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
Tax Foundation Europe’s Sean Bray had the opportunity to interview Professor of International Taxation at the University of Mannheim Business School, Christoph Spengel, about the future of the EU tax mix.
15 min read
Without aligning fiscal discipline with pro-growth tax policies, Germany and the EU risk high deficits, mounting debt, and sustained inflation.
5 min read
Daniel Bunn had the opportunity to interview the Vice-Minister for Economy and Finance of Italy, Maurizio Leo, about the tax policy priorities of the Italian government. The conversation shows a commitment to reforming rules that create legal uncertainty and support competitiveness.
5 min read
Without businesses as their taxpayers and tax collectors, governments would not have the resources to provide even the most basic services.
5 min read
On average, businesses in the OECD are liable for collecting, paying, and remitting more than 85 percent of the total tax collection.
15 min read
Twenty-four out of the 35 European countries covered in this map currently levy estate, inheritance, or gift taxes.
3 min read
Policymakers should aim for neutral tax policies that support stable revenues like VATs and avoid inviting trade conflicts with discriminatory and economically harmful policies like DSTs.
6 min read
The empirical evidence thus far on sugar-sweetened beverage taxes fails to support claims that these taxes will create substantial health benefits. At the same time, their structural limitations make them ill-suited for generating stable, equitable revenue.
54 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
An update to the EU’s Excise Tax Directive that embraces harm reduction principles would save lives and provide a steady stream of revenue to support public health expenditures.
22 min read
Tax legislation in 2025 may have good reason to address international corporate income taxes, because of scheduled changes slated to go into effect or because of international developments like the Pillar Two agreement.
63 min read
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
The agreement represents a major change for tax competition, and many countries will be rethinking their tax policies for multinationals. If there is no agreement on changes to Pillar Two or digital services taxes, retaliatory American tariffs could be on the horizon.
8 min read
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
The next government needs to prioritize measures to improve Germany’s competitiveness as an investment location.
7 min read
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
The Trump administration appears to be moving in a “reciprocal” policy direction despite the significant negative economic consequences for American consumers of across-the-board tariffs on goods coming into the US. However, the EU’s VAT system should not be used as a justification for retaliatory tariffs.
6 min read
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
In a recent survey regarding companies’ barriers to conducting business in the EU single market, VAT ranked first. Policymakers should invest in reforming VAT systems to close both compliance and policy gaps in ways that improve the overall efficiency of their tax systems.
7 min read