The EU's statistics agency Eurostat continuously implements different types of comparisons between all member countries. Among other things, the total tax levy per member which provides an interesting comparison of how the tax found vary in the different member countries is declared and worth noticing in a foreign establishment.
Among the countries with the lowest tax rates in relation to GDP, the following countries are included within the EU27: Romania (28.6%), Slovakia (29.3%), Lithuania (29.7%) and Latvia (30.1%).
Countries with the highest tax to the GDP ratio in the EU27 region are: Denmark (49.1%), Sweden (48.9), Belgium (44.6%), France (44.2%) and Finland (43.5%),
If the EU27 average is compared with the rest of the world, which in 2006 were at 39.9 percent of GDP, the tax in EU27 is relatively high. In comparison, the EU27 is 12 percentage units higher than both for example the U.S. and Japan.
This results in an extension of the tax burden for employees in Denmark and in Sweden and is an inhibiting factor in a global competitive perspective, not only against other EU countries but also against the U.S. and Japan where many companies are competing.
There is great diversity among member countries in the EU27, depending on which tax types are compared. The highest and the lowest in the various tax tables varied greatly between different countries depending on which tax types are compared such as payroll, corporate, and capital tax.
However, Eurostat's tax comparison does not take the different start-up packages, tax free zones or different types of corporate structures into account which many countries offer companies.
Utilization of these factors upset the order among the majority of the tables. Then, countries such as Cyprus and Malta will look very attractive, and if a current establishment outside the EU region is interesting right now, Dubai is a country guaranteeing zero percent in tax for a 50 year period.
Tony Harkén