Tunisia: Non-agricultural private sector employees pay 1.25% of earnings while agricultural workers pay 1.75% up to the agricultural minimumr wage or multiple thereof or 2.5% of earnings. Farmers pay _5.25%_ of profits and nonagricultural, self-employed pay 5.25 % of earnings. The employer pays 2.5 percent of payroll for private nonagricultural employees and agricultural workers while paying 3.5% of earnings up to the agricultural minimum wage or multiple thereof or 5% of earnings.

Brazil: Payroll tax for employee rises from 8-10 percent of earnings inversely to three different wage classes. It is 12.5% for employees of financial institutions. The self-employed pay between 10 and 25% depending inversely on wage level and rising over 25 years. The employer pays 20% of payroll plus 1.5% for the 13th monthly salary. Financial sector employers pay 12 percent. Employers in commerce and industry also pay 10 percent of net profits while financial institutions pay 22.5% of net profits.

Finland: Employer pays 2.4 to 4.05 % of payroll for universal pension while employees pay 1.55% of income. For the contribution-related pension, employers pay 13.3% for employees under age 24. Employers with fewer than 50 employees pay 17.2% while those with more pay between 14.5 and 23.3 % according to age and sex of employee. The average for all employers is 16.8%.

Spain: The contribution rate shown in Table A.7 refers is based on the ratio of pension spending to total social security spending. This ratio is multiplied by the total payroll tax reported by the US HHS 1991.

Switzerland: Contribution rate includes 7.5% for employers and employees each for the mandatory occupational scheme. This rate is the reported average but actually varies by age of the worker. The rest of the contribution rate comes from a 4.2% payment from both employers and employees for the main publicly-managed pension scheme with no contribution ceiling (disability excluded). The self-employed pay 7.8%.

United Kingdom: The rate shown assumes a high income worker. The actual rules are that an employee in 1991 paid 2% on the first 46 pounds per week plus 9% on earnings between 46 anid 350 pounds (3.85% for certain married women and widows). If contracted out, 2% on first 46 and 7% on earnings between 46 and 350 pounds. Employer pays between 5 and 10.45% according to employees' wage bracket or if contracted out, 5-10.45% on first 46 a week plus 1.2-6.65% on weekly wages between 46 and 350 pounds and 10.45% on all earnings in excess of 350 pounds weekly. However, these contributions also finance sickness, maternity and unemployment benefits and part of the medical services and is thus an overstatement.

A more useful measure of the magnitude of the payroll tax requires a calculation of the marginal tax on labor income taking into account all of these factors and showing this rate for workers at different income levels. This data is available for OECD countries in the recently-published OECD Jobs Study (1995) but are not readily available for other countries. These calculations are beyond the scope of this paper but would be the best measure of the labor market distortions caused by payroll and other taxes.

40