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Are Corporate Tax Burdens Racing to the Bottom in the European Union?

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  • Signe Krogstrup

    (Institute of Economics, University of Copenhagen)

Abstract

This paper tests the central predictions of the theoretical tax competition literature for capital tax rates for a panel of European Union countries, notably a race to the bottom in corporate tax burdens. In contrast to the previous empirical literature, empirical support for increasing capital mobility to be resulting in a reduction in corporate tax burdens is found. The results also suggest that other factors driving the corporate tax burden should not be neglected and may provide substantial counterweight to tax competition forces

Suggested Citation

  • Signe Krogstrup, 2004. "Are Corporate Tax Burdens Racing to the Bottom in the European Union?," EPRU Working Paper Series 04-04, Economic Policy Research Unit (EPRU), University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:kud:epruwp:04-04
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    File URL: http://web.econ.ku.dk/epru/files/wp/wp-04-04.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Harry Garretsen & Jolanda Peeters, 2009. "FDI and the relevance of spatial linkages: do third-country effects matter for Dutch FDI?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 145(2), pages 319-338, July.
    2. Melle Marco C., 2015. "Begünstigungen und Schranken in der europäischen Unternehmensbesteuerung – eine evolutorisch-ökonomische Sicht / Preferential treatments and barriers in the European company taxation – an evolutionary," ORDO. Jahrbuch für die Ordnung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, De Gruyter, vol. 66(1), pages 115-146, January.
    3. Aleksandra Riedl & Silvia Rocha‐Akis, 2012. "How elastic are national corporate income tax bases in OECD countries? The role of domestic and foreign tax rates," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(2), pages 632-671, May.
    4. Pedro Gomes & François Pouget, 2008. "Corporate Tax Competition and Public Capital Stock," STICERD - Distributional Analysis Research Programme Papers 096, Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, LSE.
    5. Melle Marco C., 2014. "Eine europäische Bemessungsgrundlage für die Körperschaftsteuer? Konzeption und ordnungsökonomische Analyse / Conceptual design and constitutional economics analysis of a European tax base for corpora," ORDO. Jahrbuch für die Ordnung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, De Gruyter, vol. 65(1), pages 133-156, January.
    6. Andreas Haufler & Alexander Klemm & Guttorm Schjelderup, 2009. "Economic integration and the relationship between profit and wage taxes," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 423-446, March.
    7. Harry Garretsen & Jolanda Peeters, 2009. "FDI and the relevance of spatial linkages: do third-country effects matter for Dutch FDI?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 145(2), pages 319-338, July.
    8. Ozlem Onaran & Valerie Boesch & Markus Leibrecht, 2012. "How Does Globalization Affect The Implicit Tax Rates On Labor Income, Capital Income, And Consumption In The European Union?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 50(4), pages 880-904, October.
    9. Leon Bettendorf & Joeri Gorter & Albert van der Horst, 2006. "Who benefits from tax competition in the European Union?," CPB Document 125, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    10. König, Tobias & Wagener, Andreas, 2008. "(Post-)Materialist Attitudes and the Mix of Capital and Labour Taxation," Hannover Economic Papers (HEP) dp-404, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät.
    11. Michael P. Devereux & Simon Loretz, 2013. "What Do We Know About Corporate Tax Competition?," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 66(3), pages 745-774, September.
    12. Markus Leibrecht & Claudia Hochgatterer, 2012. "Tax Competition As A Cause Of Falling Corporate Income Tax Rates: A Survey Of Empirical Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 616-648, September.
    13. Hansson, Åsa & Porter, Susan & Perry Williams, Susan, 2012. "The Effect of Political and Economic Factors on Corporate Tax Rates," Working Paper Series 942, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    14. Sokolovskyi, Dmytro, 2021. "Is tax competition necessarily a Race to the bottom? Optimal tax rate trajectories in the model of tax competition for different objective functions," MPRA Paper 109284, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Diego d’Andria, 2011. "The Effects of Tax Evasion on the Choice between Personal and Corporate Income Taxation," Public Finance Review, , vol. 39(5), pages 682-711, September.
    16. Åsa Hansson & Susan Porter & Susan Williams, 2015. "The importance of the political process on corporate tax policy," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 281-306, September.
    17. Peter Schwarz, 2007. "Does capital mobility reduce the corporate-labor tax ratio?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 130(3), pages 363-380, March.
    18. Till Gross, 2013. "Capital Tax Competition and Dynamic Optimal Taxation," Carleton Economic Papers 13-08, Carleton University, Department of Economics.
    19. Kazim Okan Erol, 2020. "Taxation Systems in the EU: The Role of Economic Integration and Global Financial Crisis," CESifo Working Paper Series 8692, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Tax competition; Capital taxation; Corporate tax burden; European financial integration; Capital mobility;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • F2 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business
    • F36 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Financial Aspects of Economic Integration

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