KPMG has released Competitive Alternatives 2010 Special Report: Focus on Tax:

Mexico remains in the number one spot for having the lowest total taxes, but that changes to the tax systems in Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands that have enhanced their attractiveness as tax friendly environments.

The report assesses the general tax competitiveness of 95 cities in 10 countries (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States). The analysis focuses on 41 major cities with populations greater than 2 million, and compares the total tax burden faced by companies, including income tax, capital tax, sales tax, property tax, miscellaneous local business taxes, and statutory labor costs.

The report compares the total tax cost between countries and cities using a Total Tax Index (TTI) score for each location, expressed as a percentage of total taxes paid by corporations in the US. A lower score is better since it means lower tax costs for businesses.

Among the countries studied, Mexico has the lowest TTI at 59.9; in other words, total tax costs in Mexico are 40.1% lower than in the US, which has a TTI of 100.0. Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, and the UK also have TTI ratings below the US. At the other end of the spectrum, France’s TTI of 181.4 signifies that its total tax costs are 81.4% higher than the US standard.

Tax Competitiveness – 2010 and 2008 Rankings by Country
Rank	Country	Tax Index 2010	2008 Rank
1	Mexico	59.9	1
2	Canada	63.3	3
3	Netherlands	76.4	2
4	Australia	80.8	4
5	United Kingdom	88.0	6
6	United States	100.0	5
7	Germany	124.1	8
8	Italy	129.6	9
9	Japan	138.0	7
10	France	181.4	10

(Hat Tip: Ann Murphy.)