NEW YORK, June 27: The US tax burden on businesses is much heavier than that in the European Union, driving investors away from US markets, the head of NYSE Euronext, John Thain, said on Wednesday.

Thain said US tax rates for companies can approach 40pc, well above that of most rivals.

“At 40 per cent, US corporate tax rates are one of the highest; the EU (European Union) average is 26 per cent,” Thain told the “Deals and Dealmakers” conference in New York sponsored by the Wall Street Journal.

“Here is a new reason to stay away from US markets: taxes,” he said.

The head of the new transatlantic exchange, created by the New York Stock Exchange’s takeover in April of Euronext, the pan-European market operator, pointed out that Germany has cut corporate taxes and the new French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has pledged to reduce the 33 per cent rate by as much as five points.—AFP