Tax competition and information sharing in Europe: a signalling game

Abstract

This paper provides a challenging view to the tax harmonisation issue. The literature often proposes tax harmonisation to avoid free-riding behaviours in free-trade areas and more particularly in monetary unions. Without tax harmonisation, tax autonomy may lead to a race to the bottom. The model proposed here shows that tax competition may lead to stability. If a country gives the signal that 'friendly' or coordinated taxation behaviour is not its priority, the result can be a 'race to the bottom'. Conversely, if both countries signal their ability to conduct such a war, this war will not occur, and the stability of the system will be ensured.