Corporate tax reform in the EU: Weighing the pros and cons

The European Commission launched proposals in March 2011 to radically reform corporate income tax in the EU, with a system known as the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax base. This column suggests that this reform would have significant effects on individual member states, but only small effects at the aggregate level in terms of employment, GDP or efficiency. It adds that if tax rates were also harmonised and the tax base included an allowance for corporate equity, the economic benefits could be far greater.

VoxEU.org is a policy portal set up by the Centre for Economic Policy Research in conjunction with a consortium of national sites, including the Italian site LaVoce, the French site Telos and the Spanish site Sociedad Abierta. Vox aims to promote research-based policy analysis and commentary by leading scholars. The intended audience is economists in governments, international organisations, academia and the private sector as well as journalists specializing in economics, finance and business.

ESO: Background Information: Press Release: European corporate tax base: making business easier and cheaper http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-european-corporate-tax-base-making-business-easier-and-cheaper/

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