CORPORATE TAX RATES IN THE CONTEXT OF TAX HARMONIZATION
HSS-okładka-32-2025-01
pdf

Keywords

corporate tax rate
nominal tax rate
effective tax rate
tax harmonization

Abstract

Corporate taxes are important for this study since differences in rates can lead to distortions in economic competition and relocation of capital to countries with better tax conditions. The goal of this article is to verify whether countries with lower corporate taxes are catching those with higher rates. To achieve this objective, we conduct an analysis of the development of nominal and effective tax rates in EU member states for the period from 2004 to 2022. Afterward, we tested the relationship of these tax rates for corporate taxation using the Beta convergence model, observing the speed of convergence and examining whether the differences decrease over time. The results of the analysis demonstrate that the significant decline in nominal and effective tax rates during the observed period indicates an effort to enhance tax competitiveness and stimulate economic activity through tax measures.

https://doi.org/10.7862/rz.2025.hss.09
pdf

References

Arnold, J. M., Brys, B., Heady, C., Johansson, Å., Schwellnus, C., Vartia, L. (2011). Tax policy for economic recovery and growth. The economic journal, 121(550), 59–80. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2010.02415.x

Becker, J., Fuest, C. and Riedel, N., 2012. Corporate tax effects on the quality and quantity of FDI. European Economic Review, 56(8), 1495–1511. https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.euroecorev.2012.07.001

Dabla-Norris, E., Lima, F., 2023. Macroeconomic effects of tax rate and base changes: Evidence from fiscal consolidations. European Economic Review, 153 (104399). https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2023.104399

Delgado, F.J., Fernandez-Rodriguez, E., Martinez-Arias, A. (2014). Effective tax rates in corporate taxation: A quantile regression for the EU. Engineering Economics, 25(5), 487–496. https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.25.5.4531

Devereux, M. P., Lockwood, B., Redoano, M. (2007b). Do countries compete over corporate tax rates? Journal of Public Economics, 92(5–6), 1210–1235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2007.09.005

Easterly, W., Rebelo, S. (1993). Fiscal policy and economic growth. Journal of monetary economics, 32(3), 417–458. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3932(93)90025-B

European Commission. (2001). Company taxation in the internal market. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. Retrieved from: https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/pages/publication530_en.pdf, 10.10.2024.

European Commission. (2016). Proposal for a Council directive on a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB). Retrieved from: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:ff337b5c-9b7d-11e6-868c-01aa75ed71a1.0014.02/DOC_1&format=PDF, 10.10.2024.

Eurostat. (2022). Effective tax rates. Retrieved from: https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/document/download/3f815f4c-5bc1-4eac-9a5a-83310b75dc72_en, 12.10.2024.

Eurostat. (2022). Statutory tax rates. Retrieved from: https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/document/download/6e2a5960-f13c-4aef-b115-60e3ba232966_en?filename=statutory_rates_2022.xlsx, 11.10.2024.

Eurostat. (2024). Tax revenue statistics. Retrieved from: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Tax_revenue_statistics, 12.10.2024.

Feld, L. P., Heckemeyer, J. H. (2011). FDI and taxation: A meta-study. Journal of Economic Surveys, 25(2), 233–272. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6419.2010.00674.x

Gupta, A. S. (2007). Determinants of tax revenue efforts in developing countries (IMF Working Paper No. 07/184). International Monetary Fund. Retrieved from: https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2007/wp07184.pdf, 12.10.2024.

Lietz, G. M. (2013). Determinants and consequences of corporate tax avoidance. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2363868

Martinez, A. L., 2017. Tax aggressiveness: a literature survey. Revista de Educação e Pesquisa em Contabilidade, 11. https://doi.org/10.17524/repec.v11i0.1724

Mutti, J., Ohrn, E., 2019. Taxes and the location of US business activity abroad. National Tax Journal, 72(1), 165–192. https://doi.org/10.17310/ntj.2019.1.06

Wilde, J. H., Wilson, R. J., 2018. Perspectives on corporate tax planning: Observations from the past decade. The Journal of the American Taxation Association, 40(2), 63–81. https://doi.org/10.2308/atax-51993

Wilson, J. D. (1999). Theories of tax competition. National Tax Journal, 52(2), 269–304. https://doi.org/10.1086/ntj41789394

Zucman, G. (2014). Taxing across borders: Tracking personal wealth and corporate profits. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 28(4), 121–148. Retrived from: https://gabriel-zucman.eu/files/Zucman2014JEP.pdf