Sweden has the highest top tax rate on personal income in Europe – but Denmark has the highest overall tax-to-GDP ratio.

• 'Sweden is a tax haven'

New figures released on Monday showed that European Union citizens are taxed far more heavily than US or Japanese counterparts.

The overall tax-to-GDP ratio for 2008, the first year of the financial crisis, was 39.3 percent, a slight fall on the previous year, Eurostat said. That compared with 26.9 percent in the United States, using 2007 figures, and a provisional estimate of 28.3 percent in Japan.

However, the rates vary widely within Europe -- ranging from 28 percent in Romania to 48.2 percent in Denmark. Sweden came into second place with an overall tax take of 47.1 percent.

The second largest falls in tax-to-GDP ratios between 2000 and 2008 were recorded in Sweden (from 51.8% to 47.1%), after Slovakia (from 34.1% to 29.1%).

However, Sweden still has the highest top tax rate on personal income with 56.4 percent in 2010. The lowest top rate income taxes is found in Bulgaria with only 10 percent.

"In comparison with the rest of the world, the EU27 tax ratio remains generally high and more than one third above the levels recorded in the USA and Japan. However, the tax burden varies significantly between Member States," Eurostat said in a statement.

Full lists: country-by-country