The reform of taxation in EU Member States

Since the 1990s, a wind of tax reforms has been blowing through the European Union. It started in Spain, where some reforms began as early as 1995, and spread to most other Member States, including Germany, which launched an ambitious reform in the summer of 2000. In most countries, these reforms are aimed at reducing the disincentive impact of high marginal tax rates on labour, production and investment, and neutralising the distortions associated with the tax system.