Pro-growth tax reform that does not add to the deficit will require tough choices, but whether to raise the corporate tax rate is not one of them. If lawmakers want to craft fiscally responsible and pro-growth tax reform, a higher corporate tax rate simply does not fit into the puzzle.
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On Europe Day, our experts explore how the decisions made in the upcoming elections will shape the trajectory of the continent for years to come.
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About half of all European OECD countries have either announced, proposed, or implemented a DST. Because these taxes mainly impact U.S. companies and are thus perceived as discriminatory, the United States responded to the policies with retaliatory tariff threats, urging countries to abandon unilateral measures.
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The outcome of the digital tax debate will likely shape domestic and international taxation for decades to come. Designing these policies based on sound principles will be essential in ensuring they can withstand challenges arising in the rapidly changing economic and technological environment of the 21st century.
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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, saving, and work should make policymakers consider their repeal instead of boosting them.
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The global landscape of international corporate taxation is undergoing significant transformations as jurisdictions grapple with the difficulty of defining and apportioning corporate income for the purposes of tax.
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EU Member States should seek to minimize the rate and broaden the base of electricity duties, consolidating their rates to the required minimum rate.
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Portugal’s personal income tax system levies high tax rates on an unusually narrow set of high earners, striking a poor balance between earnings incentives and revenue contributions.
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Focusing on competitiveness, neutrality, and efficient policies to raise revenue would go a long way in increasing economic growth and stabilizing public finances over the long term.
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Different taxes have different economic effects, so policymakers should always consider how tax revenue is raised and not just how much is raised.
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In many countries, corporate profits are subject to two layers of taxation: the corporate income tax at the entity level when the corporation earns income, and the dividend tax or capital gains tax at the individual level when that income is passed to its shareholders as either dividends or capital gains.
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In many European countries, investment income, such as dividends and capital gains, is taxed at a different rate than wage income.
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Portugal has the second highest top corporate tax rate in the OECD at 31.5 percent, including multiple top-up taxes. Unlike most OECD countries, Portugal imposes a highly progressive tax structure on corporate income.
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As the world of tax policy becomes more interconnected, the Tax Foundation is stepping up, recognizing the pressing need for informed and principled tax policy education in an ever-evolving landscape.
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.
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Only three European countries levy a net wealth tax—Norway, Spain, and Switzerland. France and Italy levy wealth taxes on selected assets.
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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.
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The landscape of tax policy is changing—and we at the Tax Foundation are changing with it.
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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.
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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
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