THE EVOLUTION OF FISCAL PRESSURE IN DEVELOPED E.U. COUNTRIES AND ITS DETERMINANTS

Abstract

Since 1970, the intensity of implementing budgetary policies in the two categories of states, developed states, and emerging states, has been observed in Europe. These policies had the effect of increasing the levels of taxation, also called progressive taxation, at that time. To stop this phenomenon of progressive taxation, the Maastricht Treaty and then the Stability and Growth Pact have had the effect of forcing states to adopt different fiscal policies to reduce the feeling of fiscal pressure made necessary by budgetary deficiencies and public debt accumulated over time. In fact, since the 1990s, each Member State of the European Union has interpreted the treaties mentioned above separately; some states reduced spending, while others preferred to impose more significant fiscal pressure on citizens by raising taxes and fees. In our article, we analyze and disseminate the general fiscal pressure of some developed countries in the European Union. We identify the economic priority indicators that influence the phenomenon of fiscal pressure, such as the level of direct taxes, indirect taxes, the growth rate of gross domestic product, and the level of public debt, providing an overview of economic development over the last three decades.To this end, the authors have developed an econometric model that captures the factors that influence the fiscal pressure in several developed countries of the European Union in the period 1995-2018.