Net Operating Loss Carryforward and Carryback Provisions in Europe, 2025
Carryover provisions help businesses “smooth” their risk and income, making the tax code more neutral across investments and over time.
5 min read
Expert
Alex Mengden
Global Policy Analyst
Alex Mengden is a Policy Analyst at the Tax Foundation, where he focuses on international tax issues and tax policy in Europe. He holds a BA in philosophy and economics from the University of Bayreuth and an MSc in economics from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
Prior to joining the Tax Foundation, Alex tutored classes in public finance for undergraduate students at LMU Munich. He also worked on economic policy research for IREF Europe and previously interned at the Cato Institute, ifo Institute, and the Institute of Economic Affairs.
He currently lives in Munich, Germany, and spends his free time cooking, reading, and enjoying the outdoors.
Latest Work
A Distributed Profits Tax in Poland
The Polish government is considering converting its traditional corporate income tax into a tax on distributed profits. We estimate that this reform would result in greater investment, a larger productive capital stock, and higher economic output in the long run.
29 min read
Effects of the Federal Constitutional Court’s Judgment on Germany’s Solidarity Surtax
Surtaxes such as Germany’s solidarity surtax run counter to the principles of simplicity and transparency of the tax system because they impose an additional layer of tax on taxpayers and create a more complex tax structure that often obscures the actual tax burden.
4 min read
Capital Gains Tax Rates in Europe, 2025
Capital gains taxes create a bias against saving, leading to a lower level of national income by encouraging present consumption over investment.
5 min read
2024 European Tax Policy Scorecard
The variety of approaches to taxation among European countries creates a need to evaluate these systems relative to each other. For that purpose, we have developed the European Tax Policy Scorecard—a relative comparison of European countries’ tax systems.
55 min read
Reducing Germany’s Corporate Tax Rate to 25 Percent
Ahead of Germany’s federal election, the country’s economy remains stuck in a prolonged recession, with GDP stagnating for the past two years and failing to surpass its pre-pandemic level.
6 min read
Top Personal Income Tax Rates in Europe, 2025
Denmark (55.9 percent), France (55.4 percent), and Austria (55 percent) levy the highest top personal income tax rates in Europe.
4 min read
Distributed Profits Taxation Would Be a Good Role Model for the EU’s 28th Regime
In a recent speech at the Davos Economic Forum, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced plans to create a single set of rules for corporate law, insolvency, labor law, and taxation, under which companies could seamlessly operate across the European Single Market.
7 min read
VAT Rates in Europe, 2025
More than 175 countries worldwide—including all major European countries—levy a value-added tax (VAT) on goods and services. EU Member States’ VAT rates vary across countries, though they’re somewhat harmonized by the EU.
5 min read
Integrated Tax Rates on Corporate Income in Europe, 2024
In most European OECD countries, corporate income is taxed twice, once at the entity level and once at the shareholder level.
4 min read
Pillar Two Implementation in Europe, 2024
18 of the 27 EU Member States have implemented both the income inclusion rule and the qualified domestic minimum top-up tax in 2024.
4 min read
International Tax Competitiveness Index 2024
While there are many factors that affect a country’s economic performance, taxes play an important role. A well-structured tax code is easy for taxpayers to comply with and can promote economic development while raising sufficient revenue for a government’s priorities.
92 min read
Real Property Taxes in Europe, 2024
High property taxes levied not only on land but also on buildings and structures can discourage investment in infrastructure, which businesses would have to pay additional tax on.
3 min read
Capital Allowances in Europe, 2024
Although sometimes overlooked in discussions about corporate taxation, capital allowances play an important role in a country’s corporate tax base and can impact investment decisions—with far-reaching economic consequences.
4 min read
Real Estate Transaction Tax Rates in German States
The real estate transaction tax is levied on the gross sales value of a property when it changes ownership, without deductions for investment or purchasing costs. This makes the tax particularly harmful to investment in buildings and structures.
3 min read
Patent Box Regimes in Europe, 2024
The aim of patent boxes is generally to encourage and attract local research and development (R&D) and to incentivize businesses to locate IP in the country. However, patent boxes can introduce another level of complexity to a tax system, and some recent research questions whether patent boxes are actually effective in driving innovation.
3 min read
Tax Subsidies for R&D Expenditures in Europe, 2024
Many countries incentivize business investment in research and development (R&D), intending to foster innovation. A common approach is to provide direct government funding for R&D activity. However, a significant number of jurisdictions also offer R&D tax incentives.
3 min read
Understanding Full Expensing in the United Kingdom
Given the positive contribution of full expensing to economic growth and that the UK already incurred the peak-year costs due to the existing policy, it is imperative to maintain it permanently.
5 min read
Carbon Taxes in Europe, 2024
23 European countries have implemented carbon taxes, ranging from less than €1 per metric ton of carbon emissions in Ukraine to more than €100 in Sweden, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland.
3 min read
Worldwide Investment at Risk as Capital Allowances Phase Out
Rather than adopt temporary policies that phase out and expire, policymakers should focus their efforts on long-term reforms to support investment.
6 min read