Tax competition and coordination within the EU — the case of the EU-10

Abstract

The central and eastern European Member States that have joined the EU since 2004 (referred to as the EU-10 in this article) are often blamed for the intensification of EU tax competition. This article first presents the tax characteristics of these countries and the factors influencing their evolution: the heritage of the Socialist period, transition-related issues, certain conditions of EU accession and global developments. During the catch-up phase, lower taxes have been introduced to attract badly needed capital for investment. Secondly, the article briefly sets out the EU’s main tax problems. The fact that demand for state expenditure is growing while tax bases are shrinking is putting fiscal stress on the Member States. Increasing the efficiency of tax collection may mitigate this problem.