The 2024 Annual Report on Taxation (ART) presents facts and analysis of the state of play of taxation and tax systems in EU countries. The report looks at the development of the tax mix from various perspectives to inform the debate about:
- the challenges faced by different types of taxes and different tax bases; and
- how the design of taxes can affect different economic agents and their behaviour.
The report discusses both recent reforms in tax systems and developments of the main indicators used by the Commission to assess taxation policies in EU countries and at EU level.
The analysis contains a survey of different tax bases and types of taxes and their role for the tax mix, with a focus on differences across countries and over time. Chapter 1 looks at different tax bases or economic functions (labour, capital and consumption), while Chapter 2 provides a survey of recent reforms at national and EU level.
Chapter 3 analyses specific types of taxes, as laid down in the tax code: personal and corporate income taxes; value added taxes; and taxes based on externalities (i.e. environmental taxes, excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco and health taxes in general). This chapter also includes a discussion of the existing capital-asset taxation and net-wealth taxation options.
The 2024 edition of the ART includes a new section - Chapter 4 - focusing on the role of taxation in supporting a competitive EU economy. Preserving European competitiveness and prosperity is a top priority on the EU policy agenda, as emphasised by President von der Leyen in the 2023 State of the Union address. Amidst recent geopolitical developments, the EU has sought to evaluate and improve its competitiveness standing so that it can maintain its strong social market economy. Chapter 4 shows that tax policy has an important and multi-faceted role in supporting the competitiveness and prosperity of the EU.
