Cristina Enache writes on the economics of tax policy and is the author of the Spanish Regional Tax Competitiveness Index. She was formerly the Director of Research at Civismo, an economic research organization based in Spain. She also served as head of research at Institución Futuro, a regional think tank based in Navarra in northern Spain. She is also currently Secretary-General at the World Taxpayers Associations and General Manager of the Spanish Taxpayers Union, which she joined in 2016.
Cristina has a degree in economics from the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest and a master’s degree in Economics and Finance from the University of Navarra.
Spain should follow the example of Madrid, the country’s most competitive region. A more efficient income tax system is a better objective than just focusing on incentives for foreigners to change their tax residence.
5 min read
Norway’s proposed reductions in income tax have the potential to increase disposable income for workers that can potentially raise consumption and contribute to economic growth. However, the increase of the wealth and indirect taxes is likely to step up the complexity of the tax system and create additional distortions.
3 min read
While other countries in Europe are working towards introducing tax cuts or delaying the introduction of new taxes to stimulate economic recovery by supporting business investment and employment, Spain is putting more fiscal pressure on businesses.
3 min read
Austria should not shy from lowering the corporate income tax rate sooner or even implementing a more ambitious tax reform to improve its tax competitiveness and contribute to greater economic growth.
3 min read
Tax competition has proven to be key in keeping tax hikes under control in some regions of Spain as regional governments look to copy Madrid’s tax reforms.
6 min read
The Spanish Regional Tax Competitiveness Index allows policymakers, businesses, and taxpayers to evaluate and measure how their regions’ tax systems compare and serves as a road map for policymakers to reform their tax systems and make their regions more competitive and attractive for entrepreneurs and residents.
7 min read
A VAT tax reform that eliminates VAT reduced rates would decrease compliance costs and allow for a more rapid economic recovery. Policymakers should focus on simplifying VAT rules and making them more efficient and neutral by broadening their tax bases and eliminating reduced rates and unnecessary tax exemptions.
4 min read
As economies are starting to recover and growth is expected to rebound in the region during 2021, Asian and Pacific countries should start exploring changes to their fiscal tax policies while carefully evaluating the optimal time for eliminating fiscal stimulus and temporary tax relief.
4 min read
Spain’s digital services tax levies a 3 percent tax on revenues from online ads, deals brokered on digital platforms, and sales of user data by tech companies with at least €750 million (US $893 million) in total annual worldwide revenues and Spanish revenues of €3 million ($3.57 million).
4 min read
As tempting as inheritance, estate, and gift taxes might look especially when the OECD notes them as a way to reduce wealth inequality, their limited capacity to collect revenue and their negative impact on entrepreneurial activity, savings, and work should make policymakers consider their repeal instead of boosting them.
5 min read
Governments often justify higher tax burdens with more extensive public services. However, the cost of these services can be more than half of an average worker’s salary.
21 min read
Taxes on goods and services were on average the greatest source of tax revenue for Latin American and Caribbean countries
5 min read
Tax hikes implemented in the near term might undermine Spain’s economic recovery. Spain should focus on implementing tax reforms that have the potential to stimulate economic recovery by supporting private investment and employment while increasing its internal and international tax competitiveness.
5 min read
To help countries face the pandemic-related financing needs while reducing inequality, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released a series of policy recommendations based on a temporary COVID-19 tax, levied on high incomes or wealth.
4 min read
The EU recently launched a consultation to reform the business tax system, which will outline the priorities for corporate taxation over the coming years to meet the needs of a globalized economy that struggles to recover from the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. It will also set EU actions regarding the ongoing international discussion on the taxation of the digital economy and a global minimum tax.
3 min read
Policy changes to attract foreigners are not without benefits, but governments should carefully weigh the costs of the tax incentives against opportunities to implement broader tax reforms. A more efficient income tax system is a better objective than just focusing on incentives for foreigners to change their tax residence.
4 min read
Tax hikes or spending cuts implemented early in the year might undermine the desirable rapid recovery of the economy. The UK should focus on implementing tax reforms that have the potential to stimulate economic recovery by supporting business investment and employment while increasing its international tax competitiveness.
4 min read
In the United States, individual income taxes (federal, state, and local) are the primary source of tax revenue, at 41.5 percent of total tax revenue. Social insurance taxes make up the second-largest share, at 24.9 percent, followed by consumption taxes, at 17.6 percent, and property taxes, at 12.1 percent.
4 min read
Developed countries have on average become more reliant on consumption taxes and less reliant on individual income taxes. These policy changes matter, considering that consumption-based taxes raise revenue with less distortionary effects than taxes on income.
16 min read
Despite the potential of consumption taxes as a neutral and efficient source of tax revenues, many governments have implemented policies that are unduly complex and have poorly designed tax bases that exclude many goods or services from taxation, or tax them at reduced rates.
40 min read