|
EU corporate tax rates continue to fall
International Tax Review, posted at
http://www.internationaltaxreview.com,
June 22, 2009
European corporate income tax rates have continued to decline during 2009, a
European Commission report has reported.
Corporate tax rates in EU member states have been cut "forcefully" since the
second half of the 1990s , from a 35% average in 1995 to 23% now, and the
trend has not stopped, said the
paper
from the
European Commission.
Five member states have cut their rate this year, although Lithuania's
relatively sharp increase of five percentage points to 20% offset almost
completely the impact of the cuts on the EU-27 average.
Although the trend has been downward, corporate tax rates still vary
substantially within the EU, the report said.
The adjusted statutory tax rate on corporate income varies between a minimum
of 10% in Bulgaria and Cyprus to a maximum of 35% in Malta, although the gap
between the minimum and the maximum has shrunk since 1995.
The European Commission report also found that consumption taxes are on the
rise in most European Union member states.
|