PW · OceaniaLK · Asia

Palau vs Sri Lanka: tax rates compared

Between the two, Sri Lanka's income tax rate (36%) tops Palau's (12%) by 24pp. The 200-country average is 28%: Palau sits below it, Sri Lanka sits above it. Palau's figure is dated 2026-07-20 and Sri Lanka's 2025-08-28, so the two rates come from different data vintages.

Verified data covers four of the six tracked tax types for both countries; every rate below is cited to its source and dated.

At a glance

0102030405060Income12%36%VAT10%18%Capital Gains0%Wealth Tax0%
four shared taxes, side by side
Tax PW LKDifference
Income Tax12%36%LK +24 pplargest gap
VAT10%18%LK +8 pp
Capital Gains Tax0%0%match
Wealth Tax0%0%match

Income Tax

Income Tax, side by side
CountryRateSource
Palau12%Source: Government of Palau — Bureau of Revenue and Taxation, Wages and Salary Tax · as of 2026-07-20
Sri Lanka36%Source: Inland Revenue Department, Sri Lanka — Tax Chart, Year of Assessment 2025/2026 · as of 2025-08-28
Difference−24 ppSri Lanka higher

VAT

VAT, side by side
CountryRateSource
Palau10%Source: Palau Bureau of Revenue & Taxation — Palau Goods and Services Tax (PGST) · as of 2023-01-01
Sri Lanka18%Source: Sri Lanka Inland Revenue Department — Value Added Tax (VAT) · as of 2024-01-01
Difference−8 ppSri Lanka higher

Between the two, Sri Lanka's VAT rate (18%) tops Palau's (10%) by 8pp. The 181-country average is 15%: Palau sits below it, Sri Lanka sits above it. Palau's figure is dated 2023-01-01 and Sri Lanka's 2024-01-01, so the two rates come from different data vintages.

Capital Gains Tax

Capital Gains Tax, side by side
CountryRateSource
Palau0%Source: Government of Palau — Ministry of Finance, Bureau of Revenue and Taxation · as of 2026-07-19
Sri Lanka0%Source: Inland Revenue Department, Sri Lanka — Capital Gain Tax (CGT) · as of 2025-11-19
Difference0 ppdisplayed rates match

There's no gap here — Palau and Sri Lanka both post a capital gains tax rate of 0%. The 175-country average is 10.3%: both sit below it. Palau's figure is dated 2026-07-19 and Sri Lanka's 2025-11-19, so the two rates come from different data vintages.

Wealth Tax

Wealth Tax, side by side
CountryRateSource
Palau0%Source: Palau National Code, Title 40 (Revenue and Taxation) — official text · as of 2026-07-18
Sri Lanka0%Source: Sri Lanka Inland Revenue Department — Acts of Parliament (tax legislation listing) · as of 2026-07-18
Difference0 ppdisplayed rates match

There's no gap here — Palau and Sri Lanka both post a wealth tax rate of 0%. The 193-country average is 0.1%: both sit below it.

Not covered for both countries yet: Corporate Tax, Crypto Tax.