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The tax attractiveness of EU locations for corporate investments: A stocktaking of past developments and recent reforms

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Listed:
  • Gundert, Hannah
  • Nicolay, Katharina
  • Steinbrenner, Daniela
  • Wickel, Sophia

Abstract

Tax incentives are a key component of governments' investment policy mix as they directly impact companies' tax burden. In this paper, we illustrate the EU's tax attractiveness as investment location over time in terms of effective average tax rates and evaluate potential tax reform options. Our quantitative assessment of recent tax policies suggests that corporate tax rate cuts, notional interest deductions and R&D incentives reduce the effective average tax rate significantly. However, we argue that targeted measures such as accelerated depreciations and R&D incentives are most suitable for creating an attractive tax environment for business investments, especially in the context of the global minimum tax.

Suggested Citation

  • Gundert, Hannah & Nicolay, Katharina & Steinbrenner, Daniela & Wickel, Sophia, 2023. "The tax attractiveness of EU locations for corporate investments: A stocktaking of past developments and recent reforms," ZEW Discussion Papers 23-066, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:283587
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mannheim Tax Index; effective tax rates; Devereux-Griffith methodology; globalminimum tax; tax incentives; investment; location attractiveness;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F21 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • K34 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Tax Law

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