The Fatal Flaw of Pillar Two
Pillar Two, the international global minimum tax agreement, has a considerable chance of failing and may ultimately allow the same problems it was designed to address.
6 min read
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Wealth Taxes in Europe, 2024
Only three European countries levy a net wealth tax—Norway, Spain, and Switzerland. France and Italy levy wealth taxes on selected assets.
4 min read
Savings and Investment: The Tax Treatment of Stock and Retirement Accounts in the OECD and Select EU Countries (2024)
Tax-preferred private retirement accounts often have complex rules and limitations. Universal savings accounts could be a simpler alternative—or addition—to many countries’ current system of private retirement savings accounts.
19 min read
Tax Foundation Europe Launches Website and Prepares Brussels Office
The landscape of tax policy is changing—and we at the Tax Foundation are changing with it.
3 min read
Top Personal Income Tax Rates in Europe, 2024
Denmark (55.9 percent), France (55.4 percent), and Austria (55 percent) have the highest top statutory personal income tax rates among European OECD countries.
3 min read
Mind the Gap, Please! How Portugal Could Reform Its VAT System
Portugal’s value-added tax (VAT) policy is a treasure trove of tax oddities. Thankfully, VAT base broadening is an ideal instrument to give the Portuguese government the fiscal room to implement pro-growth tax reforms
5 min read
VAT Rates in Europe, 2024
A few European countries have made changes to their VAT rates, including the Czech Republic, Estonia, Switzerland, and Turkey.
3 min read
Testimony: Capital Gains Taxation in the EU
It is essential to understand that the taxation of capital gains places a double tax on corporate income.
Corporate Income Tax Rates in Europe, 2024
Like most regions around the world, European countries have experienced a decline in corporate income tax rates over the past four decades, but the average corporate income tax rate has leveled off in recent years.
2 min read
Tax Files under New Council of EU Presidency: Belgium
In such a determinant semester for Europe, principled tax policy can be an important tool for a more competitive European Union.
5 min read
Spanish Regions Are Not Surrendering Their Tax Competitiveness without a Fight
Spain’s central government could learn some valuable lessons from its regional governments about sound tax policy.
7 min read
European Tax Policy Scorecard: How Competitive is Ukraine’s Tax System Relative to EU Member States?
In the end, the best way for the EU to support Ukraine’s post-war recovery is to guarantee its tax sovereignty, not just its territorial sovereignty.
5 min read
Tax Reform Is Key to Ukraine’s Economic Health, Now and after the War
What historical lessons of wartime finance can Ukrainian and EU policymakers learn to put Ukraine’s economy on a path to success during, and especially after, the war?
5 min read
Response to Treasury’s Request for Public Input on Pillar One
A multilateral agreement that eliminates digital services taxes would be valuable, but not if it introduces more complexity and leaves unanswered many questions about the impacts on the U.S. tax base.
Assessing the EU Tax Observatory’s View on Profit Shifting and the Global Minimum Tax
The EU Tax Observatory has taken an extreme view in assessing the global minimum tax. The rules were not meant to immediately reduce the stock of shifted profits or align profitability levels more closely with employment costs. The rules do change incentives for multinationals, but profits may continue to remain in low-tax jurisdictions for many years.
6 min read
Is EU VAT Compliance Actually Improving?
While the European Commission focuses on improving VAT compliance, policy is a major contributor to VAT revenue losses. The VAT actionable policy gap is 15.65 percent, more than triple the compliance gap.
5 min read
Comparing Europe’s Tax Systems: Individual Taxes
Estonia has the most competitive individual tax system in the OECD for the 10th consecutive year.
2 min read
How Well Do Carbon Taxes Match Their Promise? A New Proposed Metric
While existing carbon taxes are a step towards the right direction in addressing climate change and incentivizing reductions in emissions, there is considerable room for improvement to reach the ideal theoretical carbon tax model.
59 min read
Comparing Europe’s Tax Systems: Corporate Taxes
According to the corporate tax component of the 2023 International Tax Competitiveness Index, Latvia and Estonia have the best corporate tax systems in the OECD.
3 min read
European Tax Policy Scorecard: Capital Cost Recovery under BEFIT versus Current Member State Policies
A harmonized EU tax base is a project in the making. Policymakers have a chance to put the Union on a path for increased investment and economic growth by focusing on the details of capital cost recovery.
3 min read