Not everyone in the world has to pay income taxes

Income taxes have become the bane of modern existence for most people on Earth. But did you know that there are several countries where income taxes don’t exist at all?

Using data from KPMG and PwC, Visual Capitalist put together a brief list of all the territories and states where citizens do not have to pay personal income taxes on their money. 

So where should you move if you don’t want to see your personal income taxed? Well, it turns out the best places are in the Caribbean, the Pacific, and even the Middle East. 

When it comes to the Americas, these are the places you’ll be safe: Bermuda, Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, St. Kitts and Nevis, and the British Virgin Islands. 

You didn’t think your income tax savings in the Caribbean only included just six places, did you? They also included: Turks and Caicos, Antigua, and Barbuda, and Saint Barthélemy. 

When it comes to Europe, the pickings for income tax-safe places are a little more sparse, but there are a few spots. These include the city-states of Monaco and Vatican City. 

That’s right, the Pope’s home base is also one of the few spots on the planet where the money you make isn’t taxed by the government! 

Oceania’s personal income tax havens are just as sparse as those in Europe, but Wallis and Futuna, as well as Vanuatu are on the list of countries that don’t charge income tax. 

The Middle East may contain the most number of countries that charge any income tax on their citizens, which is a fairly well-known fact about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

Other income tax-free nations in the Middle East include: Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates.

Asia is a lot like Europe and Oceania when it comes to income taxes. Few countries in the region forgo charging income tax on their citizens, but the two that do are surprising. 

First, the tiny nation known as the ‘Land of Unexpected Treasures’ of Brunei doesn't tax income. The only other Asian country to do this is North Korea.

North Korea is a bit of an odd choice to have been included on this list, but according to Visual Capitalist, the hermit kingdom eliminated income taxes back in 1974. 

However, Visual Capitalist noted that NKnews pointed out North Korean citizens can be used as “forced to offer labor free of charge,” something that Visual Capitalist explained sounded a lot like a tax. 

Not included on the list were states and territories that technically have no income taxes but also have some fine print attached to that status. 

For example, Panama was not included because residents and non-residents must pay income tax on any income earned within the country. The Maldives were also not included because it only didn’t have income taxes until 2019 when its laws were changed. 

Most of the states and territories included on Visual Capitalist’s list meet their revenue requirements from industries like oil and gas or tourism, according to the outlet. Some also become centers of offshore wealth.