Spain’s Poorly Designed Tax Policy Hurts Its Competitiveness
Spain’s central government could learn some valuable lessons from its regional governments and other European countries about sound tax policy.
7 min read
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Short FormTaxes in the Internet Age
Today marks 55 years since two students sent the first message across the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) between computers at four universities, which would later become the internet we enjoy today.
5 min read
Results of a Survey Measuring Business Tax Compliance Costs
Lawmakers should consider compliance costs—not just tax liabilities—when evaluating reforms to business income taxation.
22 min read
Pillar Two’s Unintended Consequences
Pillar Two risks creating a more complex and unfair international tax system. It is inadvertently fostering new, opaque, and complex forms of competition, and policymakers should consider alternative approaches to creating a fairer international tax environment.
4 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
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.
8 min read
Enhancing the US Tax Treaty Network: Prioritizing Brazil and Singapore
The National Foreign Trade Council’s survey shows that the private sector recognizes the economic value of treaties as an instrument to increase tax certainty and decrease distortions.
3 min read
Worldwide Investment at Risk as Capital Allowances Phase Out
Rather than adopt temporary policies that phase out and expire, policymakers should focus their efforts on long-term reforms to support investment.
6 min read
Capital Cost Recovery across the OECD, 2024
To recover from the pandemic and put the global economy on a trajectory for growth, policymakers need to aim for more generous and permanent capital allowances. This will spur real investment and can also contribute to more environmentally friendly production across the globe.
31 min read
Tax Burden on Labor in Europe, 2024
To make the taxation of labor more efficient, policymakers should understand the inputs into the tax wedge, and taxpayers should understand how their tax burden funds government services.
4 min read
A Comparison of the Tax Burden on Labor in the OECD, 2024
Governments often justify higher tax burdens with more extensive public services. However, the cost of these services can be more than half of an average worker’s salary.
16 min read
Overview and Analysis of the Impact of Marginal Taxes on High Incomes in the European Union
The recent push to increase taxes on the wealthy has gained significant traction across Europe. This report highlights the obstacles and complex interplay between tax policy and economic behavior, suggesting that simply raising tax rates on the wealthy might not yield the intended social benefits.
42 min read
Digital Services Taxes in Europe, 2024
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.
4 min read
Digital Taxation around the World
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.
58 min read
Estate, Inheritance, and Gift Taxes in Europe, 2024
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.
2 min read
The Impact of BEPS 1.0
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.
22 min read
Launching Tax Foundation Europe
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.
The Biden Administration’s Misguided Approach to Defining “American” Companies
What does it mean to be an American company?
4 min read
Savings and Investment: The Tax Treatment of Stock and Retirement Accounts in the OECD and Select EU Countries
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
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