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.
Digital services taxes address a real concern—the need to adapt taxation to the digital economy—but they are not the right solution. They raise limited revenue, are often passed on to consumers rather than large digital firms, create economic distortions, increase complexity and compliance costs, negatively impact innovation and competitiveness, and risk international retaliation.
Since digital services taxes generate little revenue, place the cost on European consumers and not on large digital companies as intended, and risk escalating trade disputes, policymakers should rethink their strategy.
14 min read
The Reform UK proposal to exempt overtime pay from income tax—framed as a “hard work bonus”—may be politically appealing, but it’s a flawed idea that undermines economic fairness, distorts labor markets, and jeopardizes tax revenues.
4 min read
Currently, about half of all European OECD countries have either announced, proposed, or implemented a digital services tax. Because these taxes mainly impact US companies and are thus perceived as discriminatory, the US responded with retaliatory tariff threats.
5 min read
Windfall taxes, particularly those imposed on the oil and gas industry, often appear as a quick fix for governments seeking to raise revenue during periods of high commodity prices. However, while these taxes may offer short-term revenues, they can also trigger negative consequences that undermine their intended purpose.
21 min read
Closing the EU’s value-added tax (VAT) actionable policy gap could yield €773 billion in government revenue—four times the EU’s 2026 budget.
8 min read
Many countries’ personal income tax systems tax various sources of individual income—including investment income such as dividends and capital gains.
4 min read
Poland is proposing to broaden and raise its digital services tax (DST) from 1.5 percent to 3 percent. Because DSTs tax revenues, not profits, a company with a 10 percent profit margin would face a 30 percent effective tax rate on digital services provided in Poland.
6 min read
The value-added tax (VAT) compliance gap—the additional VAT revenue that could be collected if all taxpayers, consumers, and businesses fully complied with VAT rules—continues to increase, reaching €128 billion in 2023.
8 min read
Some European countries have raised their statutory corporate rates over the past year, including Estonia, Lithuania, and Slovakia.
4 min read
Scandinavian countries are well known for their broad social safety nets and their public funding of services such as universal health care, higher education, parental leave, and child and elderly care. High levels of government spending naturally require high levels of taxation. So, how do these countries raise their tax revenues?
7 min read
As European countries have undertaken a series of tax reforms designed for budgetary stability, policymakers should focus on consumption taxes by making them more neutral and efficient.
15 min read
The worldwide average statutory corporate tax rate has consistently decreased since 1980 but has leveled off in recent years. In the US, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act brought the country’s statutory corporate income tax rate from the fourth highest in the world closer to the middle of the distribution.
20 min read
The recently proposed UK budget contains several tax measures that put a greater burden on the working class and ultimately fails to tackle the deeper structural problems of the UK’s tax code.
6 min read
Switzerland’s proposed 50 percent billionaire estate tax promises negligible revenue, risks economic harm, and strips cantons of their autonomy and tax competition.
5 min read
In most European OECD countries, corporate income is taxed twice, once at the entity level and once at the shareholder level.
4 min read
Spain’s central government could learn some valuable lessons from its regional governments and other European countries about sound tax policy.
7 min read
France is proposing to double the tax rate of its digital services tax (DST) to 6 percent, making the DST even more discriminatory.
5 min read
The 2025 Spanish Regional Tax Competitiveness Index allows policymakers and taxpayers to evaluate and measure how their regions’ tax systems compare.
7 min read
Since digital services taxes deliver limited revenue, shift the burden to European consumers, and risk provoking trade disputes, it’s time for policymakers to rethink their approach.