Commission publishes report on tax reforms in member states

Member states have made progress towards improving their tax systems but most still face important challenges and should continue their efforts, according to a report on tax reforms in EU member states published today (28 September) by the European Commission.

The Tax reforms report 2015, published by the Commission’s Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs (ECFIN) and the Directorate General for Taxation and Customs (TAXUD), presents an overview of recent tax reforms in the member states and gives an indication of their performance in major areas of tax policy.

Tax reforms can help to improve public finances, support growth and job creation, strengthen economic stability and increase fairness. One of the most important challenges for many member states is to reduce the tax burden on labour.

Acknowledging this challenge, eurozone finance ministers recently committed to benchmarking the performance of their countries in this area to the EU average. Further challenges identified by the report include the design of housing taxation systems, the preferential treatment of debt in corporate income taxation, tax compliance particularly in VAT, the efficiency of tax administrations, and improving fairness.

In June, the Commission presented an Action Plan for fair and efficient corporate taxation, something Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker referred to in his recent State of the European Union speech. An infographic provides a quick overview of the report’s main findings and trends. Further information can be found in the MEMO, and the full report here.

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