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
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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
The Latest on the Global Tax Agreement
The agreement represents a major change for tax competition, and many countries will be rethinking their tax policies for multinationals.
7 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.
8 min read
What’s Next for Tax Competition?
The rules of tax competition are changing with the recent agreement on a global minimum tax and other changes to tax rules around the world, but that does not mean the contest is over.
5 min read
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
Movers and Shakers in the International Tax Competitiveness Index
The 2023 version of the International Tax Competitiveness Index is the 10th edition of the report. Let’s take a look back and see how country ranks have changed over time.
5 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.
2 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
2023 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.
52 min read
CCCTB vs. BEFIT: How Have the Proposals Changed?
If the EU is going to harmonize its tax base, it should do so in a way that increases the efficiency and competitiveness of tax policy for the EU as a whole, and not just seek out the lowest common denominator.
5 min read
International Tax Competitiveness Index 2023
While there are many factors that affect a country’s economic performance, taxes play an important role. A well-structured tax code is easy for taxpayers to comply with and can promote economic development while raising sufficient revenue for a government’s priorities.
88 min read
Five Takeaways from the New Pillar One Documents
The OECD recently released a trove of new documents on a draft multilateral tax treaty. The U.S. Treasury has opened a 60-day consultation period for the proposal and is requesting public review and input.
7 min read
Real Property Taxes in Europe
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.
2 min read
Anti-Avoidance Policies in a Pillar Two World
The global minimum tax agreement known as Pillar Two is intended to curb profit shifting. However, OECD countries already have a variety of mechanisms in place that seek to prevent base erosion and profit shifting by multinational corporations.
40 min read