[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s corporate tax rates as of this year are the seventh highest among member states of the OECD, Finance Ministry data showed on Oct.18.

A report from the ministry provided for a parliamentary audit, released by opposition lawmaker Shim Jae-chul, said Korea’s 25 percent corporate tax rate places the country at 7th among 36 OECD nations. It is higher than 20th in 2009, 19th in 2011, 17th in 2014 and 16th in 2016.

The data showed France (33.3 percent), Australia (30 percent), Mexico (30 percent), Belgium (29 percent), Greece (29 percent) and New Zealand (28 percent) had higher corporate tax rates than Korea.

Among G7 countries, only France had higher rates than Korea. The average tax rate for OECD members was 21.5 percent, according to the data.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)