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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
Wealth Taxes in Europe, 2025
Wealth taxes not only collect little revenue and create legal uncertainty, but an OECD report argues that they can also disincentivize entrepreneurship, harming innovation and long-term growth.
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
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
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
Corporate Income Tax Rates in Europe, 2025
Some European countries have raised their statutory corporate rates over the past year, including Czechia, Estonia, Iceland, Lithuania, and Slovenia.
3 min read
Corporate Tax Rates Around the World, 2024
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.
18 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
Beer Taxes in Europe, 2024
As Oktoberfest celebrations wrap up across the continent, now is a great time to examine beer taxes in the European Union. Hefty beer taxes add to the price of every drink consumed.
5 min read
2024 Spanish Regional Tax Competitiveness Index
The 2024 Spanish Regional Tax Competitiveness Index allows policymakers and taxpayers to evaluate and measure how their regions’ tax systems compare.
7 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
Statutory vs. Effective Tax Rates: Why Do Higher Taxes Not Necessarily Lead to Increased Revenues?
The gap between statutory rates and average effective tax rates for personal income tax in the European Union varies significantly, affecting the efficiency and simplicity of the tax system.
32 min read
Windfall Profit Taxes in Europe, 2024
The flawed design of these windfall profits taxes has created problems in countries that implemented them.
4 min read
What European Countries Are Doing about Oil and Gas Windfall Profits Taxes
Rather than pursuing temporary policies, policymakers should implement long-term, pro-growth tax reforms that stimulate economic activity and incentivize energy diversification by supporting private investment through full expensing.
19 min read
Cigarette Taxes in Europe, 2024
Explore the latest EU tobacco and cigarette tax rates, including EU excise duties on cigarettes. Compare cigarette taxes in Europe.
3 min read
Diesel and Gas Taxes in Europe, 2024
Gas and diesel taxes continue to be prominent policy issues throughout Europe. As the EU undergoes sweeping changes for its green transition, fuel taxes are likely to be a crucial aspect of policy discussions.
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