The United States is 21st out of 38 nations on the Tax Foundations International Tax Competitiveness Index ranking, with individual category marks ranking both among the best and worst of all countries.
The Tax Foundation's report measures how a country’s tax system "adheres to two important aspects of tax policy: competitiveness and neutrality."
"A competitive tax code is one that keeps marginal tax rates low. In today’s globalized world, capital is highly mobile," the report reads. "Businesses can choose to invest in any number of countries throughout the world to find the highest rate of return. This means that businesses will look for countries with lower tax rates on investment to maximize their after-tax rate of return."
The report measures a country on five categories, including corporate tax, individual tax, consumption tax, property tax, and cross-border tax rules. The U.S. ranked best, fourth, in consumption tax and worst, 35th, in cross-border tax.