-01-01
Difference	−4.5 pp	South Korea higher

Corporate Tax

Corporate Tax, side by side

Country	Rate	Source
China	25%	Source: Tax Foundation — Worldwide Corporate Tax Rates · as of 2025-01-01
South Korea	26.4%	Source: Tax Foundation — Worldwide Corporate Tax Rates · as of 2025-01-01
Difference	−1.4 pp	South Korea higher

Between the two, South Korea's corporate tax rate (26.4%) tops China's (25%) by 1.4pp. The 201-country average is 22.6%: both sit above it.

VAT

VAT, side by side

Country	Rate	Source
China	13%	Source: PWC Worldwide Tax Summaries — China, People's Republic of (Corporate, Other taxes) · as of 2025-12-31
South Korea	10%	Source: PWC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Korea, Republic of (Corporate, Other taxes) · as of 2026-06-04
Difference	+3 pp	China higher

Between the two, China's VAT rate (13%) tops South Korea's (10%) by 3pp. The 181-country average is 15%: both sit below it. China's figure is dated 2025-12-31 and South Korea's 2026-06-04, so the two rates come from different data vintages.

Capital Gains Tax

Capital Gains Tax, side by side

Country	Rate	Source
China	0%	Source: State Taxation Administration Shanxi Provincial Tax Service — Caishuizi [1998] No. 61 (财税字〔1998〕61号) · as of 1998-03-30
South Korea	0%	Source: PWC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Korea, Republic of (Individual, Income determination) · as of 2026-07-02
Difference	0 pp	displayed rates match

There's no gap here — China and South Korea both post a capital gains tax rate of 0%. The 175-country average is 10.3%: both sit below it. China's figure is dated 1998-03-30 and South Korea's 2026-07-02, so the two rates come from different data vintages.

Wealth Tax

Wealth Tax, side by side

Country	Rate	Source
China	0%	Source: PWC Worldwide Tax Summaries — China, People's Republic of (Individual, Other taxes) · as of 2025-12-31
South Korea	0%	Source: PWC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Korea, Republic of (Individual, Other taxes) · as of 2026-07-02
Difference	0 pp	displayed rates match

There's no gap here — China and South Korea both post a wealth tax rate of 0%. The 193-country average is 0.1%: both sit below it. China's figure is dated 2025-12-31 and South Korea's 2026-07-02, so the two rates come from different data vintages.