Intereconomics | Review of European Economic Policy

In This Forum

Fair and Sustainable Taxation in the EU

The EU's FairTax project addresses the impact of national tax systems on widening socio-economic and gender inequalities in the EU as well as fiscal sustainability and tax fairness issues. Our current Forum presents the FairTax research and policy recommendations based on identified structural problems. Ann Mumford and Åsa Gunnarsson look at the issue of sustainability within EU tax law. Marion Fink, Jitka Janová, Danuše Nerudová, Jan Pavel, Margit Schratzenstaller, Friedrich Sindermann-Sinkiewicz and Martin Spielauer look at gender equality and the impact of gender-differentiated changes in personal income. Reviewing case studies from a number of Northern European countries over the course of several years, Lotta Björklund Larsen and Lynne Oats share their findings on cooperative compliance in the taxation of large businesses - whose size and complex operations and structure differentiate them from other taxpayers. These ideas and more are elaborated in our special FairTax Forum.

Click here for details.

Editorial

Europe at the Crossroads

The question of whether to proceed with the European project and complete the monetary union or live with the fragile and incomplete currency union and eventually go back to ostensible national sovereignty is the crossroads Europe faces in the 2020s, writes Intereconomics' new Editor-in-Chief Christian Breuer. With voter turnout for the recent European elections topping 50% for the first time in over two decades and a record number of youth voters casting their ballots, we will continue to observe this crucial moment in the EU’s history, its influential voices and the path it ultimately decides to take.

Read the Article

Quote of the Month

Gender Equality and Taxation Policies in the EU

"One of the most critical objectives in taxation remains to eliminate tax-related disincentives to female employment and the unequal distribution of paid and unpaid work."

From the Forum article, "Gender Equality and Taxation Policies in the EU" by Åsa Gunnarsson and Ulrike Spangenberg.

Figure of the Month

Effects on real consumption in the UK and EU27 in different Brexit scenarios

This figure from Gabriel Felbermayr’s article "Articles Brexit: A Hard-but-Smart Strategy and its Consequences" from our current issue shows different effects on real consumption in the UK and EU27 in different Brexit scenarios.

The FairTax Project

Sustainability in EU Tax Law

What makes sustainability so important is what also makes it so difficult, write Ann Mumford and Åsa Gunnarsson. While one of the goals of sustainability is economic growth, it is not the only one. In order to achieve a number of these different objectives simultaneously, it is important to use the law. Mumford and Gunnarsson identify the five dimensions of sustainability and conclude with the suggestion that the moment for giving the EU more power to fund the pursuit of these objectives has arrived and the way to do this is through taxation.

Read the full article here.

The FairTax Project

Taxing Large Businesses: Cooperative Compliance in Action

It is evident that large businesses are qualitatively different from other taxpayers. They have complex operations and structure and pose a significant risk to tax administration effectiveness due to their large tax payments. Cooperative compliance was born out of the need for a new approach. As part of the FairTax project, Lotta Björglund Larsen and Lynne Oats look at case studies from numerous Northern European countries in order to examine cooperative compliance and the move away from deterrent practices such as audits and penalties and toward a more responsive and collaborative approach.

Read the article

Brexit

A Hard-but-Smart Strategy and Its Consequences

European leaders have given the British government an extension - pushing Brexit back until October 31, 2019. Gabriel Felbermayr lays out the economic consequences of a hard Brexit and the alternatives that the UK has to consider over the next six months.

Read the Article