Top Personal Income Tax Rates in Europe
Denmark (55.9 percent), France (55.4 percent), and Austria (55 percent) have the highest top statutory personal income tax rates among European OECD countries.
1 min read
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Our EU tax policy team regularly provides accessible, data-driven insights from sources such as the European Commission, the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), and others.
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VAT Rates in Europe, 2023
The EU countries with the highest standard VAT rates are Hungary (27 percent), Croatia, Denmark, and Sweden (all at 25 percent). Luxembourg levies the lowest standard VAT rate at 16 percent, followed by Malta (18 percent), Cyprus, Germany, and Romania (all at 19 percent).
4 min read
Corporate Income Tax Rates in Europe, 2023
Taking into account central and subcentral taxes, Portugal has the highest corporate tax rate in Europe at 31.5 percent, followed by Germany and Italy at 29.8 percent and 27.8 percent, respectively
2 min readAll EU Tax Data
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Capital Gains Tax Rates in Europe
In many countries, investment income, such as dividends and capital gains, is taxed at a different rate than wage income. Denmark levies the highest top capital gains tax among European OECD countries, followed by Norway, Finland, and France.
3 min read
Corporate Income Tax Rates in Europe, 2022
Portugal, Germany and France have the highest corporate tax rates in Europe. How does your country compare?
2 min read
Top Personal Income Tax Rates in Europe
Denmark (55.9 percent), France (55.4 percent), and Austria (55 percent) have the highest top statutory personal income tax rates among European OECD countries.
2 min read
VAT Rates in Europe, 2022
The VAT is a consumption tax assessed on the value added in each production stage of a good or service. Every business along the value chain receives a tax credit for the VAT already paid. The end consumer does not, making it a tax on final consumption.
4 min read
Comparing Europe’s Tax Systems: Cross-Border Tax Rules
Cross-border tax rules define how income earned abroad and by foreign entities are taxed domestically, making them an important element of each country’s tax code.
3 min read
Comparing Europe’s Tax Systems: Property Taxes
According to the 2021 International Tax Competitiveness Index, Switzerland has the best-structured consumption tax among OECD countries while Poland has the worst-structured consumption tax code.
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Comparing Europe’s Tax Systems: Consumption Taxes
According to the 2021 International Tax Competitiveness Index, Switzerland has the best-structured consumption tax among OECD countries while Poland has the worst-structured consumption tax code.
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What European OECD Countries Are Doing about Digital Services Taxes
Despite ongoing multilateral negotiations in the OECD, about half of all European OECD countries have either announced, proposed, or implemented their own unilateral digital services tax.
7 min read
Comparing Europe’s Tax Systems: Individual Taxes
France’s individual income tax system is the least competitive of all OECD countries. It takes French businesses on average 80 hours annually to comply with the income tax.
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Comparing Europe’s Tax Systems: Corporate Taxes
According to the corporate tax component of the 2021 International Tax Competitiveness Index, Latvia and Estonia have the best corporate tax systems in the OECD.
3 min read
Recent Changes in Top Personal Income Tax Rates in Europe
In the past three years, eight European OECD countries changed their top personal income tax rate, of which four of them cut their top personal income tax rates.
3 min read
Patent Box Regimes in Europe
Patent box regimes (also referred to as intellectual property, or IP, regimes) provide lower effective tax rates on income derived from IP. Most commonly, eligible types of IP are patents and software copyrights. Currently, 14 of the 27 EU member states have a patent box regime.
4 min read
Cigarette Taxes in Europe
Ireland and France levy the highest excise duties on cigarettes in the EU, at €8.42 ($9.60) and €6.61 ($7.53) per 20-cigarette pack, respectively. This compares to an EU average of €3.34 ($3.80). Bulgaria (€1.81 or $2.06) and Poland (€2.08 or $2.37) levy the lowest excise duties.
2 min read
Distilled Spirits Taxes in Europe
The highest excise duties are applied in Finland, Sweden, and Ireland, where the rates for a standard-size bottle of liquor are €14.10 ($16.08), €13.80 ($15.73), and €11.92 ($13.59), respectively.
1 min read
Wine Taxes in Europe
As one might expect, southern European countries that are well-known for their wines—such as France, Greece, Portugal, and Spain—either don’t tax it or do so at a very low rate. But travel north and you’ll see countries that tend to levy taxes on wine—and often hefty taxes.
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Gas Taxes in Europe
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Beer Taxes in Europe
Finland has the highest excise tax on beer in Europe, followed by Ireland and the United Kingdom. Compare beer taxes in Europe this International Beer Day
2 min read
Territoriality of Tax Systems in Europe
19 European OECD countries employ a fully territorial tax system, exempting all foreign-sourced dividend and capital gains income from domestic taxation. No European OECD country operates a worldwide tax system.
3 min read
Thin-Cap Rules in Europe
To discourage this form of international debt shifting, many countries have implemented so-called thin-capitalization rules (thin-cap rules), which limit the amount of interest a multinational business can deduct for tax purposes.
5 min read